Day 5: England done. Scotland watch out

I arrived in Preston yesterday feeling pretty whacked out. It'd been a long day and I didn't have a good sleep on Friday night. I woke up on Sunday morning with my voice in my boots. I sounded so tired even after a nine-hour sleep.

The breakfast at Olde Duncombe House included a choice of cereal, fruit, toast and a fried breakfast. I ate everything going. Frosties and Weetabix to start, two pieces of toast and jam, a full fried breakfast and a bowl of grapefruit to finish.

Fueled up I got dressed and ready only to find that the wind had changed direction. A stiff wind was blowing and I was riding into it for 96 miles. I decided not to battle against it in search of a fast time. I rode at 16-17mph for most of the morning trying to ease my legs into another day of long distance riding.

I set off at 10.45am and hit Lancaster at midday, at around the same point I hit to 450 mile mark - half way into the journey.

Completely ignoring the significance of this I rode on into Kendal and passed from Lancashire into Cumbria. No sooner had I done so the horizon became crowded with mountain peaks. I counted at least ten before fear stopped me counting further! This was Lake District country and I was in for a hilly afternoon.

Lunch was at the top of the Kendal-Shap pass and came after an eight-mile climb. The start wound through farmland but the top became open, barren and very windswept. A lunch of pasta, bread, coke and a surprisingly tasty Kendal mint cake was very much welcome.

I added a few more clothing layers before starting a cold and disappointing descent towards Shap and Penrith. The wind stopped me from building up any real speed.

I plodded on to Carlisle and met a fireman on his way to work by bike. He guided me through the city to the A7 and before I knew it I was on the home straight to Gretna. Despite the wind I raced the last 10 miles and made it to Gretna by 6.30pm.

I rode 96 miles in a painfully slow 6hrs 20mins (which is an average of 15.1mph - about an hour slower than I'd normally aim for) but I'd cycled the length of England in five days which was immensely satisfying.

That night we were camping at Braids Caravan park. It was a pretty average place to stay but we did eat a very tasty camping stove dinner of carbonara pasta, courgette and bacon, and we watched half of 3:10 To Yuma before tiredness took hold.

My sleep was punctuated by weird dreams and the nagging thought that the bottom bracket on my bike was in need of a service. I was hoping a soaking in GT-85 would sort it out for the 90 mile ride to Cumbernauld.

Song of the day: Respectable for the Respectable by Super Furry Animals got me singing along. My surprise discovery of the day was Chemical Calasthenics by Blackalicious.