Day 2 of the mammoth challenge is in the bag after we completed our longest ever ride - 45 miles. After setting off in the surprisingly dry and sunny weather, we made it to lunchtime, taking in a wide range of beautiful views and rolling through some hidden away villages in the English countryside. Knowing that the monstrous Hartside Pass was in our sight, we fuelled up with some of Mrs Recchia's delicious baking and then some of Ben's magic energy gel. The climb up the monster was arduous, but the team embraced the challenge. With the skies turning greyer and the wind becoming stronger, we rode together as a team with the tiny speck of an end point becoming ever larger. Finally, we made it to the top and even had enough energy left for a celebratory photo at the summit - what an amazing effort! Ben's words of "what comes up must come down" were ringing is our ears as we realised we had the downhill to come! With 9.5 hours of cycling finally over, we wolfed down a hearty meal before retiring to bed. Less climbing and less distance to come on the route to Consett, but rain forecast and some of our steepest ever ascents to come, another challenging but exciting day is ahead tomorrow! Check back here and follow us on Twitter to see how we get on!
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