Day 4 - 2nd day of cycling

After a pretty restless night sleep for most - mainly due to the sound of the sea and the snoring - we were up at 5:30am and ready to head off at 7 for a day of 125km (77.5m). We knew that it would be a long day but we were due to stop every 25km for food (bananas, oranges, nuts and cake bars) and water. These stops quickly became a very welcome sight. A man in a yellow t-shirt would be stood on the side of the road to wave us in and after some of the long, long roads it was always a relief to see a 'yellow man'.
Already it was clear who the strong cyclists were - mainly Michael, who became known as 'The Machine', the 3 blokes from Wales, Si, Steve and Larry. A few of the girls were up with them too however I really felt that I had to go at my own pace otherwise I'd never get through the day in one piece. This, however, meant that I found myself on my own for a few long stretches. When the roads are so long that you can't see anyone ahead and then when you turn round there's no one there either, it can be quite scary. But finally a yellow man appeared and after the 1st break I tagged along with Andy, who was there cycling with his son, James, but James was with the 'big boys'.
We did a lot of the day cyclying beside the sea, and the lorries, until we finally turned inland. Andy's knee gave way and he had to have some time off in the van, so I carried on alone once again!

We had lunch after 95km (60m), which gave us, in theory, a nice short ride to our 2nd night of camping. However, it was now the hottest time of the day and we were starting to climb, and get very tired. I found myself on my own again and, very bored, decided to stop and wait for whoever was behind me. It turned out to be Andy and Gay, the event organiser from Action for Charity. Andy's knee couldn't take him any further so Gay and I trundled on. We caught up with a few others along the way and finally finished the mammoth day.
Once again the tent was all erected and mattresses laid out. There was a 'shower' however it was cold and surrounded by curtains so I decided to give it a miss and totally appreciate the shower in the hotel the following day.
Dinner was, once again, amazing as was the camaraderie - I think we were all grateful to have got through the day.