LEJOG Day 2 - Truro to Bodmin

Today we leave Truro and head to 44 miles to Bodmin.  It looks like a lot of up and down.  Winds ESE and maybe not quite as strong as yesterday’s, but we’ll see.  We’re picking up breakfast and second breakfast at the Lidl across the street as this guesthouse is one of the few places on the tour that doesn’t serve breakfast.

Minor aches and pains from our big push to get here yesterday.  Today will be a more reasonable pace.  Interestingly, we met a man and his son yesterday who were at the end of their JOGLE (John O’Groats to Lands End, the reverse of ours).  He had just pedalled up a hill with a 20% grade.  Hope we can do that by the end of our trip, it would be good to be that fit!

Finally got the Diabetes U.K. Justgiving page, fingers crossed it works now! 

Steve & Katherine’s LEJOG FOR DIABETES UK 

Padstow and the Camel Trail are on the route today which will be a nice break from the hills and a chance to enjoy coffee by the harbour!

It was a very up and down hilly day today.  I learned something new, how to use GPX files!  Yes, I should have learned this sooner, but this is a game changer for this trip.  We we’d ready to give up on the route after one day, there were so many sign gaps!

Made it to the Westberry Hotel in Bodmin.  We did well on the hilly bits and the Camel Trail from Padstow to Bodmin was awesome!

We each had a Cornish pastie and dinner was Vietnamese.  Looking for seafood tomorrow!

We’ve also had over an hour of English church bells tonight, I feel like I’m in a Dickens movie!

LEJOG Day 1 - Lands End to Truro

We woke up to sounds of the sea, coming in from the open window.  The moon was still out shining in the water towards the Lands End lighthouse a mile offshore.  It’s Day 1 and time to go!

Breakfast isn’t until 8:00 so it’s coffee, coffee, coffee until then.The gear is scattered everywhere in our wee room up in the eaves so a couple hours to sort all that won’t hurt - need to come up with a packing system so we don’t have to dump out the bags any time we’re looking for one little thing.  The weather check says sunny, wind is ESE at 12-15 and temp is mid 70s / 22-24. Steve is making trip notes from the book about any little navigation ‘challenges’ to pay attention to.

Had a nice breakfast and a pack up for second breakfast. Pedalled up out of Lands Ends over the tops and then down into Mousehole.  This was via an off route detour down to the sea in Lamona Cove, where there was no road out - we’d missed the turn at the top of the hill so went all the way down to the sea  and then back up!  Mousehole, we’d been to before, and it was lovely again for a coffee by the harbour. Skirted Penzance and around the bay by the stunning Mont St. Michel.  Had lunch in Hayle, which was a nice omelette and a salad.

Then it was ‘route sign carnage’ in Camborne.  The Route 3 disappeared completely to be replaced by town and minute signs.  NCR 3 isn’t the best, but the signs with x minutes to the town centre worked even less well.  We also had a deadline to get the van back by 5:00 in Truro, which as we found with sailing time constraints cause too much pressure and the elements don’t cooperate.  In today’s case, the hills and the cycle route signs did not cooperate.  I finally went with old reliable, Google Maps, on the cycle setting which routed us back up and down all the remaining Cornwall hills to Truro.

All afternoon, we’d been pushing ourselves to get the speed to be get to Truro in time to get the van back and my carrot was to go to Sam’s in the City for a pile of seafood and a big glass of wine, but when we got to Sam’s it was closed!  Under construction and not mentioned on their website.  Such disappointment!  Asked Google again and found Hooked, another Truro seafood place - the evening was excellent and well recovered! 

The van was returned on on time - just.  The wind speed was more like 30mph, and it was a headwind, again.  It was, all in all, a good if challenging in the end day - 47 miles, 2700 feet.  We’re sore, but full - nothing that 10 hours sleep won’t put right!

LEJOG - Getting to Lands End

The view from Lands End

Have to try both!

Getting close now!

Stonehenge

A Rattler by the sea

Unloading the tandem

 Left Surrey just before 8am after a very nice overnight with Jess & Matt.  Matt makes a mean steak and Jess pours an excellent Gewürztraminer!  Thanks, guys!  Sad to drop off the bundle of excitement that is Sofia though…

As we were leaving, I said to Steve, ‘I can’t believe we’re doing this!’

The trip to Lands End had an estimated travel time of 4 hours and 50 minutes.  This part of the trip was a bit cludgey.  There was no way to guarantee that we could get the tandem on a train so in the end we rented the van, which proved to be the right decision as there were train strikes.  However, the closest car rental place was in Truro, 46 miles from Lands End (not going to pedal that twice!).  So Steve dropped me and all the gear at Lands End, drove back to Truro, dropped off the van, took the train to Penzance and then a taxi back to Lands End, just in time for dinner.

We had been here years ago and found the place was a bit past it’s best, but it is the starting point for the trip so rather than pedalling here from somewhere else to start we decided that we’d give it another go.  We lucked out, a lot of money has obviously been invested and the place has been nicely upgraded.  It’s still touristy, but sitting on the patio overlooking the ocean is lovely.  Even saw some dolphins!

And We’re Off!

 Seems like this trip has been in the planning (or replanning!) stages forever, and finally, finally today we’re off!  

It’s been two weeks since the Shakedown Pedal.  Steve has managed to get out on his solo bike several times, I haven’t managed to get out so hoping the first Cornwall days won’t be too painful!  The house is all shut down and Steve has picked up the van.

We’ll head to Cornwall via an overnight visit with Jess, Matt, Sofia and Jack in Surrey.  We’re bringing Sofia back home after spending a very busy week up North with us.  Also bringing the tandem and all the gear in the van.

