Sunday 5th September Llandridnod Wells to Cardiff

We were joined today by Derek Thomas, a local Headteacher, and his friend Ian. Jess was still half asleep when it was time to get going, especially as it was raining. Needless to say, Dave, who doesn't mess about with anything, sent Mike and I up to help her with her stuff, and we set off not too long later.

Bearing in mind most of her male companions were roughly twice her age, she set off at a furious pace which none of us could keep up with. We assumed she was going to stop at the prearranged tea and buns stop in Brecon. On our arrival, she was nowhere to be seen, and after about an hour of searching she was found, having started the main ascent up towards Storey Arms. This was a gruelling ride, really strong headwind, and at least Jess stayed behind to coax her Dad up the mountain. They were fabtastic! We stopped for another breather just after the summit, as we all recognised we needed a rest.

Jess and Dave stayed back, whilst Derek, Ian and I blasted off towards Cardiff to meet up with our welcoming party. Jess arrived with her Father literally minutes after the appointed time, a masterful piece of pacing. Dave wasn't so happy to be carrying her makeup bag for the group pictures, and soon unloaded it onto someone else.

The greeting provided by our friends, all of whom have been very supportive was heartwarming. Thank you all very much, it meant a lot to us all.

Derek announced after this arduous stage that he'd only been out training on his bike once. He gave an amazing account of himself, and is still looking for his underpants after several hours on a razor blade of a racing saddle.

Sat 4th September Oswestry to Llandridnod Wells

We were joined today by Jess's Father, Dave Hill. They set a cracking pace all day long, as they are very competitive with each other. A long hard day in the saddle, but Dave treated us all to a wonderful meal in the eveing which was most relaxing. Not so relaxing was the huge wedding party downstairs, which was still going at about 2am!
Bleary eyes in the morning.

3rd September Wigan to Oswestry

Very pretty day, with some tough roads, used a couple of weeks later for the Tour of Britain cycle race. Can't remember a great deal at the moment, as any memories were overawed upon our arrival at what was probably our best overnight stop, at Moors Farm, Welshpool. We were honoured to meet up with Jess's parents, to spend a night at what is a shooting lodge. Free drinks on the house, and the most glorious home made food. Absolutely five star!

2nd September Windemere to Wigan

Started the morning nicely. Despite having some horrible late finishes, we couldn't resist the idea of going out on a boat on the Lake. Jess is good at rowing, so Mike and I sat back and enjoyed the views, before returning to shore in time for lunch.

Guess what, We were late arriving in Wigan, just in time to nip out for an Indian meal in a nice restaurant. Whilst enjoying our food, Jess was most disturbed by what might be described as two young ladies in pyjamas, the other side of the window. They were making and mouthing unmistakeably offensive gestures for no apparent reason. She sent Mike and I out first,both being trained in Aikido, to check the coast was clear.

We described our experiences to the Landlord on return, who said 'we apologise for the behaviour of our neighbours in Horwich'

1st September Carlisle to Windemere

One of the most beautiful days of all. Lake district etc. Oustandingly lovely. We were actually there on time that day, and were treated to arrive at a beautiful hotel, next to the Beatrix Potter Museum. We all had a lovely meal, again well deserved after some of the disastrous 'Tesco Sandwich' affairs we'd resorted to previously. Mike actually got to eat Bambi pie. Very nice!

31st August Sanquar to Carlisle

The longest day of all mileage wise. We were still making up mileage from our navigation disaster, so ended up doing a soul destroying 95miles. The last couple of hours of which were along a pitch black never ending road, where we'd been helpfully told that some cyclists had been hit off their bikes recently. It was me who started running out of willpower here. It never seemed we were getting any closer. We got to our friendly digs just in time for a quick well deserved drinkie over the road.

30th August Paisley to Sanquar

We actually started off where we'd finished early the day before, as we didn't want to 'cheat'. It was a very hard day as it left too many miles to cover. At about 10pm, we gave up trying, and were welcomed into a tiny pub called the 'Wee Train' to warm up and wait for Mike to rescue us. Jess went to sleep on one of the leather seats in there, so I sent the crowd of very friendly locals over to wake her up. They soon had her at the bar, plying her with Baileys.

If you can imagine around 15 well meaning Billy Connolly style people, that's what made Jess blush so. They were also very very welcoming, and posed the most direct of questions to us. That is for us to know only. What happens on tour stays on tour.....