Day 1 - Manchester to...Stockport (The Wettest Day So Far!)

We woke up (in the middle of the night) and it was raining. Then we woke up again, this time at 6am and it was still raining. Until now, all our cycling during training has taken place in glorious sunny, breezy weather - perfect for cycling, and now this, torrential rain AND cold. Why today? But who cares! We're off to Stockholm!
We set off as planned from Fran and Stu's beautiful shop, http://www.afewfinethings.co.uk/ and for the first leg to Buxton were joined by our very own entourage! Cousins Francesca and Thomas, Uncle Joe, Stu and his dad Derek all hopped on their various bikes and kept us company despite the rain and the endless stream of red traffic lights as we wormed our way through the Manchester suburbs. Before we'd even left the city centre, just by the Apollo,  Hana got a pucture! As with the weather, we've been lucky so far with punctures during training with one between us in four months! It was a good little test though and Hana's nifty skills meant we were back on the road within minutes - phew.
The 7 of us made it Buxton in time for a late lunch and enjoyed lots of warming tea before parting company. The entourage caught the train back to Manchester and we (after spending lots of money on waterproof socks) pedlled on to our lovely campsite http://www.barnfarmcamping.com/ by which time the rain had stopped but it was just beginning to get dark...

After our first Trangia-cooked dinner - a protein feast of chickpea curry and quinoa - and a very neccessary shower we were ready for bed. Ahhh, Day 1 done - 49 miles down, 1451 to go...

The empty dish from the previous night's dinner!