A normal day

Muck and filth and a broken pedal

Day 7: Penrith to Preston.
When you do something for long enough, it becomes natural and unremarkable. I reached that point today, when of course I got up and ate breakfast and then rode my bike. The first leg was the climb to Shap Summit, highest point on the A6, followed by the descent to Kendal, 25 miles thanks, stop for lunch in Morrisons, blah blah.

But then it got more interesting as we entered the bit of the country that few holidaymakers visit, well I certainly hadn't been there before. I mean the area around Carnforth. We took the A65 out of Kendal but soon got off the beaten track on to National Cycle Route 6, one of those rarest of things, a metalled singletrack with grass down the middle, and 6ft hedgerows either side to keep the wind out. Bright sun, what more could you ask for? The hills were more rounded than the rugged climbs of the lakes, so better progress as well. Suddenly I'm back climbing on the big ring again.

All too soon it was over as we arrived in the confused sprawl of Lancaster city centre, and got back on the A6. I can do that without thinking.

There are things happening subconsciously, like I don't have to push my legs down - that happens automatically. Instead I'm thinking about lifting my knees towards the bars, and keeping my big toes aligned in the same rotational plane as my heels, but even that's moving towards subconscious. And pushing back against the bars. People will have you believe that you must pull on the bars, but a simple experiment tells you that isn't so. Push against them and arch your back - there you go, faster. The only time you pull is in a sprint or climbing when you're out of the saddle, to use the gyroscopic forces of the front wheel to force the pedals up against your descending feet. That's great away from the lights as it looks scarily wobbly to car drivers and gets you up to speed quicker.

We rolled along the A6 to the outskirts of Preston, where we stopped for the night. Tomorrow, get up, repeat through Cheshire? We shall see.

Today 64.6 miles, cumulative 473.6 miles  Today's max 41.6mph