Day 9 Lockerbie to Paisley

Well, we are all alive after Omar’s cooking! We have to say that we were all very shocked at his masterpiece! Considering he claims he can’t cook, he knocked up a rather stupendous prawn stir fry with egg fried rice. It was just what we all needed. Bev and Omar had even got us some apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding for afters. It is fair to say that there were no leftovers from dinner and it was by far the best meal we had eaten!

Chef Omar

After dinner, we got the stations over-head projector working and everyone settled down to watch a DVD. I couldn’t tell you what the film it was, as I was asleep before the opening credits! A good night’s sleep was had by all. No one stirred until 7am. Bev did a fantastic job sorting breakfast including crumpets!

As you can see, the firemen had no call outs last night!

By 9am, everyone was back on the road. We got a good 300 metres before the rain started again. It wasn’t as bad as yesterday but still the same result-we got wet. The only time it seemed to stop raining was when everyone was in the van having a cuppa. But as soon as the lads set off again, it started to rain.

The weather has  not helped with everyones spirits. Tempers are a lot shorter and a few words have been exchanged. However, with the rain, the tiredness and the difficulty for the riders to communicate with each other whilst in motion, it was inevitable. But the strength of the group prevailed, and a ‘love hug’ later, everyone was ok!

Dave got a puncture-the first of the whole trip. Nearly 600 miles in and we are all very surprised we had made it so far without any mechanical hiccups. However, a Formula One style pit stop later and he was back on the road. I have been fortunate to have travelled this area quite a few times and the scenery is stunning. Today though, all you could see was black cloud after black cloud. We are very much hoping that the weather brightens up so we can get to enjoy the scenery Scotland has to offer. It will give everyone a morale boost too!

We have built in more stops today. We are over 600 miles in now, and there are some very tired legs. Omar and Bev have been in the little van again today, and they along with Jo have been running around after the cyclists, with sandwiches, cups of tea, filling their water bottles and giving them energy bars. I drew the short straw of spraying various sweaty body parts with Deep Heat. lucky me! The support crew is now a highly trained outfit running almost completely on autopilot (even if I do say so myself!) not many people would go near Pc Davies’ pants, that’s for sure!

The super support crew!

The rain was on and off until we reached the outskirts of Paisley, where it brightened up. In fact it held up long enough for us to reach the hotel. Not long enough to unload the vans mind! The last few miles seemed to fly by, and we all reached the hotel just after 5pm. So bearing in mind we left at 9ish, werealised we do longer hours at work, but I don’t think the lads would appreciate that see it quite in the same light!!

We’re stopping tonight at the Watermill Hotel in Paisley. The hotel is owned by a friend of Paul’s, who ‘sorted’ us with a couple of rooms. There was a slight hitch. One room had four single beds, while the other had two double beds. The support crew drew the short straw, and I ended up sleeping with Omar. So, if the challenge of the four lads doesn’t spur you on enough to make a donation to the cause, the fact that I am sharing a double bed with Omar should! Dig deep because I dread to think what I will have to endeavour tonight!! The hotel is lovely however, and the view from the room is quiet special considering that Paisley is a bit of a dive!

                                                         The view from the room!

Everyone has asked me to say how much they are missing their friends and family. Also a big thank you to Faye. We are still finding you little notes in our kit! How many more are there??


Finally.........

Are there any limits to Omar's talents?