Well, as you have probably seen, we finished. What’s really strange is that it’s quite late and I’m still sober(ish).
The forecast wasn’t too great today. It wasn’t helped when the women on the table next to us at breakfast overheard me discussing whether to start out with my jacket on or not and chipped in with “We heard on the radio last night that all of the campsites in Devon and Cornwall are going to be evacuated because of the weather.” followed by “Sorry to interrupt, but I think it is going to be really bad today”. Well, they were all wrong for most of the day. Although it was raining all day, for the morning at least, it wasn’t too bad and as you will have seen from some of the photos there were some great sights along the way. From St Michael’s Mount onwards though it was a different story. This is the point where we had agreed to meet up and Matt was going to pop some more industrial strength pain killers and join me for the last 18.
At this point the rain was getting harder and the wind was really starting to blow a gale, with waves breaking over the sea wall and it was becoming more and more difficult to walk as we got Matt’s bike ready. So we set off on our planned route which was to take us around the coast through Penzance and on to Mousehole. Paul had asked me on Saturday as we were cycling up hill, followed by hill, whether I had a plan B. Some sort of alternative route should there be a problem with one route and my answer was no. I thought about this and with the weather forecast in mind I had come up with a plan B for this afternoon and I’m glad I did. After a while I decided that the coast path we were cycling along was too exposed and also a puncture waiting to happen and I was running out of inner tubes, so we switched to the road. The problem with the road was that the wind would gust and blow the bikes into the traffic. Time for plan B, so we made it up to Penzance Lido (wish I had had my swim stuff) and then turned in land for a brief trip along the A30. Now I know why they are keen on high hedges since it offers some protection from the wind. The problems arise though when you pass a break in the hedge and the wind throws you back into traffic. We finally turned off the A30 and headed back to the original route by which point the rain was torrential and the wind was crazy. I got to the stage where I was hoping that around each corner there would be another hill. The hills offered some protection from the wind and going up meant I didn’t need to use my now useless brakes. The last few miles seemed to go on for ever with me going slower and slower as I fought to keep the bike by the edge of the road and tried not to pick up any speed on the down hill stretches. Finally after passing a number of signs warning about a deaf cat in the area (odd) and a bloke pushing his broken down scooter (I stopped to see if he was OK, but with hindsight I have no idea how I could have helped) we could see the end. The final hundred metres or so the wind actually pushed us to the line where Elayne was waiting along with a number of bedraggled but happy end to enders. We made it.
I noticed that Matt added some stats to his last blog post, so here are some more. Bacon sandwiches consumed me: 8. Total mileage: 501. Hills climbed: 360+ (this is based on looking at the stats for yesterday from the GPS where we did 49 hills that were greater than 100ft in height and averaging this out). Punctures: 4, all mine. Bananas eaten: loads (they are great). Pints drunk: too few to want to publically record. Breweries visited: 1 …. oh, I’ve just been told that actually it was 2, but I was cycling when the second visit took place. Wheelies whilst going up hill: 15 (some hills are so steep the front wheel lifts off the ground, so you have to stand on he pedals go keep it down). Bunnies raced: 17 (bunnies 17, cyclist 0). Snails raced up hill: 1 (snail 0, cyclist 1 – it was almost a dead heat, but I swerved at the last minute).
There were loads of great and unusual sites along the way. Here are just a few of my favourites. The heron along the Kennet and Avon canal. This stretch of the route was great and if you live close to Devizes, visit the locks for a walk or cycle. The elderly chap with the big beard that when I got closer turned out to be a woman holding an owl. People hauling an iron bath tub out of a top floor window onto the top of a van. Crossing the viaducts on the Granite way. We really could do engineering back in the day. Again, definitely worth a visit if you are around Okehampton. Wildlife in general, including foxes, deer, owls, rabbits, colourful birds (that I’m too ignorant to be able to identify). Finally, the best sight of all, seeing Elayne at Lands End.
Finally I’d like to say another big thank you to everyone who has sponsored us and is going to sponsor us now that we’ve finished. Thank You. Last, but no means least, thank you to Elayne and Matt for their support on what has been an interesting adventure.
So ….. what next ……….
Alan
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What a day to finish. There seems to be something about these trips and wind on the last day. As Alan has said the wind yesterday was just mad. Pushing you around all over the place – at least it was behind us coming to the line.
Feeling kind of odd. Glad that I managed to get over the line on the bike this time but frustrated that I ended up missing a load of the ride.
We have another cyclist staying in the b&b that finished end to end yesterday taking just 12 days, a great effort in my book.
Memories of the trip – the wildlife, in particular the Barn Owl on Saturday the bearded man / owl, the foxes playing in the road in front of me. The great feeling as you get to the top of the hill and can coast for a while before the next one. Alan appearing beside me and telling me we had just completed a Cat 4 climb. Finally the taste of the salt spray as we rode along the coast at Penzance.
I would like to add my thanks to all of you who have sponsored and supported us through the last eight days it really does mean a lot.
A really big thank you to Alan and Elayne for inviting me along, sticking with me on the hills, appearing with food, water and a car to revive me.
As for what’s next, we have now done up and down, side to side so it must be round and round in ever decreasing circles.
Matt
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Well, we made it, 3 people, 2 bikes and 1 car, mostly in one piece. It was great to see both Alan and Matt cross the line at Lands End. Possibly the worst weather conditions Alan’s ever cycled in and so windy when we got to Lands End that we couldn’t actually lift the bikes up onto the roof rack and had to find a more sheltered spot to be able to rack them up.
Final night’s stay at Boswedden House, just outside St Just. Great views to the sea, when the clouds lift. It’s still blowing a gale this morning, but raining less. Boswedden House has lovely large bright rooms and bathrooms. It’s a centre for alternative therapies, as well as a B&B and run by Nigel and Thelma, who are both very sweet but a bit vague, while a lovely lady called Jo runs round like a mad thing doing all the work – when we arrived she was making tea for each new arrival, taking wet clothes to dry in the kitchen and trying to do the ironing at the same time. She also served breakfast this morning and is currently re-laying all the tables in the breakfast room. I don’t think she ever stops moving. Breakfast was very good – pancakes and bacon. I’ll pick up some of the therapy leaflets in case we come back, although I don’t think any of them deal with the traumatic effects of cycling in yesterday’s weather conditions. I’m tempted by the ‘Psychodramatic Bodywork’ course in which ‘blocked spontaneity from earlier traumas is freed and re-integrated through dramatic action methods’ No idea what that means, but I’m sure it would do me the power of good.
Dinner last night in St Just at the Kings Arms (I think) was excellent. Fresh, local fish and also great puddings – rhubarb crumble and clotted cream and local ice cream in interesting flavours.
I’m really looking forward to spending 3 days at Watergate Bay. It will be lovely not to have to repack the bags every morning or navigate down tiny lanes, barely wide enough for a bike, let alone a slightly damaged Honda. We should be there in time for lunch – we’ll be heading straight for the Beach Hut for a cold beer looking out over the sea. (Alan – Followed by surfing of course !!)
We’re just waiting for Matt to finish having a massage before heading off to Watergate Bay. Have managed to squeeze everything back into the car, although our bags seem to have been expanding and multiplying every day. Somehow dirty washing seems to take up much more space than clean clothes.
It’s been a challenging trip and has definitely been an adventure. As always, we’ve stayed in some lovely places and met some wonderful people along the way. There are lots of places to come back and see again, but next time, without the bikes!
Elayne
