T+28: Northampton to Leicester

Due to our heroic cycling over the previous few days we were in a good position to reach Leicester in a fairly short time. We'd been planning to visit my Nan, who lives on the outskirts of Leicester, for some time, and were only some thirty-something miles away at the start of the day.

Unfortunately all didn't quite go to plan. When we went to leave I gave the tyres their usual squeeze and found that the rear one was a bit soft. The puncture repair had clearly not worked perfectly so we decided to start riding and get it inflated at a petrol station - see how it goes. Then we missed our turning and ended up cycling a couple of miles in the wrong direction. We did get the tyre inflated and buy a new inner tube though, although with the knowledge the wheel'd need changing fairly soon.

When we finally got onto the right road we smashed through the first thirty miles with very few problems. It was, as most of England seems to be, a bit hilly at times, but nothing we weren't completely used to. We stopped for some snaffled breakfast items at Husbands Bosworth and were soon in the Leicester locale. There we went a couple of miles "around the houses" but eventually found our way to Nan's and were rewarded with a full roast dinner! It was only about 1pm when we arrived, so we managed to have a good rest and catch-up throughout the day.

Whilst cycling through the residential wonderland of East Leicester the odometer indicated we'd completed 1000 miles. This felt like a huge achievement as I'm sure not many people have ridden that far on a tandem (especially on their first attempt). That was a real "milestone" which we had hoped to reach, now we just had to fulfill the "to Manchester" part of the deal.

Previous to entering England, we would have probably taken a rest day at this sort of stage, especially with the number of miles we'd clocked up, but with the weather forecast staying reasonable, decided to keep going to arrive at Manchester ASAP. It was lovely to have a shorter (only 37-odd miles) day, but we'd be back "on it" tomorrow for the final push.

Oh, and as I haven't said it for a while, thanks again to everyone who has sponsored us and pushed us towards the target amount. It is lovely to know we've got such great support and caring friends. If you haven't yet sponsored us, have enjoyed any of this blogging journal, and would like to give money to fantastic charities please go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/snow and chuck a couple of quid in the metaphorical pot. Any amount is very much appreciated. It would be amazing to raise £1,500 or more. 

T+28 - Northampton to Leicester - 37.35 miles (1003 miles total)