I didn’t get much sleep last night and waking up this morning was a real challenge. It took me ages to get out the door, but once on the bike – as is generally the case – I felt a lot better. This morning was actually reasonably cold and I don’t think it went much over 20 degrees all day. It’s weird to think how much hotter it was less than a week ago.
The wind today was fairly similar to yesterday – it started off in my face but gradually swung round so that it was behind me by the end. This made the morning a bit of an effort and the afternoon relatively easy.
The middle 30 miles or so were quite tough. I had a crosswind at this point, and due to some roadworks I was forced onto a rather narrow stretch of road, in between the edge of the tarmac and the grooves designed to stop drivers straying from their lanes. It meant concentrating a lot more than usual but it was actually quite enjoyable. The legs felt good and the miles ticked by fairly quickly.
It was a shorter day today and all was going well until another one of my spokes lost the will to live. It actually didn’t annoy me as much as it normally would and I fixed it relatively quickly. I was actually more frustrated once I was moving again as it dawned on me that I have only gone 3 days since the last one broke.
I owe thanks to the guys at The Ski & Bike Shop in Grand Forks for helping me out with a couple of issues at such short notice. I will have a new wheel in Lisbon for the final stretch, but until then, I have stocked up on spokes so I should be able to manage.
Distance: 92.0miles / 148.1km
Riding Time: 5:39:55
Av. Speed: 16.2mph / 26.1kph
Tom Davies RTW 
That dreaded wheel again, I don’t believe I have ever had a broken spoke but then come to think of it I have never given a bike the sort of punishment yours is going through. First theory on the wind, your going so quick your creating your own wind, so take it slower, but that’s not very likely. Keep away from any other cyclist, that was a bit of a tumble that took place yesterday on the tour, don’t know if you were listening as events unfolded, but the TV images looked a tad grim to say the least. You mentioned concentration, I suspect those that don’t do a great deal of time in the saddle, don’t really appreciate the extent to which you have to keep firmly fixed on exactly what you are doing, remaining focused and sharp, that in itself must be very draining, never mind the generally state of mind and physical aspect. Any way you sound in great shape and making phenomenal progress. Enjoy.
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