Day 10 - Carlisle to Cumnock

Daniel here again.

Another early start after a cold and rather incomplete sleep. It is safe to say that University of Cumbria's accommodation will not rank highly on Trip Adviser although the full English breakfast was a great improvement on the previous day.

My legs were still working which was good news with another 80 miles (128 km) to ride - although I have prepared reasonably hard for the ride this was always my biggest concern for my second day: of course the rest of the team have already dealt with this for 10 mornings with another six to go!

We started out as a team of nine riders led by Chris Jagger. First stop was at the Scottish border town of Gretna about an hour's ride from Carlisle.

No time for renewal of marriage vows so we pressed on aiming to complete the first 40 miles (64 km) of relatively flat terrain as quickly as possible. This we did arriving in Dumfries by around 11.30, in time for an early re-fuelling.

By this time Chris had disappeared with half the group and Steve Walton took over. Then a decision point: take the quiet route or the A road. With no difference in distance it came down to traffic vs an extra 2,000 ft of climbing (note the easier option was already a 2,500 ft (770m) climb. We decided to give the A76 a go. There was very little traffic so we stuck with this route.

At Sanquhar we stopped in pub for further refuelling. Excellent lasagne and soup but a decor that would probably have been past it in the early '60s. We got talking to a couple of locals who were extremely friendly until one in our party asked about the Scottish referendum. He immediately disappeared to the loo leaving the rest if us to field an expletive laden diatribe about the wicked Londoners, etc., but also how little he thought about Alex Salmond. His mate - a long- term Nationalist - said he was on the fence but probably voting No. We made our excuses and left. I suspect the team won't be asking this question during the rest if their travels though Scotland.

Tonight we are in a real hotel in Cumnock. Bath, a good dinner and comfortable bed. Oh, and a towel radiator which means Nieves' kit might actually be dry tomorrow morning.

She leaves for another 80 miles of riding to Cairndow at the top of the snappily named Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland.

Tomorrow the team will pass the 1,000 mile (1,600 km) point. A remarkable achievement!

Finally my thanks to the whole LC4 team for allowing me to share a small part if their journey. And especially to the support team who have been completely wonderful.

With that I pass the blog back to Nieves.