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'Right, after this one,' said Ben, half-aboard The Horse. 'No, no, wait, after this one…
No hang on, ready? After this one.' And so it went until eventually we both bounded onto
our bikes in perfect synchronised fashion.
What followed was about five of the scariest minutes of my life. The lanes of traffic on
thebridgearesonarrowthatthereisnoroomforcarstogivecyclistsanyfreedom.Ontwo
occasions Ben's handlebars were clipped by passing vehicles. We lost count of the number
of angry drivers who beeped their horns at us as though we were a real nuisance to them.
We kept our eyes focused firmly on the road ahead and cycled as fast as we could.
Once clear of the bridge, we were greeted with more views of picturesque chemical
plants and car-wrecking yards.
After another ten miles, the route eventually left the A-roads and re-entered the coun-
tryside. We passed through the villages of Eccleston and Crank as the wind started to pick
up, and the landscape became more undulating.
NotsinceCornwallhadwehadtodismountfromourbikesbecauseofahill,butshortly
before the town of Skelmersdale, Ben admitted defeat. I took this as a welcome invitation
to walk, too.
'It's my calf muscles. They're really aching today,' said Ben. 'What's your excuse?'
'I don't need an excuse. I just can't be bothered to cycle up this hill.'
'That doesn't sound like you. Normally you like to suffer.'
'Yeah, well we've suffered enough for the past few hours.'
Onreachingthetop,wepulledintoafieldandcollapsedinthegrassforabreak.Surpris-
ingly, it was one of the most scenic views of the entire trip. We had a sweeping cornfield
directly below us, which led to more fields and then in the far distance the murky sprawl
of Runcorn and Widnes. The distant hum of traffic and industry was overpowered by the
chorus of birds, and during the 15 minutes we lay there, not a single car passed.
'I'm ready for bed,' said Ben.
'Me too.'
As if to taunt our bed-ready souls, the first building that we came across, just a few
minutes later, was a very upmarket looking hotel - The Lancashire Manor Hotel.
'Thank you, God. Look, it's destiny,' said Ben, pulling over.
'It's a bit out of our league, isn't it? We've not stayed in anything like this so far.'
'Worth a try isn't it? They might have staff quarters or something that we can sleep in.'
The inside of the hotel didn't match up to the charm of the exterior, but it was still far
superior to anything else we had stayed in. The reception was empty, but a lady appeared
fromthebackroomafterwerangthebell,andwegaveherournowwell-rehearsedspeech.
I won't bore you with it again.
'I'm sorry, we can't offer you a room, I'm afraid. We can offer you a discount, but the
hotel is part of a chain and we can't just give free rooms like that.'
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