... Flower of Scotland!

So here I am - in Scotland and it was a lovely (if slightly dull!) ride from Armathwaite to Moffat ... we crossed the border after 25miles and found that the wind (as ever a headwind!) had blown the sign over!!! .... so a quick krypton factor'esque moment of putting it back together and the 'welcome' that Bike Adventures had put up was back in place...

But .. before we got to Scotland 'Bradley' had a little TLC,  over the last weeks the gears have not been happy and the cables needed replacing... so rather than spending the day off trundling around the Borders finding somewhere to sort things out when we passed through Longtown in Cumbria, just before crossing the border I popped into Bike Seven where Shane gave Bradley some much needed attention... new gear cables, wheel bearings tightened.... brakes checked ... and discovery of wildlife being carried!!! I'd picked up a worm who was nestled on the back brake callipers!!! Big thumbs up all round - thank you Shane! 

So we entered Scotland feeling buoyant - and with warm feet as i've finally succumbed to buying some overshoes... and not just any old overshoes... but 'disco' over shoes! ... passing through Ecclefechan, Lockerbie and across the hills... group dinner to celebrate getting thus far ... and we bade a fond farewell to lovely Geoff who has had to leave us to go home ... a new 'sweeper' will be joining us tomorrow... 

Can he possibly be as nice as Geoff?! 

Anyway it's good to be in Scotland but no early celebrations yet - we still have 438 miles to go - and lets face it, Scotland's not known for being flat!! I've had a lovely rest day catching up with old friends ... and revelling in that delicious feeling of 'picking up again' ... where oh where did those decades go?! 

I have to be honest - the last few days have been really emotional ... coming up through Lancashire, Yorkshire & Cumbria left me aching to chat to Dad.  Maybe because the weather and the hills were tough - maybe because they are areas that Dad was very fond of...  maybe i was tired and emotional! I had a lot of time to think whilst i was cycling ... it was a good thing, but quite unexpected. I so wish i could compare notes with him ... 

So back in the saddle tomorrow... Come on Bradley - only 438 miles to go!!! Let's turn the red line black!!! 

xxxx