I decided Sunday morning would be a good time to set off through the Lancashire Mill towns to avoid rush-hour traffic (it was the reverse of the route I used on my LEJOG and that was done in rush-hour - no problem but I thought nice quiet roads made sense). I was up at four had breakfast and set off at 4:50. The weather was overcast and I could see mist shrouding the higher hills. Haworth was beautifully still and quiet except for the rooks above the churchyard. There were loads of rabbits on the road out of the village; grouse flew into the air; several dead frogs on the road (?); and a deer on the moor (never seen one there before, should get up early more often). All this and I'd not gone 5 miles. I went into the dense cold mist above 350m but as I left it on the descent into Hebden Bridge there were spots of blue sky and patches of sunlight across the moor. There was a headwind on the higher ground but it was still by the time I got to Hebden Bridge. Very quiet at this hour except for two guys sitting in the square drinking coffee.
Through Todmordon, Rochdale, Bury, Radcliffe, Farnworth,Tyldesley. Very quiet roads, in fact almost deserted early on.
Lovely ride through the industrial areas on quiet roads but I was now in the country.
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Going down a quiet country lane I was brought to a halt by locked railway crossing gates. There were pedestrian gates, though! I crossed. Soon the gravel road became a rutted track. I hadn't expected this but I knew from my phone I was still on the planned route.
The track crossed the M62 and I rejoined minor roads at Irlam.
I crossed the Manchester Ship Canal, the Bridgewater Canal and the M56.
Just after 10:00 I stopped for a snack in High Legh in a car park with a suitable tree stump to sit on and brewed coffee; I'd done 86 km.
Made a wrong turning at Keeley and went off the edge of my map; fortunately the phone came to my rescue. When planning this trip, I’d decided to get a hub dynamo but in the end couldn't justify the cost. So, I had the routes on the phone but I couldn't keep the damn thing switched on!
A drawback of my deliberately rural route was an absence of anywhere to pick up supplies particularly as it was Sunday; I was out of water too. Fortunately there was a cafe open at Bunbury locks so I filled up with water and sat and had an ice cream.
My left knee was playing up and I was beginning to feel a little saddle sore; something I'd not experienced on a tour before. This was going to become a bit of an issue!
At Bangor-on-Dee I looked for a shop. I had brought food for my evening meal from home because I thought there might be some problems on a Sunday but I needed something for the morning because I knew I would be making an early start and I also fancied a pudding. The only shop I could find didn't have much I fancied but I managed to get a sandwich, two bananas and a large bottle of sugary fizz for the morning; and a tin of custard and a custard tart for pudding.
I set off for the race course to search out the campsite I'd marked on the map but the racecourse was closed and no sign of a campsite. So,back into town, found a Tourist Information (doubling up as a furniture shop) where the guy was very helpful and managed to direct me to one out on the ring road.
I found it. A very small site with no other tents, just caravans and motor homes, and no reception. The owner, a farmer, was away but a motorhome resident was in temporary charge. I put the tent up, looked around and couldn't see a shower block. Turned out the garden shed at the bottom was the toilet but no showers and the wash basin taps didn't work!
With all the faffing around, I’d done more than 100miles; I intended to reduce the distance next day – I must stop treating my planned sections as ‘days’!
Nice chilli bean meal but no wine and too tired to walk to the nearest pub for a drink. I was also suffering from cramp and had to be very careful to keep my legs straight. Early night.
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