The Participation Ride 2007

What a day (Day 2)

 

We made good progress today when we were in the saddle. The trouble is we were forced to stop too often due to problems with my lovely Moulton.

I ended the day on a very dodgy front tyre which needs to be replaced asap and with no saddle!

12 miles out the saddle bolt sheared and so riding out of the saddle was the only option. Luke took my luggage on to his bike. This was hard work and I was really worried that I'd get blisters on the balls of my feet which would have been a show stopper. So after 8 miles Luke gave me his saddle and he stood up for the last 4 miles with all the luggage.

My feet are a bit tender this morning but I think they will be fine.

If the saddle had broken earlier in the day we would have been snookered.

Today our start will be delayed while we visit the local bike shop. At least there is one. Hopefully, I'll also be able to get a couple of new tyres.

Meet Louise and Chris

 

Luke and I had a hard but good run from the B&B, along the Camel Trail and up (and up) over Bodmin Moor. At the first sign of civilisation we stopped for a baked potato at the Wilsey Down pub. We were too early for lunch but Chris and Louise (following a request from Jan) opened the kichen especially and we ate well. Thanks guys. And thanks for the donation too!

Team splits!

 

The experience of day 1 made us all acutely aware of the challenge ahead of us and what can go wrong if you don't keep pedalling. Breaks are fine but you have to keep a keen eye on the time. For the second day we decided to split with Ian and James taking the main road route to Bude and then Barnstaple and Luke and I (Simon) sticking to the NCN.
This seemed to work really well. We were able overlap our lunch stops in Bude and Ian was able to get to Barnstaple in time to have a meal with his wife and son. Luke and I arrived too late for that - see 'What a day'.
The GPS is working really well.

Big tyre problem

 

I have just had my second puncture caused by a split in the side of the tyre. See picture. I am going to get through tyres pretty quickly at this rate. I am going to need a Moulton supplier! Help! FYI I am on Alexrims DA16.  I have checked the rims for burrs - there are none. But the tyre wall is worn where it hits the rim but only on one side???

Tyre 2 written off!

 

I thought it was extravagant bringing two spare tyres but half way through day 2 the second one has gone sausage shaped.

Meet Rachael

On day 1 we were too relaxed and ran behind schedule all day and didn't get to our accommodation until 10:45pm. On the bright side, this meant we stopped at a place called Vogue for lunch instead of Bissoe. Here we met Rachael who was behind the bar at The Star. And what a star she was! It was officially too late for food but she dragged the chef back with some sort of bribe and we ate well! We even left with ice in our water bottles!

Day 1 Stats (Monday 27/8/07)

To Penzance 5
To Hayle 24.97
To Bissoe via Vogue 18.09
To Truro 7.17
To Ruthern Bridge (near Bodmin) 30.38
TOTAL for day 85.61

GPS and other problems

 

The GPS did exactly what it said on the tin. It displayed the routes brilliantly. You could not do what we are doing on the National Cycle Network without the routes in a GPS. Signs are few and far between.

We ran late all day and still had 50 miles to do at 5pm. At that point we were in Truro and the GPS ran out of battery. So with no GPS and an impossible number of miles to do we had to abandon the NCN and get to our accommodation via St Austell on the main roads. A bit of a disappointment but the only option we had. As it was we didn't get to our B&B until 10:45pm. Again the lack of the GPS to guide us was a real problem.

I will try to make sure we keep better timing tomorrow. We are having breakfast at 7:30.

PS: I have found the spare battery now.

A surprise at Land's End

 

The day started well with a clean run down to Land's End as we arrived someone said 'Hello Simon'. It was Julia Pound and she was there with husband Barry. I worked with Barry in the Dominican Republic more than 25 years ago. They now live in Cornwall and had come to see us off. Julia recalled helping Jane breast feed Luke! Anyway she obviously did a good job as he has grown up to be a very nice young man.
There was not to be an official photo as the photographer had not turned up but Barry took a couple of shots in front of the 'headless' Land's End sign.

It's going to be a long day

It's 5:30 and we've 50 miles to go after we've fixed this puncture. More later . . .