Day 5 | Haydock to Carlisle | 184 km

At 5:15 I am awakened by the tent shaking in the wind, a cold north wind as I would soon discover. I would like so much to remain in my warm sleeping bag another hour at least, but it’s time to get moving.

There are so many steps to getting ready at basecamp: filling water bottles, stocking the bike bag, finding some breakfast, picking up the laundry every second day, gathering anything that might be in the drying tent, stuffing the sleeping bag into its tiny sack, layering on all that’s needed to match the weather forecast, and taking the big duffle bag to the luggage area so it can be put on the truck. Everything is quite far apart in basecamp as well, so there’s a lot of time spent walking in dewy grass. I’ve been wearing disposable plastic shoe covers to keep my feet dry, but there isn’t much point I guess if it’s going to be raining on the ride anyway.

I leave around 7:30 and start down the road in light drizzle with a strong headwind from the north. Before long I’m pedalling in a heavy downpour on a busy road while trying to concentrate on both the morning traffic and the arrow signs that mark our route for the day.

By 10:30 I’m at the first pit stop, and although the rain has stopped for the moment, I’m shivering in the wind and wondering how I’m going to get through the day if it continues like this. I lost feeling in my toes hours ago and my fingers are so stiff I’m struggling to open food wrappers.

Two hundred people opt for a ride on the bus and end their cycling day right there, and 70 quit the event entirely. Tempting as it is, I know I’d regret it. I get back on the bike and plod on to the next pit stop, which is only 55 km away. As we follow the usual country lanes, the heavy rain returns. I’m grateful for any hedges we have next to us to help block the wind slightly. It gets worse when the rain becomes hail, stinging me in the face and making it hard to see. This is a whole different level of discomfort that I wasn’t anticipating.

Eventually the sky clears and the precipitation stops for the most part. There are still scattered showers throughout the afternoon but it’s not like it was. Unfortunately, my camera didn’t survive the weather today. It got wet in what is supposed to be a waterproof bike bag. It worked for a while after the rain stopped, but then it died.

Even with blue sky, the strong wind pushing against us makes the remainder of the ride a lot more challenging. The scenery in this area is really striking and I’m glad I was able to see it in bright sun.

The only major climb of the day is Shap Fell. It’s not terribly steep but it goes on and on. Clusters of spectators cheer us on as we reach the top. It’s very cold up there so I’m relieved after the long descent.

I arrive at basecamp feeling very depleted. England is beautiful, no question of that, but the weather has been far from ideal. Tomorrow we’ll find out what Scotland has in store.