I managed to get an early start today at Caton which is about 3 miles to the north east of Lancaster. Due to Katy's Dad having 
an operation today Ian "The Coach" Glasgow stepped in as a last minute replacement for road side support.Ian did a good job guiding me through the minor roads and eventually I arrived at a point just south of Lancaster. Ian then suggested that I take a turn that would take me north. 2 MILES NORTH MIND!!!! One quick lesson on how to read a map followed and I was back on the road south.
On the next road I noticed a passenger in a white van waving at me. Then the white van drove straight at me and I had to jump to the side to avoid being hit. I can't repeat what I said at the time. I was none too pleased though! I would have been a goner had the van hit me. That's about 5 times now on this tour!
At the 9.5 mile point Ian and I stopped for a bite to eat at a local pub. Halfway through the meal young Steven, the mackem challenger, turned up. He was going to run for a few miles with me but after he'd ate his gammon and chips, running was no longer an option for him.
We said goodbye to Steven and I was on my way again through to Garstang.
Once there, Ian and I changed into the Batman and Robin outfits. It took a while to get them on as we were laughing so much. Not as much as the passing traffic though! The local police even stopped for a laugh! Ian and I set off as the Dynamic Duo and after a few miles Ian headed back to the car and I continued on for another 4 miles. It was great to see the smiling faces as people passed by. There was a young lass at a bus stop. She managed to keep a straight face until I ran past when I heard her burst out laughing.I changed out of the Batman gear about 3 miles North of Preston. After a quick banana stop, Ian once again provided some good directions through Preston and I finished after 25.1 miles.
Tomorrow, I'm faced with a potential dilemma as Katy can't leave the North East to start her duties on the support team until she knows that her Dad is ok after his operation. If Katy
is unable to travel then I'll be faced with supporting myself for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure how that is going to work but I'll just have to go for it. At least there are now plenty of shops from which to get bottles of water and things from. Getting back to the B&B each day shouldn't be that much of a problem as there are plenty of buses and trains in this part of the world (unlike the Highlands or the Pennines). There's never a dull moment on this tour!
