(Near) Baldwin to Clare
67 miles / 968ft climb
We were much later setting off today than we had planned and so, it was perhaps not surprising that we were much later arriving today than we had originally anticipated but still, it was a long, slow day in the saddle today.
Caroline managed admirably with only two gears for the entire ride and was at the front throughout, so she certainly didn’t slow us down. However, a 20 mile stretch of rough gravel track slowed us all down considerably and was hard work. Then, in the afternoon the boys stopped to help a fellow cyclist change an inner tube, fix his tyre and helped him get back on the road again, something he wasn’t going to achieve quickly by himself.
Their good deed for the day and willingly done but again added to the length of our day.
However, every mile we complete, fast or slow moves us closer to our target of 4,500 miles and we have now completed 3,324 miles.
We were on the road for 10 hours with only a couple of short stops. Lunch was left over food from the shopping on our arrival in Baldwin two days ago. Not so bad but not so great either! We’ve been spoiled by fabulous brunches of late and I missed mine today!
We haven’t gone hungry though and made it to a diner next to our hotel just before it closed for a calorie laden ‘all you can eat’ buffet.
The bike shop at our destination tomorrow, Bay City, have gone above and beyond to source the replacement parts needed to repair Caroline’s bike so it will be a very early start tomorrow for Caroline and Paul as they try to get there as early as possible. Thankfully, we have our flattest day of the entire trip tomorrow at only 215ft of climb. Good news for John too whose temporary repair is beginning to show signs of trouble. Ribble have come to his rescue and sent a replacement part for his bike from the U.K to hopefully arrive at one of our hotels next week.
Challenging Times 
A long day, but repairs are in sight. I don’t want to be a nag, but you can’t go missing brunch. Just saying…
Sounds like a tough day, but you’re all becoming very resilient. Such good news that Ribble have organised a replacement part at last for John’s bike. 😅You all seem to be coping well with the hardship of intermittent food & obviously really appreciate a decent meal when you come by it. With constantly changing perspectives, well done for coping with all that’s being thrown at you. Full of admiration for you all, keep going, we’re all rooting for you, every turn of the pedals. Much love xxx
The bike shop isn’t called Bay City Rollers, is it? It should be 😂 I sincerely hope you’ve got the very best hotel, and the very, very best restaurant booked to celebrate your arrival on the east coast! Xx
Yes!! I hope so too!