Day 1, Saturday 17th June 2000
Night Ride
I weighed everything before leaving. The panniers and bar bag came in
at 12kg. The bike 15kg and the rider 73kg. At 10:10 I headed off into
the night through the drunken hordes in Shepherds bush and Notting Hill.
Dave was waiting at Paddington having struggled, and only partially
successfully, managed to fit his bar bag. We locked the bikes and headed
for the nearest bar. A refreshing lager was the first item on our
stamina building health diet. The train was on the platform and we found the
bike racks (yes, really) in the guards van. Our cabin was smaller than
expected but comfortable for all that. We dumped our gear and headed
for the 1st class buffet.
The lager was supplemented by canned beer and crisps. As we drank we
shared the train with the kind of folks I thought we'd left far behind in
Lewisham. Mobile phones with silly rings doncha just hate them.
We hit the sack about midnight. I tossed and turned for - well - all
night. At about 7 we were served orange juice and a packet of two
biscuits. The buffet was calling us. On arrival we were informed that the
buffet closed at Truro but as a special favour they would serve us if we
had the right change.
As the coffee went down the train pulled into Camborne were it sat due
to a total loss of power. A rescue loco was called for but mysteriously
10 minutes later power was restored. We were 45 minutes late in
Penzance.
First destination Lands End
Bill Gates may be the richest man in the world but his software sucks
when it comes to planning bike routes. As we left the station I
confidently explained to two other E2Eers that we were taking the scenic route
(as worked out by Autoroute Express) they seemed unimpressed and said
they were going on the main road - I put this down to the fact they were
from Yorkshire and thus naturally suspicious. How right they were. Our
route took a near vertical lane out of the town an then a series of
thigh burning hills on which I manged to upset the normal smooth running
of my gears.
Lands End Naff or What?
If you took the concept of turning Lands End into a mini Disneyland but
only allowed a budget of 500 quid you would end up with what currently
lies there.
We optimistically signed up for the end to end club, had our picture
taken by an East German, had further dicussions with our Yorkshire E2Eers
then Dave had his sausage roll stolen by a seagull slightly larger than
a turkey.
On the road
Cornwall has the most awful hills they just come and come. We made very
slow progress along the A30 and finally decided to have lunch near
Bodmin at about 3pm.
I rang Big John on the mobile to put him in the picture of our
movements. I also mentioned to him that Dave had knackered his back tyre and
could he get a replacement as we were meeting up at the same hotel in the
evening.
Before we finished our meal he rang us back from a bike shop with the
good news that he had tracked down a replacement what a guy.
Never Use the A390
The A390 between Liskeard and Tavistock looked a good direct route to
our destination of Okehampton. It was hell. Each hill climbed was
immediatly descended to make way for a bigger hill. We arrived in Tavistock
at 7:45 completely knackered and clearly about to miss the England v
Germany. I rang Big John again and conveyed my concerns that not only we
would miss the match but we might also miss dinner. He said not to worry
the hotel people were very friendly. With that I tuned my radio to
Radio 5 and resumed biking.
Big John to the Rescue
As we struggled out of Tavistock John's Freelander came into view. He
relieved us of our luggage which gave us just enough energy to finish
the next 10 miles to the hotel. This last leg was one of the best of the
day as we cycled along the shoulder of Exmoor with the sun setting and
a hot air balloon floating in the sunset.
The Cullaven Manor
We knew we had finally arrived when we saw John waving to us from the
drive entrance. Mine host led to a outhouse where we parked our bikes
and we headed straight for the shower.
A fine dinner a few beers and spirits raised by the news of Englands
win brought a wonderful conclusion to a truly challenging day.
The Stats
Dave 116.06 miles 8hrs 40mins 13.3 average 38 max
Will 114.07 miles 8hrs 40mins 13.1 average 37.5 max