Day 1 - Land's End to St Stephen


Wow!! Day 1 was suitably epic, spectacular and wonderful. Beautiful route, stunning scenery and it felt so good to be in the saddle and turning those pedals. Took a slight detour from Garmin instructions, to go down into Mousehole, which is so pretty (the small harbour photo), and tried to stick to the coast all the way to Marazion, to get views of St Michael's Mount. First stop in Hayle was a bit later than planned, due to late start and my toursiting. Met sister for a traditional cornish pasty at Philps in Hayle - famous pasty shop that does the BEST pasties! That and a lump of Mum's barra brith fruit cake fuelled my next leg up to Redruth, mostly following the NCN3. Very pretty and didn't mind the climbing at all.

Redruth was a struggle - very hill and garmin got scrambled, so couldn't find my way out. But I did spy a little yellow van as Alison had called in to visit a friend. I stopped for a welcome drink, and to get directions out. Redruth to Truro I was navigating blind, as Garmin had completely given up. So a few mis-steps and not quite as easy going. Met Alison at Truro for a cuppa, but by then it was late on a Sunday eve, so all the cafes were shut and we couldn't get the kettle going in the van either. So it was water and quick sandwich, before setting off for the last let. Last bit was HARD - again navigational issues, so reverted to using my phone. But still not 100%, and got half a mile down a gravelly track before the farmer came down and told me it was private and to go back. So near and yet so far... The last few hills were sapping and I really needed my dinner!! Made it back to camp at about 8.30, way too late really and exhausted! 65 miles and about 4,700 ft of climbing - that's a lot!!

Longer day today - and maybe even hillier, so I'd better get up and out much earlier!!!

Wonderful day, just hard at the end. Excited to get going again today :-)














Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 8 - uninterrupted cycling heaven!

Image
BEST day yet!! Breezed up through Lancaster, and then through the gorgeous Arnside & Silverside AONB into Cumbria. Stunning scenery and lovely roads. Felt very familiar, with all the salt marsh around the estuary, and then pockets of woody hill like the Quantocks. Stopped at Sandside and had freshly van-made eggy bread for lunch with my amazing crew and it was just perfect! Then onto Kendal and stopped again, to meet the gang,so that Duncan could ride with me. Had a quick spin around town to find some Kendal Mint Cake for Vini, who had put in a special request. Then into the Lake District 'proper'. I love this part of the world so much - it's beautiful dramatic and starting to feel a bit like home (had our family holiday here last year). We rode down into Windermere to meet sis for an ice-cream, but by the time we met up, we decided against another stop, as it was getting late. Instead, pushed on u p to my beloved Grasmere for dinner and a fabulous pint of Lowes...
Read more

Day 7 - Frodsham to Garstang, via bike shops

Image
  Day 7 and things are starting to look up again. Weather at least 10 degrees cooler, but we've dodged the rain so far... Slow start to the day as we cycled around Frodsham and Runcorn, trying to get bike repair help. My back wheel still wasn't going around v well and was very hard work. Thought I might have to have a new wheel, but lovely Phil in D&M cycles in Warrington sorted me out just by tightening something up. I hadn't been looking forward to cycling through the industrial northwest, but actually, the cycling infrastructure is so much better here. Nearly all day spent on nice cycle paths, canal paths and even offroady bits - it wasn't fast but it was good! And because I was able to cycle through the whole day, we managed to arrive at campsite at a reasonable time (around 7.30). Campsite is great, with beautiful views and a fantastic restaurant, so we are all happy again. We even have wifi, so I can update my blog! +4 3 Maria Da Graça Vasques, Clare Wilso...
Read more

One week to go!!

Image
Sunday 5th June - one week to go!! Exactly a week from now, I will have started to turn the pedals to get from Lands End to John O'Groats. I can hardly believe the big adventure is nearly here - I've been dreaming about it for so long! First it was a vague idea, then it became a dream, then a bit of an obsession and then once I started working towards it and committing myself to it, it became an actual possibility and now I actually believe I can do it! I completed my last big training ride yesterday - 77 miles and 4,000ft of climbing. I had rain, wind (it's not called Windsor for nothing!!), sunshine, traffic jams and empty lanes, near-impossible climbs and skiddy descents. A real microcosm of the journey ahead. I have to say the long training rides have for the most part been a joy and I've loved exploring the beautiful area where I live - I would never have done that otherwise. All I was missing was the support of my wonderful crew, Alison, Duncan and Saranne, who ...
Read more