Day 5 - Kaunas to Vilnius 86 miles

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Over ate last night as there is a not so subtle distinction between an appetiser and a starter. The appetiser seemed to be for four-six people..still, it all tasted nice! This was supposed to be the easiest day, definately shorter but the hills just keep on coming...the big hill went on for three miles and I got the gearing perfect because I caught up with the other three at the top. My knee is just one big ball of pain and the Ibuprofen (400mg) is only just stopping me from screaming. The biggest driver was to get to Trakai and our favourite Kibinai restaurant for lunch, which turned out to be about 2:30 because it was only 15-20 miles outside of Vilnius. The weather held off and it was actually really good cycling weather...I even took off my layers and just had my Rugute T-shirt on (lots of suncream still). I was feeling very, very weary at this point and needed closure....the hill of death turned out to be fantastic because the road had been resurfaced and the drains removed, we all hit the speed limit of 50kmh and felt like we had nearly made it. We ha forgotten about the roads and traffic and simply abondoned the roads for the cycle paths for part of the way into Vilnius. A great crowd was waiting for us outside Green Hall and though I may have looked ready to drop, I was over the moon. We were serenaded by a two man band with 'Breakfast at Tiffanys' and some other rap number before speeches and award ceremonies. My plaque was 'for courage', nice sentiment but may have to be replaced with 'for stupidity' if my knee doesn't get any better :-(

Went back to the Novotel, unloaded the van and crashed out.

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