Beware the man with the sponge

June 25, 2026

I was rather surprised to learn that I needed the sponge this morning. It's only the second day of riding. According to Kate, when I returned from Scotland, my bottom had disappeared so perhaps that has something to do with it.

Readers of the end to end blog might remember what the sponge is for. Let's just say it puts an end to saddle soreness...

We had a lovely breakfast of cereal and toast which the air bnb host adds for free. She was a particularly kind and generous soul and, due to the weights she lifts, looked as strong as an ox, despite being of a diminutive frame- belying her 74 years.

We were on the road at 8am. This is a short day, just 40 miles, so we hoped to have completed it before the big heat cut in.

The start of the journey was a rather long, boring and busy road.

Eventually we left it and arrived in the only place of significance before Newark which is Retford. We quickly found a lovely coffee shop called Honey and Fig. It was still cool enough to sit outside. Very few others were. This might have been the heat or might have been the busker...

I have to be careful here. Laughing at other people's music making is pretty poor taste. But. This guy, amply amped up, proceeded to massacre some of our favourite tunes. Very loudly.

It didn't deter us from enjoying our coffee.

The next 25 miles were quite tough. Due to the weather, of course.

We stopped with increasing frequency for drinks and shade but eventually rolled up in Newark, our stop for the night.

As we did our rolling into Newark, we realised that we had cycled here before. It was before the end to end and we wanted to test our sat nav capabilities to see if we got lost. (We got very lost)

Finding a lovely café called Green Olive, I removed my sponge with dexterity and subtlety. We ate a good late lunch and prepared to leave. Time to reintroduce the sponge. I spotted an Opticians called London Eye which looked closed. I stood with my back against the window and waited. Spotting the perfect moment when nobody was watching, I lowered the back of my shorts, arranged the sponge and hoisted my shorts back up. It was only then, that it occurred to me to check that the opticians really was closed. I peered through the window. There was a man sat close to, and facing the window. He gave me a little smile and waved. This opticians has now been renamed London Eyeful.

On our way to our bnb, we passed Mr. Bike. A wonderful bike shop, owned by quite a character. We bought a new tube and some puncture repair glue as mine has dried out.

We are staying in a magnificent grade 2 listed building with quite a history.

We arrived by chance at exactly 3pm which was the earliest time to check in.

Kate heard the owner saying to her grandson, who had admitted us, "What, exactly 3 O' clock? And have they gone out?" It made us smile. As air bnb hosts ourselves, we know how easy it is to get over anxious.

We have just been out to Waitrose for some Sushi which we ate in a park and are now back in our opulent room. It's so opulent that they have provided us with a 13.5 tog duvet as well as a blanket and a thick heavy bedspread... Perhaps the upper classes feel the cold?

So what to do tomorrow? It's going to be even hotter. It's a 60 mile run. We're nervous. We may even set off at 6am. Or even earlier. This might be the only solution. The weather has impacted this trip in ways that we didn't envisage. I'm blown away by Kate's stoicism. "Well if the weather was normal, it wouldn't be a growing time for us both".