After a posh breakfast (also reflective of price), I retrieved my panniers from my room and my bike from behind the reception, and i was on my way. The usual weather, ...wet roads from recent rain, and intermittent rain (heavy at times) as the day progressed. Occasionally, the sun broke out to revive my short lived optimism.. Much of the route followed the old highway (I believe), alongside the M74. As such, much of the day was spent with hissing vehicle tires on wet pavement, and grumbling trucks lumbering by. The old road did have an adjacent marked bike lane. While paved, it was randomly patched and, where not patched, the bitumen has long left, leaving stone nuggets to rattle and impair any fluid momentum. I did stop at a roadside truck stop, that had a
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