Departure, finally!

After months of organisation and thorough planning (possibly), I cycled away from Colwall at 2.30 on Sunday 26th May. I was headed to Oxford where my cousin's friend was kindly letting me sleep on a floor inside her flat. 

I had worked out that the journey would take me about 6 hours of riding, factoring in the large amount of weight that I have on my bike and the fact that I would be crossing the Cotswolds, which isn't the flattest of terrain. So after setting off at 2.30, already an hour and a half later than I wanted to, I then stopped at a friend's house in Upton for an hour. So my first day on the road would turn out to be a rush through the Gloucestershire countryside so not to be even later for somebody who was going out of her way to help me out at the beginning of my trip!

Things I learnt on my first day:
- Don't leave 3 1/2 hours for a 6 hour journey
- Make sure your seat position is perfect before you set off so you don't overstretch your knee on the first day
- When you're late and in a rush, don't forget to keep eating so you don't run out of energy with 10 miles to go

I finally made it to Oxford in the dying light of day and was welcomed with cake and tea into a nice warm flat. A huge thanks goes to Olivia as after a relatively difficult first day (mostly my own fault), that was exactly what was needed!

Onwards and upwards... hopefully!

Setting off in the sun