LeJOG Day 5 Penrith To Glasgow

 Day 5. Hard to know where to start today. One of my best ever days on a bike. We had kindness, from the Scottish gent we met near the border who insisted on accompanying us to the sign so we could have a proper photo.

And the lady who up in the hills beside the M74 (before dropping down into Glasgow) pulled up alongside and asked if that was where we were headed, "follow me" she said as she whizzed off, stopped her car on a dual carriageway and told us not to cycle along it - pointing at a well hidden cycle path "it's busy this time of day" she said before performing a Starsky and Hutch style U-turn blowing her horn, and waving as she headed off the other way.

The day started with an easy run up to Carlisle where we met a couple of guys from a group of 9, doing a 9 day supported LeJog. They mainly seemed interested in the booze up at the finish, which so happens to be in the same hotel and day as us. Finding out we were doing it in 8 days with bags, they said they wanted to buy us beers at the finish. Of course everyone knows I'd normally do everything possible to avoid such an offer, but may make an exception on this occasion to avoid offence.

After the initial high, our efforts to complete the route and health to do so were put into perspective when we met a couple of lads headed the other way. 32 days in, one was pushing the other in a wheelchair from John O'Groats to Lands End for charity. We had a chat, gave them some money and headed off, silently reflecting on that meeting.

Afterwards, we decided to treat ourselves for once so I took Ben to the finest truck stop in Lockerbie for a slap up lunch.

At Moffat we headed into the hills on a route familiar to me from LEL 2017, the Devils Beef Tub. We took some photos before turning off and heading over to the M74 which we then criss-crossed pretty much all the way to the outskirts of Glasgow. This is a nice part of the drive to Scotland, but stunning on a bike- particularly when sunny. Into Bellshill, the home of BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub. Tomorrow - Fort William.