morning determined to get on with what we thought would be one of our more difficult days, having to cover 73 miles on Day 11 of our challenge. We got up early (ish) and sorted ourselves out and got on our way by about 8:30. We left the campsite expecting the hills we had heard so much about starting straight away... however we were in for a bit luck as the first 35 miles were pretty easy going, and how thankful were we! We were going to stop after 20 miles for breakfast, however there wasn’t really anywhere to stop, so we decided to eat what we had on us and continue on to the first real stop at the 35 mile stage. The weather at this stage was that fine rain.. the kind of rain that soaks you through! We stopped at a roadside cafe that was really good called "Poppins". They provided us free tea and coffee and donated £4 to our cause.... yet again, we meet generous people along our route.When we left here this is when we had a few climbs which by now we are all climbing in 1st gear...a bit of steepness of the hill and a bit of the old muscles not having the power anymore. After one of the big climbs we came down the hill to Dave standing there offering us chocolate ... what a silly question... would you like some chocolate?!! This went down very well, just before another big and long climb which we didn’t mind as it was steady and powered by the chocolate.
We then met the support guys again at another roadside cafe called the log cabin where they sold fantastic Cornish pasties.. it would have been rude not to have one, so we indulged! The support guys then left us to get to the campsite and we headed off on what turned out to be quite a good route with just a couple of very steep down-hills followed by very steep inclines, however all in all not as bad as we expected.
We eventually arrived in Dolton at 4:30. The campsite is not that good and not recommended. The facilities are somewhat missing... all very old and dirty... don’t come here. This follows through to the pub at the end of the campsite... although very friendly, the food was somewhat deep-fried. Now the title - why? Dave ordered fish and chips and the fish had been caught during the cod wars of the 1970s where it had been frozen until this week and deep fried for 42 hours and presented as a main course in 2008. Dave is now going to use the batter as flip flops for use in the shower block!! As you can tell we are impressed with this place! We now have 1 full day of cycling left and we are going to head straight for Lands End and see how close we can get to it... depending on the terrain. Our aim is to complete at least 90 miles tomorrow which would leave us about 30 miles for Friday, which will mean a finishing time just in time for the pubs opening ... hooorah! Thanks for reading and please continue with the comments...we are nearly there everyone...We covered 74miles at an average of 13.5 and a riding time of 5hrs 35.Toodle pipThe Smiley Milers
Pictures -
1 (top) Leaving Glastonbury
2 Steve & Jen entering Devon
3 Damo & Steve entering Devon
4 Chocolate Break
5 Lunch at the Log Cabin
6 In the pub
5 comments:
Glad most of the ride wasn't too bad. What with cornish pasties and some 'strange man' offering you chocolate and the geriatic cod you had the night before, its a wonder you cold ride at all! You should have gave them the batter back to serve next day.
Best of luck for todays ride, wish you all the best. Keep blogging.
Bike joke of the day (1)
A tired cyclist (Damian) stuck his thumb out for a lift. After 3 hours he hadn't got anyone to stop. Eventually, a guy in a sports car pulled over and offered him a lift but, of course, the bike wouldn't fit in the car. The driver got some rope out of his boot and tied it to his bumper. He tied the other end to the bike and told Damian, 'If I go too fast, ring your bell and I'll slow down.'
Everything went well until another sports car overtook them. The driver forgot all about the cyclist and put his foot down. A short distance down the road, they hammered through a speed trap. The cop with the radar gun radioed ahead to his colleague that 2 sports cars were heading his way at over 150 mph. He then added, 'And you're not going to believe this - there's a cyclist behind them ringing his bell to pass!!'
Bike Joke (2)
Damian & Steve are riding along on a tandem.
Suddenly, Steve, on the front slams on the brakes, gets off and
lets the tyres down.
Damian says: "Why did you do that?"
Steve replies: "My saddle's too high"
Damian gets off, loosens his saddle with a spanner and turns it round.
Steve says: "What are you doing?"
Damian replies: "Look mate, if you're going to muck about,
I'm going home!!"
Hello everybody,
Hope you are all OK. So near now, and the weather isn't being kind at all, is it? Looks a bit better for tomorrow. We do hope so, it would be lovely for the sun to shine on your triumphant ride into Lands End. Would love to be there, but it would take us so long to get there that you'd all have gone home!! Loads of good wishes for tomorrow,we'll be thinking of you,
Keep smilin'
Love to all
Mo and Keef
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