Good Morning World

Well, it had to come - rain! I am laying in my tent looking at the route ahead and there seems to be a lot of Yorkshire inbetween me and Scotland. Kirkby Stephen looks a long way off. I had planned to have a day's rest after 4 days and it is day 6 already. I do not want to have a day off laying in a tent in the rain so I will have to move on.
This journey seems quite different from my Rome trip: it is nice to be able to talk to people I meet on route, whereas I had underestimated how far I would get each day on the road to Rome I seem to have over-estimated it this time. Northern France was quite flat and I followed the Loire for 5 days. But England seems to be a land of hills. I am also carry more weight this time, mainly because my pre-ride diet was not as effective this time. I am sleeping much better than I did in France though.
The trick of successful long distance solo travelling seems to be to recognise that problems can seem to be huge when you have to cope with them alone and tiredness magnifies them even more and then when it rains as well....
I met a guy from Stoke at the hostel the other morning, "what would you like for breakfast, sir?" asked the helpful YHA cook. "What's that, is it a pie?" "It's a Pain au Chocolat." "A what?" "It's like a roll with chocolate in." "Chocolate! For breakfast! Well I never. Just give me some sausages and beans, please." Later, he said to me over his sausages and beans, "Who eats chocolate fer breakfast?" then he noticed the Pain au Chocolat on my tray. 'Well, it's all right for you Southerners, suppose."
I could do with some breakfast now so I'll get up.

Good luck to the England cricketers.