The day started well, we did 6km or so before having to push. During this, we passed some wonderfully eccentric walkers. With their tent swinging below the rucksack, mugs clattering on the outside of their bags and hill rope coiled around one of them.
The land flatten out, which in turn, led to the return of the bogs. A 2km push across Mosedale, passing a bothy, a herd of deer and to the point of seeing across the M6 and to the next section of the ride.
A fun grassy blast down to Shap provided us with a spot to restock and for a lunch break. Of course all church yards had benches to provide some comfort, just not this one.
Have'n eaten far too much, it was time to try to ride on.
The terrain was definitely different. More rolling. Drier. The route mix-matched between on and off road. We were flagging though. Despite us identifying the need to have less breaks, we did really feel the value of Flopping.
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| Flopping with a view |
We likened it to a group of students on expedition who stopped every half hour and persisted that sitting down and sprawling out was essential. We hate to omit it, but maybe there is something in this Flopping. The key through is having the inner strength, the motivation to get up and continue without complaining...
We arrived at our hostel in Kirky Stephen to find out we were sharing it with 30 people from a youth group. Not the most relaxing of atmospheres so a trip to the local Chinese was in order. On Trip Adviser as the best in the north, it was not to be missed.
Stats
Distance: 49km
Height gain: 1035m
Moving time: 5.5hrs
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