The first few miles weren't too bad as we weaved our way to the Forth road bridge. We cycled through some pretty grim pebbledashed towns, with the highlight being Kelty, maybe I'm being a bit unfair, but its hard to imagine that a small town (half the size of Kingsbridge) with a tattoo parlour is a place of prosperity!
The road bridge was quite impressive but the signs were very confusing as bikes have to go on a bit on the side. Our side was closed so we had to walk down some steep steps and then back up the other side.
The next 45 miles we battled hard against the cyclists worst enemy; the headwind. It was really blowing and our average speed plummeted as we got our heads down and ground into the wind. It was both physically and mentally sapping. We did manage to find some small roads to take us away from the traffic, but it was still a slog!
Eventually we made it to a service station on the A74(M) where I was ripped off for a Burger King, but was so hungry and tired I didn't care. Scotland seems to lack garages to stock up on food. I could easily count the number of garages we passed (in the last 350 miles) on two hands!
From here we were on the old A74. This hugged the A74(M) but had no traffic on it and it had a cycle path on the side of it, we were spoilt for choice. However the road surface was poor and whilst the cycle path on the side was generally smoother, there were the odd stones that had accumulated there, one of these led to my first puncture right at the top of Beattock Summit at 314 m. We were soon on the way again and at least heading SE so the wind wasn't directly in our faces.
The road was long but gradually descended and so by taking turns on the front we were able to drive up the pace and save our dismal average speed!
Brief stop in Lockerbie for more food (food and energy drink is easily our biggest expense of the trip).
The forecast for the evening was not good and we had to put on and take off rain jackets several times before Gretna Green, however as we dropped down and crossed the border into England, the wind finally relented and the sky cleared. The last few miles into Carlisle were easy but we took them slowly as the day had taken its toll. This was supposed to be the easy day! I wish we had listened to those who said 'why are you cycling into the wind?'
Very spacious travelodge right in the centre of Carlisle, but full of people going out on the town, hopefully they won't wake us when they return! Nice curry for tea but shoddy service, so good excuse not to leave a tip!!!
Vital Statistics
Total distance cycled: 122 miles
Time on bike: 8 hours 32 mins
Average speed: 14.3 mph
Max speed: 34 mph
Total ascent: 1852 m
Highest point: 325 m
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