Day Zero: 21 miles, 1956 ft of elevation

Yes, the room was THAT
small!  And, yes, his head
is hitting the ceiling!

Not a washing machine in
sight!  Wash in the sink, drip
dry in the shower or
outside if it's nice out.

As I might have said earlier, no matter how strange things start, they
always seem to end up working out.  Laura's bike arrived and even though it had a broken shifter, the local bike shop ordered a new part and it was installed this afternoon.  Michelle's bike finally showed up around 9:30 last night and was assembled in the hotel parking lot and repaired (replacement rear gear cassette) at the bike shop this morning.

The forecasted rains held off and we went on a shakedown ride through the Derbyshire Dales in the Peak District.  Today will probably have been the coldest day of this entire trip.  And, yes, everyone's got an eye on the forecasts throughout France, Spain and Portugal, where today's temperatures reached 118 degrees F (47C for those readers outside the states).

The ride was meant to ensure that all the bikes were working properly (and many had minor adjustments made after the ride); to wake up our legs and bodies from, in many cases, at least one week of dormancy (the four-mile climb near the end certainly proved that wake-up call); and, as was the case with Jesse's practice driving run yesterday, getting us all used to both riding on the left side of the road as well as to practice making turns.

It took a lot of practice to dismantle ingrained cycling practices.  It seemed unnatural when we started our ride today but, as the day wore on, we got the hang of riding in the UK.  Tomorrow, we get to put our practicing to the test.

The views all around us today were just gorgeous.  However, every time Gene and I heard sheep bleating in the adjacent pastures, it sounded more as if they were laughing at us as we rode by or were climbing up the hills.  

That last point might sound a bit strange but, after many years of cycling, we've all become programmed on how to make turns from the right side of the road.  Entering and exiting roundabouts proved a bit more challenging than you would think. We all had to fight instinct, especially when coming out of the roundabout turn.  Many of us (me included) immediately veered off to the right, before remembering that we were on the wrong side of the road.  Fortunately, traffic was light this morning.

We missed out on Trivia night, but still had a good time tonight before heading out on the road in the morning.

This evening, we all gathered at a local pub for our ride eve meal.  One of James' friends, who rode part of way with James during his initial trip down to Portugal, met us at the pub for a pint and some well-wishing.  At dinner, we learned that we'll be met by a small crowd in the morning, including James' daughter and her fiancé, to see us off on our journey south, including members of the local press.  Must be a slow news week!

Tomorrow we say "goodbye" to our home these past three days.  If you happen to find yourself in the Peak District or near Sheffield, UK, you won't find a more pleasant and comfortable hotel and a nicer bunch of people who run the place.  Thanks everyone!

Well, I've done a quick sink washing of some of this week's clothes, have packed most of my stuff, laying out tomorrow's ride clothes, and will try and get a decent night's sleep for a change (Owing to the general lack of air conditioning in smaller UK hotels, including ours, everyone was sweating throughout the night as the temperatures remained high.  Even the open windows didn't provide much respite).

Night all.