August Bank Holiday Weekend and that means one thing - it's time for our 100 in 8 challenge ride.
The plan - 100 miles, in 8 hours ride time - so we're allowed food stops along the way, but the day wasn't without it's challenge.
Leaving Whalley bright and early - 8am! we set off out through Mitton and Bashall Eaves to Waddington, and up the Grindleton Grind, through Bolton-by-Bowland and looping round Hellifield Road up to Wigglesworth.
It was along here that we hit a small delay.... I say small. The farmer was moving his cows from the farmyard across the road into the opposite field. Except about 30+ of them decided they didn't want to go into the field, they wanted to come and say hello to us instead. So we're heading up the road, with 30+ cows coming directly towards us (and it's a narrow road too!).
Having worked out they weren't supposed to be coming our way, Roger's farming experience sprang into play and we suddenly became cow herders, turning them round and sending them back!.
Moving on, we rode into Settle for a breakfast stop in the 3-peaks bike shop (seems to have been a regular stop over the last few weeks). Then over Stackhouse Lane, and across the top of the Forest of Bowland through Austwick, Clapham and Wray before dropping down towards Lancaster and our lunch stop at Bull Beck picnic area.
After lunch, we joined the cycle path to the Millennium Bridge in Lancaster and then followed the Lune down to Glasson Dock. Turning south at Glasson to Cockerham and then Nateby to the Toll Bridge at Great Eccleston where we had our third rest break and finished our picnics.
The final leg took is through Elswick and Inskip, through Broughton and into Longridge, and finished with that nasty climb out of Ribchester up Marles Wood, and back to Whalley.
Grand Total - 102.2 miles @ 13.2mph - the 100 was completed in 7:36 - well within our 8 hour target!.
