LEJOG day 4 Pushing it to Preston

Better start to the day, felt like I had a better nights sleep which makes all the difference. Up around 7 a.m for a breakfast prepared by the Shrewsbury Christadelphians. I opted for Weetabix today as I have had porridge everyday up until now. Usual extra's of toast, tea and orange juice to wash it down, plus a slice of Ben A's birthday cake. Our hosts kindly offered to wash stuff for us last night too, which was nice. However, the voices in my head were not quite as nice when 2 odds socks were returned from 3 complete pairs!
The start of our journey looked promising weatherwise as the sun was shining bright, although it was just a little bit chilly. The more we cycled, the warmer it became. The first leg was kinda strange because several potato's (or beets according to Dave) were found randomly littering the road. After about 30 miles we stopped for our first break.

We stopped again after another 30ish miles and Nathans dad showed up. This was cool because we were spoilt with further supplies of food and medicines and I believe (hope) that Nathan's dad might be my lift back home from John O'Groats (as he is spending time in Lake District whilst we cycle). All our stops seem to follow a similar patten - we eat lots, stretch, fill up water bottles, rub in deep heat and then head off again. Nigel, a fellow cyclist with whom I cycled from London to Paris with, swears that Ibuprofen gel beats deep heat, but there are a few cyclists here who would argue the toss.
Was not particularly paying attention to the route today but thought of friends from LEJOG 2009 when I passed certain landmarks. Indeed, I though of Clive the Dr when I passed a place called 'Clive' and likewise thought of Wiggan Mark when I passed a sign for 'Mark'. Mark got a double thought because today I also passed through Wiggan. Wiggan wasn't as menace as last year but sure enough it does have it's fair share of scalliwags. A few random folk cheered us or whistled us as we passed which was nice.

Our last stop was short and sweet. Just a quick stop to stretch really before we pressed on for the last few miles. The whole day (like yesterday) we all cycled together which was great and unexpected. Within 2 miles of our finish, we were met by Neil Sutcliffe on his mountain bike. Neil led us safely back to his house, our destination. Neil and his family are kindly putting us all up for the night.

This blog entry is being typed in the comfort of Neil's lounge. The Sutcliffe's provided us with a super meal (pasta, bolognese, noodles and garlic bread) and fluids. As I sign off now, dessert awaits!

Cycled a distance of 82.83 miles at an average speed of 12.9 mph and a max speed of 36.7 mph.