Day 3: Rain, rain, go away

The rain started around 4am and, with the exception of a brief dry window over breakfast, did not stop until… Well, actually, it still hasn’t stopped and it’s now 20:30. According to the Met Office, we cycled through this:

Met Office rainfall radar for Sunday 26th

The coloured bits are rain – the brighter, the heavier. Nice, eh? What’s more, as we cycled east, so the clouds blew east and kept us with us. By the time we arrived at the camp site, we were both soaked to the skin and had shoes full of water.

The previous two days, the route cards had said we’d have about 60 miles to cycle but, in fact, it had been closer to 50. That’s okay – we knew the route cards were pessimistic about distances. (For those who are interested in such things, it’s because they approximate the distances by using Pythagoras Theorem to measure straight-line sections between grid references and then multiplying by a “wiggle factor” of 1.2).

Today, the we checked the route card and, reading 70 miles, assumed we’d probably be cycling somewhere between 60 and 65. In fact, we mis-read it – it said 80miles – and it hadn’t over-estimated – we cycled 80 miles, 30 more than yesterday. Combined with the weather, this made for a decidedly rough day and we didn’t arrive until 18:00.

Cycling in non-stop rain made regulating our temperature something of a balancing act. If we slowed down too much, we got cold. If we sped up too much or put on extra layers, we began to sweat… and got cold. We stopped to eat and refill water bottles but not for more than a few minutes otherwise the shivering started. It was a constant balancing act of selecting just the right gear and peddling hard enough that it wasn’t quite exhausting.

The soggy grass at the camp site

We’ve just checked the weather forecast and it looks… well… mingin’. Over the next few days, we’re due for a few splashes of sunshine but otherwise it looks like this:

Met Office weather forecast for Wednesday 29th

I’m afraid there aren’t any other pictures today as Dan’s camera has developed an Ugly Bloke Sensor. Twice, he pointed it at me and it switched off. The third time, it gave up the ghost completely and hasn’t worked since.

I must just give a quick mention to our support crew of Graham, Catherine and Becky, who have worked tirelessly this evening to get the tents up, complete with a shelter under which to eat.

Finally, a huge thank you to the owners of Greenacre Place camp site, who not only allowed us to stay free of charge but have gone out of their way to help us settle in and get our kit dry.

Sheltering from the rain, Heath Robinson style

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