Carlisle to Dalry

This morning started early as I had to try to get the hostel for tonight and tomorrrow booked still. The office was locked so at 7 am I found myself sitting on the floor in the drizzle outside the office trying to hook into the office WiFi. I managed to get the website of the kencoon hostel and called the number. I several voicemails and an e mail. I had a gut feeling this hostel was going to be tough to find. After an hour in the cold I went up for tea and prayed to the gods of cycling for the strength to venture forth onto the open road instead of wimping out and falling asleep again. Getting out of Carlisle was easier than getting in. Knowing where north was helped, I was a boy scout once scout you know! We had looked at changing the route and heading around Glasgow and up and over the national park around lock lomand, or up to edingburgh . But we don't have tents and the lock lomand route looked seriously hilly...erm..I mean lumpy ! So it was decided to stick to the plan and chance not having anywhere to stay tonight. A few miles into the ride and the Scottish border arrived. This was a bit of a morale boost and pictures were taken. Then it was off to Gretna green famous for its shotgun weddings. I had only been in Scotland for about 30 minutes when I heard the sound of bagpipes. I thought it was a cd but it was a real piper in full kit at the blacksmiths where the weddings are held. He was surrounded by the obligatory coach loud of rude pushy Japanese tourists with excessively large telephoto lenses to compensate for their tiny.....moving on along the road I cocked up the navigation and rode two miles the wrong way. This of course was not my fault, but that of the Garmin satellite which clearly is due for a service!...hmmm...anyway, back on track the route headed west for a change. That change meant headwinds, and my legs were screaming at me to head east. The road surfaces were appalling in places and a bruised posterior meant more pitstops than normal...time to get a proper saddle lad wit spring int it aye! Kevs brakes are buggered so in Dumfries it was time to hunt down a bike shop but we could only find halfords....sssshh...don't tell anyone! The hill out of town was long and steady and one of the few today. The bulk of the ride was mercifully free of steep climbs and although the headwind was a pig at times at least the rain held off today and the sun made an appearance. Getting towards the end of the ride I was still suspicious of this hostel. This proved correct as a hotel owner told us it had been closed down. Great, maybe they should remove the website then?? So it was off to dalry where there are two hotels. One was full of ralley car drivers and this one, the lochinvar, had a twin room free. The lady in the other pub did offer to find friends who would put us up if this hotel was full which was nice. So today has been good, I came as close as I ever want to to falling asleep on a bike, and avoided getting married to a Japanese tourist by a bloke in a skirt blowing into a pigs bladder. I also rode a bike to Scotland, a place I have never been to until today.