Day 7 - Penrith to Dumfries

It was a groggy and quiet breakfast. We all decided to go for it and had a cooked breakfast. Made a welcome change.
The breakfast conversation did not change. It appears that the lengh of time in the saddle was causing health issues. But hey! what did we expect. One of our party had a sweat rash and was not looking forward to riding today. I saw a positive benefit of sitting on my Brookes saddle as it's brass rivets are now quite well polished.
This should be an easier day as we are heading to the home of my colonial buddies, Dumfries only 62 miles away. Both CFE and the GOF have the opportunity of spending a night at home. I have offered to go to the local cinema for the evening.
Saying Caio to Cumbria we departed diligently for Dumfies passing through Carlisle. When approaching Carlisle the ridicule that was heaped on the GOF was regretted as the heavens opened and the brand spanking new waterproof trousers appeared and protected him from God's worse. A detour was urgently made to the nearest bike shop and credit cards flashed. The GOF has now become OWO (Oh Wise One) and will now be revered and no longer ridiculed - not sure how long that will last!!!!!
Dressed appropiately for the weather we persevered towards "The Holy Land" (according to my travelling companions) and Gretna. Arriving in Gretna and upon seeing the "Welcome to Scotland" sign, patriot emotion overcame my friends. Tears appeared and then flags had to be purchased to be proudly displayed on each bike. I must explain that some of my ancestors were from Scotland and that I must be a little Scottish (Some say that I must be Scottish as I seem to have short arms and deep pockets!) In any event, last year I was made an honarary Scotsman by CFE and OWO when they presented me with a kilt - well it was a towel with a kilt design! So I had to display a scottish flag on the back of my bike too.
We were in Scotland. We had covered over 550 miles. We were getting closer to John O'Groats. An optimism had enveloped our little group. Even OWO began to smile!
We pressed on to Dumfries and on the way we saw a discarded cushion and I almost picked it up for future use!
We arrived at Arnmannoch Cottage, home to the legendary CFE at 4.15, 7 hours 3 minutes after departing Penrith and after having turned our cranks for 61 miles and 4 hours 33 minutes of rivet polishing time. Total climbing was a mere 554 meters. 579.4miles have now been covered since Land's End.
I must admit that today did seem tough and I can only presume that it was due to the efforts yesterday and the mental attitude that today must be easy - Or 7 cumulative days cycling is now taking it's toll.
We now have a little time to properly launder our clothes as opposed to washing in the shower or sinks using travel wash and then trying to get clothes dry, wrapped in towels and then hanging anywhere where they are likely to dry - oh heaven. Having 7 days of facial growth I had a dilemna - the weather forcast was not good and inclement weather is expected (Why should we think any different - we are in Scotland). Do I leave my facial hair to protect me from the elements or do I shave to reduce the overall weight on bike? I decided to shave as saving weight is paramount.
I had chance to weigh myself and I am 2lbs heavier - why is that???? Almost 50 hours in the saddle surely I should loose weight. I know I am constantly having to ensure that I have enough energy by eating but my heart rate monitor informs me that I have used 19,717 calories in 7 days cycling. I can only presume that my fat has turned into muscle which as we all know is heavier.
Mrs CFM has put on a fantastic meal of pasta and meatballs followed by sticky toffee pudding and toffee sauce. Yes I had 2 helpings of stp. This might explain the weight gain.
Well to bed for an early start. We are off to the Isle of Arran tomorrow and have a deadline to meet. The last ferry departs from Ardrossan at 18.00 hours and our accomodation is booked in Brodick on Arran. So as not to miss the ferry we are saying au revoir to Arnmannoch Cottage at 6.00am. We have 84 miles to travel.
Are we mad? I will tell you tomorrow.