The latest from our cyclists as they hit Yorkshire
The Colchester United cyclists have broken the back of their ride to Carlisle, with three of the four days completed.
There was a bit of a tumble but and they're edging closer to northern territories with Saturday's game on the horizon.
U's fan Lea Finch, who is travelling with the cyclists, brings us up to date.
Day three was the start of the hillier terrain.
The day started a little late with a photoshoot by the man from The Sun. Watch out for us on Saturday.
The first part of the journey wasn't too bad, nice and flat so the lads kept a fair pace. We had a few directional issues trying to find a place called Scawthorpe:-) , going through some suburbs of Doncaster that were as attractive as they sound.
Still, on the plus side I found a lady with big baps for sale - with all sorts of fillings. They even helped us find the right road, and best of all just past the village we found a rather nice pub for a stop.
Still, on the plus side I found a lady with big baps for sale - with all sorts of fillings. They even helped us find the right road, and best of all just past the village we found a rather nice pub for a stop.
Our second stop off point 20 miles later turned out to be in a village with two streets and nowhere to park, but a quick u-turn found us at a basic sort of boozer overlooking Leeds where the boys could eat their baps in peace.
The hills were starting to appear by now, and Dale, despite still suffering from a bug bravely stepped up to do his afternoon shift through to a place called Pannal, just outside Harrogate. We stopped there at a glorious pub called The Harwood, which provided us with a cosy log burner and free tea. If you're in the area it's worth a stop as there was a decent selection of real ales.
The hills were starting to appear by now, and Dale, despite still suffering from a bug bravely stepped up to do his afternoon shift through to a place called Pannal, just outside Harrogate. We stopped there at a glorious pub called The Harwood, which provided us with a cosy log burner and free tea. If you're in the area it's worth a stop as there was a decent selection of real ales.
The last stint took us deep into the 'other' Yorkshire, past Betty's tea rooms in Harrogate and up towards Ripon and the Dales. Our Dale was starting to look a little healthier by now, which was good as the hills became more and more challenging! We also had our first bit of bike damage caused by a fall on a 20% hill.
Our accommodation on Thursday was high in the hills, all sweet clean air lightly scented with woodsmoke and animals. After last night's traffic noise and screaming arguments under windows, tonight's soundtrack is sheep, cows and curlews.
Friday will bring the biggest challenge of the week as the boys cycle over the Pennines - and I search for pub stops on the high roof of England.
You can donate to our cyclists at http://www.justgiving.com/colutct - every pound is very, very gratefully received.
You can donate to our cyclists at http://www.justgiving.com/colutct - every pound is very, very gratefully received.