Route Map and Elevation Profile
Day 1 - Lands End to Bodmin (115km, 1,800m)
Saturday, July 10th
Most of us arrived at the nearest railway station, Penzance, the day before the ride commenced (ie. Friday, July 9th). I had been in London for a few days visiting my son and his partner who had been living there since the start of the year.
On the train that I arrived on there were four of five of us, and the Bike Adventures van was waiting to take us, our bikes and our luggage to the hotel at Lands End, a relatively short drive away.
The hotel is spectacularly situated, and the afternoon sun occasionally lit up the west facing restaurant and rooms.
In the other direction is a barren coastline and Atlantic Ocean/English Channel, and a number of small islands with light houses or warning lights.
Those who had already arrived unpacked their bikes and got them ready for the ride. The bikes were stored in an unused function room, and as the evening wore on the room gradually filled with over 25 bikes of various shapes, sizes and qualities.
And the sun took its time in setting, this being close to the longest day of the year.
The following day started overcast and with a heavy sea mist. Everyone put on their Bike Adventures LEJoG riding jerseys for the obligatory "group photo" next to the "John O'Groats 874 miles" sign. For some reason we all seemed both excited and apprehensive.
I naively thought we'd all head off together and I would just tag along for 874 miles, but I was seriously mistaken. Was I the only one in this group who thought it would be like that? Fortunately, as I rode out the gate and realised not everyone was with me, I realised that at least one person was leaving at the same time - another Rob (Tanti), another lone cyclist, and to become my cycling companion for the next 15 days.
I say "fortunately" because Rob was a LEjoG veteran, having done the ride on three previous occasions. This meant i didn't have to look at my route instructions for the rest of the trip (as long as I didn't lose Rob).
First top, and quite a few miles and hills later, was a shop selling Cornish Pasties - what else would you have for morning tea when cycling long distances in Cornwell?
And always present for the first half of the day was the rugged northern coast of Cornwell. You might think the UK is flat (you'd be wrong), or that the steepest hills are in the north (also wrong). Try cycling the coast of Cornwell - Doc Martin territory!
And of course, England being the home of the English, expect some unusual place names and road signs:
It was a long day, and it was a challenging ride - the most frequent route instruction being "road crosses river and climbs steeply", replaced occasionally with "road crosses river and climbs very steeply". But eventually we made it to Bodmin with the sky looking particularly ominous (this is England, after all):
Our hotel for the night is somewhere on the left, and Bodmin Moor somewhere in the distance.Bodmin is nowhere near the coast, so no sea views. We've left the sea behind for a few days, and all I wanted was a hot bath (tick), to wash my clothes (tick), a drink (tick), something to eat (tick) and a good night's sleep (tick).
Day 2 - Bodmin to Whiddon Down (92km, 2,110m)
Sunday, July 11th
The sun came out and cycling continued to be "lumpy". Morning tea (Elevenses here in the UK) was at a delightful tea house in the small town of Minions.
Rob and I were joined by Teresa this morning because her husband Peter had done something to his back on the first day's ride and had to withdraw. Teresa eventually stayed with us all the way to John O'Groats. We were also joined by Andy for "tea", and probably his riding buddy Hugh, who is nowhere to be seen here.
A few more "road crosses river etc" later, and we cross the River Tamar bridge (1437) where we cross from Cornwell into Devon (and the road, naturally, climbs steeply)
The bridge is typical of most medieval European stone bridges with strategically placed bays for pedestriand to wait for passing traffic (wagons and carts, I suppose, not bicycles):
And on the other side, the proof that we have indeed made our first county crossing, of many:
Morning tea today is in the lovely town of Tavistock, which is on the western boundary of Dartmoor. Knowing that a climb was coming, we ate well and stocked up on drinks.
The cafe was on a corner opposite the church and museum, and a lovely square looking towards the entrance to Dartmoor:
I'm not sure where Teresa is at this point, but Rob and I were putting on a brave face for Tony's (BA support) camera as we neared the top of the climb into Dartmoor proper.
In the middle of summer, even on a slightly cloudy day, Dartmoor is very pretty, and the population of small horses is well known. I guess these pose the same danger to speeding cyclists as our kangaroos do.
But I imagine that in winter these places become bleak, and certainly no place for cycling (or even small horses?).
