Another day - another crash (Actually Blog for Wednesday 17 June, posted late for technical reasons!)

To start a stage going straight up the Kirkstone Pass IMHO isn't a great idea, especially when you have already ridden 460 miles in the previous 4 days and that has included multiple climbs of varying lengths and gradients!Now I did my research back in April and rode the Pass, with a suitable warm up, and made it to the top at max heart rate so I always knew today would be testing. Factor in the fact I crashed late yesterday and already had a sore knee (this is called 'getting the excuses in early' ...) I opted to ride until I reached a specific heart rate and then unclipped and walked to the top! As a consequence, for those following our progress with an eye to the total time sweepstake here are some stats - note separate times for Dave and I (we are always quoting rolling time).7:29 (me) 7:23 Dave. 114 miles, average heart rate 131, average watts 123. Both Dave and I have a sore knee so we took today steadily. I've had my war wounds dressed and the physio has worked on my knee so fingers crossed.Tomorrow we aim to ride separately as Dave wants to push on faster than I can hold his wheel so we'll have very different times to report. We always planned to ride Day 6 this way.Dave managed to clip my wheel today and he went flying but was uninjured. Halfords were unable to locate shorts today, not sure what I'll be wearing tomorrow!Must close, getting late - always so much to do when you get back.Grok on