Day One - Land's End to Tavistock - 91 miles

Expected distance: 86 miles. Actual distance: 91miles.

Last night we travelled down from Corsham to the South West in readiness for our ride.   It was an uneventful trip apart from being blown around a bit by the foul weather owing to the fact that the car roof carried our four bikes (our three plus a spare, but more of that later...).   Our plan had been to stay in Penzance and also to book accommodation for the first two nights of the trip.  But - as they say - no plan survives contact with the enemy and in this case the enemy was the last weekend of the half term and all the resulting holidaying families; finding accommodation for three men, one lady and a dog proved to be a bit of a challenge.   We ended booking a place in Plymouth for the first night and decided to stay there rather than Penzance Friday night as well, travelling from there to Land’s End early on Saturday.

The Start!

So it was that we awoke in Plymouth early this morning, drew back the bedroom curtains and looked out: clear blue sky and no clouds.  There is a God.  Clearly, however we had pissed Him off in some way as, on heading down towards Land’s End the heavens opened.  Nevertheless, we arrived at the start of our ride in good weather (maybe He did like us after all....).  After a chat with some of the bikers gathered around and doing the same as us we had the obligatory picture taken at the Land’s End  signpost, grabbed a coffee and John taught Geri how to use his camera (although exactly why he insisted she used the ‘Sports’ mode we do not  know.  Just how fast did he think we would be going?), we headed off.

We had decided to change the initial route to avoid the main road and dual carriageways where possible so after heading past Penzance  we headed down to the coast to Marazion , opposite the island parish of St Michael’s Mount, and made our way eastwards via the high banked back roads of Cornwall.  We followed the signposts and picked off villages one by one - Penhalvian 3 miles, Stithians 2 miles and so on - which gives you a real sense of making progress even though it may in reality be a slow pace.  Our route for the morning proved surprisingly flat, and the full extent of the hills, such as they were, tended to be hidden by the high banks of the lanes.

Cornwall - St Michael's Mount

The second part of the day was somewhat different.  It proved a bit of a blur (this refers to state of memory and not the speed of the feet on the pedal).  A series of wide main roads, road signs to distant towns that never seemed to get any closer, and cars rushing past leaving you with the distinct impression that you were getting nowhere fast.  Oh yes, and long, long hills that wore you out physically and, because you could see them in all their glory as the roads disappeared into the distance, took you down mentally too. 

As the afternoon wore on, and our bodies wore out, I began to hear a strange but irregular tapping noise from somewhere on my bike.  It got worse and ten miles from Tavistock we decided we needed to do something about it.  So on the phone to Geri who duly did her Knight (Dame?) in shining armour (Hyundai?) bit so we could do a swap.  And yes, I will now admit that I was wrong when I thought bringing a whole spare bike was overkill.

We arrived in Tavistock just before 9pm (we had started quite late though, what with the journey to Land’s End) and loaded our bikes onto Geri’s waiting car after which we were transported back to the hotel.  Tomorrow we will be taken back to the same point to do the next leg (no cheating, note!).  It is now late and I have two sleeping and gently snoring room mates who I think I will be joining in a very few minutes.

Cornish Lanes

The journey down to Plymouth was a bit like being in a plane in air turbulence with the car being buffeted around by the combinations of very strong winds and the 'wind break' that comprised the four bikes on the roof. Once we arrived it was straight to bed as we had an early start planned for the morning (6:30 brekkie). In our haste to check in and just grab things from the car, I had failed to bring the bedding for Clover so the only choice was for her to sleep with me in the small single bed....she slept ok...I...hmmm lets just say that I have had better nights. 

However, Saturday morning was gorgeous and soon we were on the road heading for Lands end with an air of anticipation. We arrived in a car park that had a scattering of vehicles, some offloading bikes for the same purpose...to go on the adventure End 2 End. A minor delay whilst we searched high and low for my car keys after we had unloaded. They were no where to be found and I had to resort to my spare pair. Only much later did I discover where they were...tucked safely in the top of my joggers (as there had been no pocket!) and covered my my t-shirt. Sadly, I think this will be a common occurance given the state of chaos that is now my car. (And I was proved correct, for the same panic ensued in the evening back at the hotel, only this time Paul came to the rescue having found them underneath the seat!!)  

For those of you who have never been to Lands end, it's got a bit of a seaside pier feel to it, with various cafes and fun houses. Of course you have to pay to have your photos taken by the Lands end signpost which slightly tarnishes the experience. Once the photos were taken, and a few last minute adjustments to the bikes the the boys were off, on their great adventure. As I went back to the car I encountered one of those fantastic acts of human generosity that restores your faith in people. As is now becoming very common on our journey, a lady spotted Clover and had to come over to have a closer look. As we were chatting and I explained about the Mark, John and Paul adventure and the charity that they were raising funds for. Without any hesitation, this kind lady went back to her car and handed me £5 as a donation. Thank you, thank you Tracy Shepherd for that very generous gift. 

I drove off and stopped for a few photo opportunities of the boys on the bikes and then headed off to find a nice layby to stop and play with the dog. Just after we pulled in and Clover had sniffed every little bush and tree in sight, a small car with three young people pulled in, their back tyre having just been shredded. I wandered over and asked if I could help and they asked whether I had a pair of scissors or a knife. Luckily I had both and as it happened, my bottle opener proved very useful for helping to remove the hubcap! So all my packing of 'things that may prove useful' (that were poo pooed by some...!!!) actually did prove useful! :) 

On we went, stopping along the way for a bit of exercise until we ended up in Tavistock. A small detour back to the boys to swap bikes and the first day was over. 

So, things I have learned so far... 

Travelling with a 12 week old puppy is entertaining and sometimes a bit awkward and inconvenient, but if it hadn't been for Clover then I would never have experienced the kind generousity of people like Tracy Shepherd or had reason to sit in a layby and help some young kids out with their flat tyre! So thank you Clover.

I have also learned that I am now quite adept at losing the car keys...Count so far: 2 

Oh, and.... WELL DONE BOYS!!! 

Geri & Clover