Slightly surreal situation. Having pretty much been riding all day, the world has slowed down and I am sat in a the Black Horse Hotel and bar in Newton Stewart just a couple of miles from todays final destination. They have Wifi and I'm gonna make use of it......
I slept well last night, the sofa was friendlier than a Welsh Mountainside, there were no Black Sheep and my cold seemed to be turning. Loaded the bike up and headed off to my spiritual home (2nd only to Leicester Square), Cumbria, The Lake District. Yammered up the M6 at a comfortable 75 and had what I thought was my scare for the day with a lorry moving across me, I quickly checked my shoulder (car well behind) moved across and 5 seconds later the car behind was under my brake light. Reminded me off the scene in Jurassic Park with the T Rex in the rear view mirror. Headed round Newby Bridge and up alongside Coniston picking out Wildcat Island from Swallows and Amazons and carried on round to Tarn Hows.
I had some extra time on my hands and decided to do something I've always wanted to do..... The Hardknott and Wrynose Pass, on two wheels. I remember the first time I did it in a car, it had been raining and we had some wheelspin on a couple of the steep hairpins which was quite disconcerting. On the bike though was a different matter, the element of control coming through the clutch and accelerator and the balance and turn make it a totally different proposal. And there was no way I wanted to drop the bike as it is heavy enough to lift even without the luggage kit on it. All was well though and I stopped at the top to take a photo. I had the bike facing the wrong way though and as I maneauvered it gradually round, the bike wheel slid on some gravel, I lost balance on the uneven road and down. it. went. I don't think there is anything sadder looking than a motorbike just lying in the road. It's just wrong. And heavy. I lifted, it wouldn't move. I took off the luggage kit and because of the angle of the road and weight and knackeredness, I still couldn't lift it. So I waited. For about 3 minutes until the huffing and puffing behind me signalled the arrival of a cyclist who stopped as I turned around and was more than happy to help lift (once he had got his breath back). Happy to say Ripley came out of it without a scratch.....
I crossed the passes and came back then headed through Langdale itself which was stunninger than I remember and just gave me the overwhelming sensation that we would have to come back JUST to explore Langdale at some point.
Then it was heading out of Cumbria and onto the M6 to and across the Border (I can't even type that word now without rolling the "r" in a soft Scots accent)
The A75 is remarkable and remarkably quiet. long straight stretches and corners so fine they almost seem straight, but that's not the point. The backdrop is remarkable. The are so many superlatives to describe the beautiful countryside around us and I've used a fair few myself already in this blog, but Scotland is something else. Dumfries and Galloway is so lush and green. The Blue Skies helped but they had no bearing on the view.......... The landscape seemed so open, but still mountainous. In the Lake District the mountains are all around, up close and hiding the next one from view with their drama, but here, the countryside seems to flow with the mountains there as a diorama, fencing us in and as you drive towards them the next part comes into view. The stint along the North Sea inlet was something special, but I'm still trying to process my emotions with what I saw on the way in.
I topped the 1000 mile mark this afternoon
and have probably put in around 350 miles today. A full breakdown of statistics to come when I get to my first Youth Hostel in three nights time!
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