A six hour drive down from Teesside immediately before the ride probably wasn't great prep for a Tandem Team who are waaaaay off-par, fitness wise.
I totally turned into a pumpkin after 2am, and we rolled to a halt somewhere after Stilton. I just wanted to curl up on the verge and go to sleep, and nobody likes riding a tandem piloted by someone visibly nodding off.
On the plus side, we got to see the early morning, almost-dressed teenage fauna in the 24-hour McDonald's in Peterborough, at 4:30am, not to mention a group of almost-dressed teens on the train-of-shame back to Whittlesea. Holy fuck. WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?
For future reference, you can get a tandem on the early direct train from Peterborough to Stansted, but don't trust the info provided by station staff, on where the bike end of the train will be, lest you end up running down the platform like total loons, wheeling a tandem, shouting "No No!!" as the guard blows the whistle, and the door beepers on the train start beeping. Just sayin'.