After a long train down the day before (7 hrs) the day of judgement has dawned. Bleary eyed and full of excitement we arived at Lands end on a warm but overcast morning. We made our way down to the starting post only to find the starting post had been removed and would not be replaced until 10am when the man who owned it would charge you a fiver for the privilege of standing next to a sign pointing to John O Groats. Not to give in to this, Mike and I stood next to the place of the sign and were photographed by Mikes good friend Andy, who had put us up the night before.
Lands End seemed very quiet that morning, a bit like us. We were thinking 'we can't do this can we?' On the bikes we got and boy did they feel heavy. We need to eat some of those energy bars to lighten the load. With fresh but heavy legs we made our way to Penzance. After about 10 mins it felt good. Yeah, we CAN do this!
At Penzance we stopped for tea and scrambled eggs and were ready to take on the world - or Cornwall anyway. Shortcuts always look good but never in Cornwall - it usually means going down hill and I mean down, which is good BUT you always have to go back up, and I mean up and up and up, this was a lesson we would learn the hard way. There are bits of Cornwall that are like the Bermuda Triangle you never seem to get out of them, but we were brave strong young men - ok so we got off and pushed a few times a few energy bars later - and we were ready for the hills... and there are plenty of them.
We decided to make some time up and make our way onto some roads without grass down the middle of them. They're called 'A' class roads for a reason. We made some good time up and stopped at Truro for Pizza, pasta and rain, then took the long route to St Austell. Another thing I've learnt is when you ask a local what the route is like to a place your going to, they always seem to say "over the top and then its down hill all the way." What a load of ########### My advice is only ask people who have a bike with them, people who have engines have no idea.
We arrived at St Austell stopped at a local pub and toasted our first day, we our now real men. We got that wrong too. Lesson 3: Never toast success until your by the side of the place your staying at. 10 miles later up many more hills we got to Golant, day one completed and thank God. Now where is that beer?
Joined in the lounge by Mike, a younger, lycra clad lejoger, who's taking an eastern route, Edinburgh etc. He tells us that he's not a serious cyclist, but later lets slip that he's only done 6,000 miles on his second bike, an enclosed recumbent speedster. He's definitely a bit more serious than us! Its our first night in a shared dorm and the huge, snoring German opposite Mikes bunk tells us we've left an essential item out of our kit... ear-plugs.
Lands End seemed very quiet that morning, a bit like us. We were thinking 'we can't do this can we?' On the bikes we got and boy did they feel heavy. We need to eat some of those energy bars to lighten the load. With fresh but heavy legs we made our way to Penzance. After about 10 mins it felt good. Yeah, we CAN do this!
At Penzance we stopped for tea and scrambled eggs and were ready to take on the world - or Cornwall anyway. Shortcuts always look good but never in Cornwall - it usually means going down hill and I mean down, which is good BUT you always have to go back up, and I mean up and up and up, this was a lesson we would learn the hard way. There are bits of Cornwall that are like the Bermuda Triangle you never seem to get out of them, but we were brave strong young men - ok so we got off and pushed a few times a few energy bars later - and we were ready for the hills... and there are plenty of them.
We decided to make some time up and make our way onto some roads without grass down the middle of them. They're called 'A' class roads for a reason. We made some good time up and stopped at Truro for Pizza, pasta and rain, then took the long route to St Austell. Another thing I've learnt is when you ask a local what the route is like to a place your going to, they always seem to say "over the top and then its down hill all the way." What a load of ########### My advice is only ask people who have a bike with them, people who have engines have no idea.
We arrived at St Austell stopped at a local pub and toasted our first day, we our now real men. We got that wrong too. Lesson 3: Never toast success until your by the side of the place your staying at. 10 miles later up many more hills we got to Golant, day one completed and thank God. Now where is that beer?
Joined in the lounge by Mike, a younger, lycra clad lejoger, who's taking an eastern route, Edinburgh etc. He tells us that he's not a serious cyclist, but later lets slip that he's only done 6,000 miles on his second bike, an enclosed recumbent speedster. He's definitely a bit more serious than us! Its our first night in a shared dorm and the huge, snoring German opposite Mikes bunk tells us we've left an essential item out of our kit... ear-plugs.
2 comments:
You had a bloody map!
Hi Andy (and Deb).
Ta for putting us up and great to catch up again. Those girls are lovely and the little un's a Bowman alright!
Mike
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