DAY TWO: 28 ON THE 28th

DAILY DISTANCE: 84.21 kms
TOTAL DISTANCE: 138.92 kms
 
I expected Day Two to start with some very sore muscles and other body parts, but thankfully that was not the case. Instead, it started with a cheery ‘Happy Birthday’ and a card from my fellow riders and support team. Twenty-eight on the twenty-eighth – a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that the nerd inside of me has been waiting for for, well, 28 years!

Today was a fantastic day, both in terms of weather and route. The sky was blue and sun shining, and after a big descent to start the day (58.8 km/hr but don’t tell my mother) we joined the Trans Pennine Trail. At first it was poorly signed, so we did do a few laps of some small English country towns, and we even ended up at the Wentworth Woodhouse (photo below), which Wikipedia has now taught me is the largest private house in the United Kingdom, with the longest country house façade in Europe and includes 365 rooms over an area of over 2.5 acres!! Needless to say, we were not supposed to be riding through those grounds and were quickly turned back where we’d come from...

I am now officially recommending the Trans Pennine Trail for any UK-based bike riders who want some stunning scenery and beautiful trails ... and own a mountain bike. While parts were groomed, pebbled or even sealed, many parts were entirely inappropriate for a touring bike. Especially one that, having been purchased for over £1,000, has only covered 200kms... (Yes, given that I purchased bike and computer at the same time, it is official: I covered exactly 62.08kms in training for this trip. As in, less than I rode today. Hah!) But anyway, it survived with no punctures, and the taste of it inspired me to return for the full 333km trail from Southport (west of Liverpool) to Hull one day ... with a mountain bike of course!

Seriously ... this is part of the Trans Pennine Trail

Not ALL of the T.P.T. was dodgy...

Tonight we’re staying above a pub in Snaith (don’t feel bad if you have no idea where Snaith is, as I can promise you that there are at least a dozen people who live within a half hour drive of it who have no idea either...) and had Indian to celebrate my birthday. Tomorrow we head to Hull where we meet Dan, the final Ninja Turtle. For your information, I wanted to go with Musketeers but for obvious reasons Ninja Turtles are more appropriate: there’s four of them, they don’t move very quickly and survive for a very long time, like my fellow riders...! (Please note that I am allowed to engage in banter like this since the Australian jokes began a long time ago, especially when it comes to cricket and/or our performance at London 2012. It is also important to note that the others often engage in self-deprecating humour also – for example, it has been generally agreed by them that my purpose on this trip is to play the role of carer!!!)

Tomorrow will be the first real test, because from now on we have to carry our panniers since Irene has headed home to enjoy 6 weeks without Jim monopolising the TV remote. Stay tuned. If the remote is within your control, that is...