I'm oot. Packed just shy of Stanhope at silly o'clock, and suffered the ignominy of riding against the flow back to Barnard Castle.
Day one was great - massive tandem train, mostly speedy controls. Was riding with my bastard quick mate Tom, but saw blueskies, TOBY, Paul D etc. Cleared Hardknott and Wrynose no bother with 32/34. Started to feel a bit iffy with 20km to go, but got back to control at 10.45, where me and Tom grabbed the coveted room 2 - two beds and an en suite. Sorted.
Except, despite getting in to bed at 11.30, I tossed and turned sweating until 3, then the alarm went off at 3.45. was on the road by 4.10. was okay ish but holding Tom up. Started shivering and my heart rate kept dropping and I had stomach cramps. Then the rain appeared ahead. I couldn't face riding in to it, and felt grim. I sent Tom up the road whilst I ate to see if my guts settled but they didn't. I headed back to Costa at Barnard Castle, where I sat until my guts were safe enough to allow me to ride back to Askrigg. The plan was to grab dry clothes (got soaked riding back) and head to Blackpool. Got back for noon, but the control was locked. Tried to dry out in the café and pub, but in the end waited for Andy to get back at five. Was going to sleep at askrigg, but Simon P offered a lift to Blackpool to grab my car. Retraced to Askrigg to grab my bike, and back home by midnight. Definitely the right decision given the state of my guts, but disappointing first ever DNF.