Today's Blog is written by co-rider, Chris Stanley.
After a great night's stay in the hostel, we drove down the road to the Land's End complex. In between groups having their photos taken by "The Signpost" we took some of our own. Then it was time to start our ride. In warm cloudy conditions we rode about 6 miles before there was a loud bang. Stopping I discovered that a spoke on my rear wheel had broken, but worse still, the wheel was buckling. Without a phone signal Lee rode on until he was able to phone Francis, who picked me up and took me on to Penzance where we found a bike shop with replacement wheels. In the meantime Lee had cycled into the town and met us there.
With brand new wheels Francis dropped me off where I had broken down, so that I could continue the ride without missing any of the journey. Back in Penzance I revisited the bike shop as the rear wheel wobbled a bit. Finally with everything sorted we rode out to Marazion to a lovely café opposite the causeway to St Michael's Mount for a late lunch before leaving the coast and heading inland. This leg of the journey was 53 miles of climbing, ups and downs as we crossed valleys in hot and sunny conditions. The scenery is beautiful, but all the delays from earlier meant that we were checking our watches to calculate when we would arrive at the hotel. Having a support driver today showed how important this role is. Francis was dedicated to the role, finding a bike shop, bringing supplies and ringing the hotel to warn them of our late arrival. Francis unselfishly stopped at many points along the route to check that we were ok and to encourage us. As our arrival time got later and later he suggested that we stop earlier than planned and to continue from where we stopped the next day. The final section to Wadebridge zigzagged through the countryside allowing us to avoid the busy main roads, but meant we were cycling on single track roads. With daylight failing, many insects came out to greet us and hitch a lift to Wadebridge. The final downhill section brought relief as we rolled into the town to be met by Francis. After a lovely meal we loaded the bikes on the car and drove to the hotel.
Thank you so much for all your support, we have passed the first milestone in our fund raising having achieved just over 1% of our target - so please help us as we pedal on to reach the other 99%.
You can donate here on our Just Giving Page
Video and picture gallery of a few highlights from the first day
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