Lands End

The Penzance B&B was a little odd, and we ate breakfast surrounded by
huge piles of biscuits, cases of salad cream and assorted edibles. To
get to the toilet involved squeezing past a vast stack of toilet rolls
and enough disinfectant to clean a prison for a year. Is it really
possible that Paul's toilet habits had become that widely known in the
B&B community ?

The 10 miles to Lands End was again in rain and fog and felt quite
tough. We saw a few people starting as we rode in but they all seemed
too focussed on the task ahead to say much. We got a tourist to take a
picture at the finish line, took some for a group who were just
starting, and then sprinted back to Penzance for the 11am train - and
it did seem much easier going back, so maybe we did do it the wrong
way round !

Stats: Total - 942 miles. Just under 11 days. 4 punctures. Glad we
have done it, but never again !

To Penzance - nearly there

We got away from Okehampton around 8.15. Another slow start as we seem
to take a long time to warm up now. Paul is having problems with his
heel and I am now having ibuprofen for breakfast to help with my
knees. It was relatively easy to the coffee stop in Launceston, using
a cycle trail, the old A30 and then a short section of the new A30.

We then decided to use the A30 across Bodmin Moor to get to Bodmin.
This was horrible, with very heavy traffic so we dropped the A30 at
Bodmin and headed for St Austell and then Truro. At one point the road
was closed for a very serious accident but the police allowed us to
walk through once one of the victims had been taken to the helicopter.

The rain had been coming down quite hard all day and from Truro it
became constant, fortunately stopping for just long enough for Paul to
fix another puncture - this time in the front tyre. We had wasted 30
mins in a Tesco cafe in Truro trying to find a B&B, but remote
assistance from Anita finally found one in Penzance - which was still
about 27 miles away. We finally got there about 9pm, soaking wet and
very cold. A hot shower, a few beers and a curry made us feel a lot
better. We are nearly done .....

Stats: 102 miles. Average 12.1. 1 puncture. Knees now protesting.

To Okehampton

We left Peasedown around 8.15. Seeing me in a borrowed silk paisley
dressing gown affected Paul badly and it took him 30 minutes to build
his speed up.

Despite the hilly approach, our departure was reasonably gentle and we
descended in to Wells feeling good and with the full sun on Wells
cathedral. It would have been a great place to stop but we delayed the
coffee until Glastonbury, which even has alternative window cleaners.
The guy doing the coffee shop seemed to be gearing up for an all day
job. And ordering two coffees and two cakes from a wasted barista with
zero short term memory was a real challenge.

We are very happy to confirm that the Somerset Levels are in fact
level. Although a head wind did affect us throughout the day. Next
coffee was Tiverton, where two very helpful older lady cyclists gave
us some route suggestions which worked out very well. They were
serious cyclists who clearly regarded us as slightly retarded
amateurs. Their assurance that we wouldn't even need the small gear
ring was hopelessly wrong and we refuse to accept that women in their
60s could embarrass us that badly. We are therefore convinced they
were evil spirits wearing down innocent cyclists for fun.

Next stop Crediton. A motorcycle shop full of 70s classics which
distracted us for a while.

It was a long slow ride. I am now popping Ibuprofen and Paul's ankle
is making him hobble like an old man. Appropriate I guess !

Stats: 100 miles. Average 12.8. About 100 miles left to go, but
Cornwall is supposed to be very hilly. We will probably aim to do
about 80 miles tomorrow, leaving a short finish and a sprint to
Penzance station on Saturday.

Thorverton , Devon

The photo of me has Paul's thumb right across the lens, so I am
deleting his pictures and just posting the scenic shot.

In to Avon #2

Part of previous post cut off due to tech issue ..... Continues as
below; We weaved in and out of Wales down the Wye valley. B......, S...... and hilly. Across the Severn bridge, but no photo of Paul as he won't stand near the edge. Through Bristol, which was very busy and with some very aggressive drivers, and heading to Peasedown St John for a night with relatives. This involved some absolutely brutal hills but we made it by 3.30. The local village pub had an English and Filipino menu and we decided to go foreign on the basis that the Filipinos definitely weren't responsible for the hills. Possibly the only time all day when we had two alternative routes and chose the right one. Thanks are due to Mike and Jane for being so hospitable - its a lovely spot.
Stats: 72 miles. Average 13.6. Way too many hills.

In to Avon

Catch up time. Yesterday was very scenic and very beautiful. We no
longer like scenic and beautiful because, at least in England, these
words tend to be accompanied by words like rolling HILLS. Cheshire may
well be flat but Shropshire and Herefordshire are not !

We had trouble finding a decent pint of beer in Hereford in the
evening but maybe the walk was good for us. The Green Dragon hotel in
the centre of town is cheap and architecturally gorgeous with a very
good value breakfast but seems to be caught in that spiral of decay
caused by lack of investment due to the big chains finding it cheaper
to build new sites out of town. Still, it is highly suitable for E2E's
on a budget - same price as a Premier Inn but central and with a real
period feel.

We were on the road again before 8 heading for the Severn Bridge.
Beautiful, scenic and HILLY again. Coffee in Monmouth after an awful
hill at Llancloudy. The women seem to be getting more attractive, but
maybe we have been on the road too long.

Ludlow

Some beautiful places and some tough hills. Made it to Hereford but
too tired to post a full report right now. Will try to catch up
tomorrow.

Stats: 99 miles. Average 14.1.