Funny challenge for the overnight stay - what do we wear?  Don’t want to be wearing cycling shorts or evening clothes!  Don’t want to add anything else to the luggage!  Decided to wear some things that we could leave at their house and pick up on our way to Florida.

Lovely overnight visit!

Shakedown Day 5 - Threshfield to Home

Still stormy, still stunning

Almost back - just 7 miles to go!

A bit sore this morning (to say the least!), we had to pedal hard yesterday to get over all those hills in all that wind!  Usually up early, pack up and a half full English before heading out, but no breakfast until 8:00!  It was a good one though!  Afterwards, back up the hill(s) out of Threshfield to Hetton.  Stopping in Gargrave to having the bike squeak looked at, as there’s something going on with the front wheel.

I hadn't wanted to go back through Hetton as the hills were so 'challenging' yesterday, but aside from going along a very busy, truck laden road there was no way around it so 'suck it up, Buttercup' and get on with it.  We did end up taking a slightly different route out of Hetton which was better.

Plenty of hills though!  Longer climbs and our friend the headwind was still with us.  After 5 days, we were ready to get home so we pushed on.  About 10 miles out, the hotel called to let us know we'd forgotten to return the room key - not pedalling back at that point!  By the time we got to Hellifield, we were about half way and familiar with the route from there - we know those hills.  Stopped for a second breakfast and a spot for me to lose my gloves.  Then did the route from Hellifield to Sawley, one of my all time favourite runs.

Then it was the dreaded up hill 7 mile slog from Whalley to home.  It's one I avoid because if I'm going to be peddalling up hills I'd rather have scenic than suburbia.  But, time to put the head down and twiddle up the hills until we got home.  

Much excitement when we got there - what a trip!  Now just a 

scenic drive in the country to return that key!

Shakedown Day 4- Kirkby Lonsdale to Threshfield

Need coffee, lots of coffee!

Very happy with his cup of tea!

Stayed at the Springfield Lodge B&B in Kirkby Lonsdale.  Nice place, quiet, all the necessary accoutrements and an easy walk to the village.

Heading off in the morning

Look at that profile!

First challenge of the day?  How to make the (Tassimo) coffee machine work!  Great B&B breakfast, of which we had half and, again, packed up the other half for a second breakfast later.  

Checking out the list of Yorkshire pubs

Off down the windy lanes, mostly very small, through Hornby, Wray, and then up onto the moors and down into the dales.  Had a little fall as we were coming up a hill when we couldn’t change down fast enough, no real damage to us or the bike though

Gorgeous views

Looking back at another steep one

Made a mistake at Clapham, veering off the Coast to Coast route for the ‘short’ route to Settle.  How can a route next to a railway have so many hills?!

Windy rest stop

Up on top of another hill

The other challenge, the 25-30mph headwind - all day long - thanks Storm Betty!  We averaged 9mph for the day.  So many of the wonderful descents ended rapidly due to a full in the face headwind stalling us to a complete stop at the bottom before we did our usual coast half way up the hill!  The wind made the whole day an ongoing slog.  I’m pretty patient about hills, but pedalling up with the wind pushing you back down is a bit of a character builder!

We had a tea stop in Wray and a soup stop in Giggleswick, along with various sausage, bacon and orange stops atop various hills.  And then another long slog to and after Hetton, area of hills before and after!!

Blackberries everywhere

Then 3-4 miles to Threshfield and we were SO happy to get to The Old Hall Inn where they put the tandem in their garage, had a hot shower, some restorative drinks and decent food - we were thrilled at the end of a very long and difficult day!

Almost over the Hetton hill and just a few miles from Threshfield

Shakedown Day 3 - Penrith (over Shap again) to Kirkby Lonsdale

When the road disappears behind you, it was a STEEP hill!

7 miles to go!

Such views along the way!

Interesting aquarium

An end of day treat for Steve

Another big hill climb today, just the other way round!  40 miles in all, first up back over Shap and then over the many short sharp steep hills between Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale - ‘where the hills of the Lake District meet the hills of the Yorkshire Dales’ according to Steve.

We left Penrith after half a Full English and a pack up of the other half for 2nd Breakfast.  10 miles of gentle climbing back to the village of Shap for another tea stop at the Abbey Kitchen.  I’m quite liking peppermint tea for my tea breaks.  Then it was on for another 6 miles up (and up and up) to the top of Shap.  Mostly not as steep as coming up the other way, but the very top was an effort!

At the top, we looked down at what we had climbed the day before - the road from the valley just climbed and climbed.  Amazing that we did it!  It was much more fun freewheeling down, which we did for most of the 10 miles!   As good as the epic descent from San Gimignano in Tuscany, which is the best so far.

Accidentally fell into a vegan cafe in Kendal - no omelettes for us!  Had tea and then headed off to climb the many hills between Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale.  Much huffing and puffing, but only had to push up one.  Overall it was a hard day, but regular injection of food and tea made a difference.

Made it to Kirkby Lonsdale by 2:30, really thought it would have taken longer with all those sneaky hills.  The Springfield Lodge B&B was just on the outskirts of the town, an easy third of a mile back in for next day food, beer and dinner.

No way am I getting blisters!

Night out in Kirkby Lonsdale

Booth’s market (this one in Kirkby Lonsdale) is perfect for cycling road food and right on the way to the Royal Barn, the local brewery. Steve managed to try a couple before hunger kicked in and we needed dinner.  The Orange Tree restaurant served much appreciated massive portions of steak with Brie and bacon!  Nice walk back and a long sleep!

The view on top of Shap