Day 7- Macclesfield to Lancaster - projected distance 75 miles.

After yesterday's part-time cycling, it was back to the full-on pedal pushing today. Woke up at my friend's house to the best egg and bacon of the trip so far (thank you Mrs T), but a grim outlook on the weather front. Andy Towne cycled with me today. Andy is extremely fit, but has never cycled more than 40 miles on his road bike before, so this would be an interesting day for him too.

It was on with the rainjacket, and off from Macclesfield. We enjoyed some proper northern weather this morning - heavy rain showers, interspersed rather surprisingly by a few rays of sunshine every now and again. I could just about make out a few sights through my rain-streaked glasses, although this was not a morning for regular camera stops. Fortunately it stopped raining for a few minutes as we passed along the 'curry mile' in Rusholme - an amazing array of Indian restaurants and other shops which provides a dramatic neon sight at night. It is less impressive on a wet Saturday morning, but never mind.

Then it was on into the centre of Manchester. I thought it might be awkward cycling through the middle of England's third-largest city on a Saturday morning, but I needn't have worried. There were a few cars on Deansgate, but most of the centre seemed fairly deserted. Perhaps it was the weather. Anyway, it made for an easy ride, and Bolton (where we passed the Reebok football stadium) was no more difficult. After that, it was out of the great Manchester conurbation and through some countryside, plus Chorley and Preston, where we saw a few signs for the Open Golf Championship, being played in gusty conditions at Birkdale. We also paused to take a photo outside the 'LeFrog' restaurant. That's as close to 'LeJog' as we could get.

From Preston, Andy and I pressed on as quickly as we could into Lancaster. The A6 is a good road, with a cycle lane marked along much of its length. We quickly found the Holiday Inn, where the rest of our families were just checking in. Today's ride was fairly flat, and not too taxing in spite of the weather. It was great to have some company for the day, and some local knowledge as well - particularly this morning when my morale might have been challenged - so thank you Andy.

I have praised my Garmin Geko GPS a few times, but it really is a great gadget. At the very start, it had projected a total ride to this point of 455 miles - and the actual total so far is 454.1 miles. That's accurate. And I'm nearly half way.