Coast to coast to coast Day 2 - Sunday 11th - Barrow in Furness to Kendal

This is cycling proper day 1

Target today is Barrow in Furness to Kendal

Set off at 0900 after a good breakfast. It rained during the night but dry and clear this morning. First stop was Furness Abbey, unfortunately I didn't see the signpost and ended up on a 3 mile detour, not the best start to my longest day. Furness Abbey looked good had a photo stop rather than a sketching stop as I was already behind schedule. Set off from Furness Abbey and promptly went wrong again. I cursed the GPS for not telling me I had gone wrong again, but it was user error. Tip of the day.... Don't wear posing cycling shades instead of prescription specs if you intend to stay on the right route. Specs now changed and I was off again.... I hour into the route and 6 miles travelled and I was only 1/2 mile from where I started! Bummer.

Must try harder. No more route mishaps today. Very heavy rain around Grange over Sands lasted for about 1 hour then just short heavy showers until close to Kendal.. Not too much of a problem I just kept sheltering under big trees. Got to the campsite at Kendal at 4.30. Quite a long day. I was met at the campsite by old friends Ian and Linda who had spotted what I was up to from my Facebook page and they where staying close-by. It was good to meet up after such a long time... Made my week.

My arms are sore with all the steep descents squeezing the brake levers for all I'm worth. I think I will need new brake pads before the end.

Statistics: 

Distance today - 78.62km (49 miles)

Total Distance - 88.07km (55 miles)

Height Climbed - 1053m

Total Height Climbed - 1123m

Number of hills pushed up - too numerous to mention

Number of unintentional detours - 2

Average speed - 15.2km/hr

Max speed - 49.7 km/hr

Furness Abbey

Furness Abbey 2

Coast to Coast to Coast Day 1 - Saturday 10th - Barrow in Furness

Well I'm here at the start of my trip. Getting here on the train with my bike went OK without any problems. Edinburgh Waverley was very busy, probably because its Saturday and the festival has started but I managed to get through the crowds. The sky was overcast until I got off the train in Barrow in Furness where the sun came out. There was quite a bit of traffic in Barrow which was a bit of an issue as I was also getting used to the feel of a loaded bike.

The Start.

Once I got from the railway station to the start via a tour of Walney island the ride back through town an up Abbey Road to my B & B was straightforward as I found the cycle lanes I missed on the way down. Barrow looks a pleasant place with an interesting waterfront and some nicely restored old buildings, plenty of flowers and trees around the town centre and quite a lot of interesting public sculptures.

Not much cycling today just the quick jaunt around Walney.

An early night tonight ready for the ride to Kendal tomorrow.

A selection of the ships built in the shipyard at Barrow in Furness

The tide's out - Walney

Statistics:

Distance Today - 9.45km (6 miles)

Total Distance - 9.45km (6 miles)

Ht climbed - 70m

Total Height climbed - 70m

Weather - mainly overcast but with sunny spells and a bit breezy from the west or south west.