Our stop for the night was in a small town called South Zeal, and this was the first of many nights where the small superior" accommodation group of seven was separated from the larger "standard" accommodation group of twenty. They were in a motel or Ibis hotel about 5 km up the road. While we had baths and slate walled renovated bathrooms, and in my case a room to myself. Luxury!
The town is very picturesque, albeit at the bottom of a short, but steep road, and nowhere near any place called North Zeal, that I could find.
But the hotel itself is clearly very old (that's my room over the main entrance):
And the bar very typical of English country pubs. It was in the "snug"of this hotel after dinner that we watched Spain defeat German in the 2010 football world cup (Que Viva España).
After another 90+km and over 2000m of climbing, I nice meal, and ample beer and wine, I certainly slept very well, again.
Day 3 - Whiddon Down to Bridgwater (95km, 1,600m)
Monday, July 12th
There was a short, sharp climb out of South Zeal, which all of the "superior" group seemed to make comfortably, before joining up with the rest of our group at Whiddon Down (their overnight stop). First stop today was Tiverton where we found a lovely tea housecalled Four & Twenty Blackbirds (no pie on the menu). Here's Andy with Teresa and me just before going inside.
Being Europe in general, and England in particular, there are churches everywhere, including in the middle of the contryside, and often with spectacular views.
Could this be the grave of a long lost relative...?
Who knows! But he certainly rests is a fine location.
Another thing one expects to find in England is railway lines, and railway historical societies running restored locomotives and carriages. We happened upon this scene as the road crossed the tracks somewhere between Tiverton and Taunton.
Then there are the numerous castles, mansions and country manors. I particularly liked this one because it was so visible from the road.
And the entrance gate was also so inviting. In the background are the Quantocks - some impressive hills between here and our eventual destination of Bridgewater. If I recall well, the climb up the Quantocks included at least a mile of 12% to 15% gradient!
Once in Bridgwater, we left the riff-raff behind and headed for the "superior" B&B a little way out of town.That's my room over the main entrance (again) with a lovely view of the front garden. I took a walk into town to explore and buy some provisions, and dinner was in the B&B restaurant.
The sky was becoming overcast, and the weather forecast was of impending rain. From now on, and for the best part of the next week, we had rain each day.
Day 4 - Bridgwater to Tintern (108km, 1,150m)
Tuesday, July 13th
After about 30km of cycling across relatively flat farming country, we arrived in Cheddar for morning tea (elevenses in the UK). It was overcast, and threatening rain, but we still enjoyed being outside.
Strange (for me, anyway) to find an Austrian themed cafe in such a British, cheesy sort of town.
Departing Cheddar we climbed one of the highlights of the ride - the famous Cheddar Gorge. There seemed to be some trepidation before the climb, but in reality it's a fairly steady and not too difficult ride (no photos, unfortunately).
After the Gorge comes the task of finding ones way onto the Severn Bridge and crossing virtually into Wales (well, the border between Wales and England).
By now the forecast rain has started and some of us are already in wet weather gear - notably me and Catriona. Robert and Teresa are more hardy, apparently. It's not cold, just drizzly...
We pose for photos, and try to decide which side of the bridge we're supposed to be on for the Bike Adventures exit.
It turns out we should have been on the other side, but there was a convenient under-pass up ahead. There were also grey skies to the west, and some rather ugly power poles. Even the water looked unattractive and uninviting.
The rain got heavier, but fortunately it wasn't too far to Tintern, rest stop for the night and home to one of the nicest ruined Abbeys I've seen, if that's not an oxymoron. This is the view from our (superior) hotel.
And this IS our superior hotel. It was here at the end of our 4th day that I first started to question whether I could make it all the way to John O'Groats - I was wet, sore, tired and just a little miserable.
I think it was also just after here, having made a few changes to my riding position and gear, that I realised I might just get to John O'Groats after-all. What a difference saddle creme, saddle height and drink additives can make.
I set off alone to explore the Abbey and surrounds.
It looks very wintry, but it was quite mild, if damp. However, I reckon winter in this valley can be particularly bleak. Which begs the question - why build an abbey here? And what caused its eventual demise?
You learn something every day on a ride like this! Some smart monk worked out how to make brass here in the 16th century. I guess he (?) just wanted a better bell!
Almost nobody lives in this picturesque valley these days, but it must have been home to tens of thousands in its day. Perhaps it was easy to defend.
At this point I'm looking for a drink and dinner. This turned out to be a couple of large ciders with a steak (very large) and chips. I dined alone, the others having dined elsewhere, but I needed some time for reflection.
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