Hi guys….well it’s the tradition now.
We had some great food and a few cold ones at the Boot & Shoe Pub in Lancaster.
What’s On – Boot & Shoe (bootandshoepub.co.uk)
A Draymans Board was shared as a starter, followed by a Tower Burger, Steak and Ale Pie and Fish and Chips. Al of these washed down with cold Manchester Craft lagers. 😊
Once again, a very good nights rest was enjoyed by all and we even gave ourselves a lie-in until 6:30am. Soon our preparations were complete, Scotty had his shopping list of stuff to do and Alan and Thomas set off at 8:45am for the first checkpoint at Broughton to be reached after a distance of 18 miles.
It was a good leg to start the day. Good progress was made and the riders arrived at around 10:15am.
It was at this point and with 37 miles to go that we got our Charity Challenge. The guys at WD Construction, one of our sponsors and avid football fans, for a generous donation, dared usas proud Welshmen to show our support for England in a video to be shown later that day. Matt and Anne, two friends of Thomas and Alan, jumped in as well with an offer of a donation.
Well….we couldn’t turn down an offer like that could we!?
Take a look later in the blog. 😁
Alan and Thomas set off for the next checkpoint that was at 40 miles and located the other side of and south of Preston.
Things began well, and some nice snaps of canal life were captured.
Yes, there is a little one in the front of the canoe enjoying the ride.
And it was nice to see this small community enjoying life at the side of the water.
Then the challenge began. We criss-crossed the M6 at least half a dozen times as we grappled between the Strava route and Google Maps.
It was extremely confusing and we did feel that we were travelling in circles at one point. Alan and Thomas guessed they were off course when the foliage got thicker!! This is genuinely Alan on the trail that Strava had set us 😂
After what seemed an age, we found our way to the next checkpoint and found Scotty hard at work on our challenge.
Refreshments were enjoyed and we set off for the campsite using only Google Maps and some help from some friendly locals.
Alan was given a challenging run in to the camp as his right shoe lost a cleat. He had to ride the last 12 miles with only his left shoe firmly in the pedal. It was a challenge….but no issue…this is Big Al after all. 👌😉
We did have another obstacle in front of us to overcome in Wigan. It was someone blocking the road. But when we asked this lovely lady she was more than happy to help. 😊
Finally Scotty was on hand to film our arrival at the camp that will be our home for the next two nights as we enjoy a rest day here tomorrow.
And so it was time for the challenge and the three of us couldn’t have done it without our supporting cast of Ian and Jane, Garry and Rachael, and Sarah and Gracie. Enjoy! 🤣
People continue to see the pow21 and the OYF message.
Today on the canal path, Alan and Thomas were stopped by Dave and Carl from Wigan who had seen our shirts and very kindly made a donation for Ollie. Then when we arrived at the campsite, Ian and Jane waived their fees for the two days and asked us to top up the magic bucket. They even gave us free access to the showers! And then Gracie, a little girl staying onsite, came up and gave us another kind donation for the bucket.
And a big thank you to Brenda, staying onsite as well, who gave us two very chilled orange juices as we entered the site. We are being treated so well!
Thanks to everyone for supporting us here today. 😊
Please spread the word. As at a few moments ago, pow21 had raised £6,480 without Gift Aid!And we have another £147.60 in the bucket.
We couldn’t do this without you all.
Once again thanks for all your support and donations.
Signing off now. More news tomorrow…