Day 5 Poole to Wroxhall - A Meeting of Minds

"George used to do something in the garden"...Today was an early start for me and I had to work for my breakfast as it was being prepared 10 miles away! In order to catch up with Dad, I set off from home just after 07:00 so I could arrive in Bournemouth in time for our usual 08:00 breakfast. Thankfully, the planned route for the day was only 48 miles and as I had already completed over a fifth of this distance before breakfast, we had a gentle day ahead of us! On the first stretch down to Lymington to catch the Isle of Wight ferry we had our first collision. My acute sense of body movement meant that I pulled out on to a main road as Dad did...just as he stopped having noticed an approaching car. You could call it a meeting of minds, but in reality, it was just proof that crash helmets work very well in a low impact headbutt situation! No serious injuries were sustained (although I did, today, pick up a couple of additions to my awesome collection of cool looking pedal inflicted scars on my right leg). Today's stunning weather meant that the ferry crossing over to Yarmouth was beautifully calm and made for some good photo opportunities. As we were making good time, arriving on the Island before 12 with only 23 miles to do, we decided to grab an uncharacteristic pub lunch and added a few miles on by heading over to the Needles which are featured in today's photo. To finish off the day, we followed the Randonee route around the south of the island which contains a couple of good climbs to make us feel like we've put the effort in today! ...Quite who George was and what he did in the garden, we will never know!

Day 4 Bridport to Poole - There's no place like home!

Today was the gentle respite that I hoped yesterday would be! A few tough climbs out of Bridport and Abbotsbury gave a kick start to the morning, but things levelled out a bit later on in the day. The route around Abbotsbury and Weymouth was actually part of a training ride we did a few weeks ago and in the true adage of "better the you know" it was certainly easier going knowing what to expect. Away from Weymouth, we ventured again into the unknown which came also with our first major navigation error. I say "our" but Dad's the one with the map so really it was his fault! We ended up taking a main A-road route which had been purposely avoided in the planning! This actually added a small distance on to the day as we found an alternative back road to get us back on the planned route. The next section took us towards Wareham and thanks to the River Frome's flood plain, this was a pleasantly flat section which lasted about 10 miles without sight of anything more than a mild bump in the road! Once in Wareham, I was back on home turf as we followed one of my favourite paths around Poole harbour via Corfe Castle and Studland. We arrived at the Sandbanks chain ferry with perfect timing just as it finished loading up and took a quick breather before rolling off on the Sandbanks side and continuing on. This was where Dad and I seperated. My route took me back around to Poole Quay and a refreshing night staying at home, making my total distance for the day around 65 miles. Dad, on the other hand had a little further to go to stay with my Grandmother on the Christchurch side of Bournemouth. For now I am not envious of the extra 10 miles or so he had to do today, but I pay for this tomorrow morning as I have an early start to catch up with him by 8.00 in the morning! All in all, this was the best day so far and my aching limbs are definately not so bad tonight. Perhaps that means I'm finally getting into the swing of things!

Day 3 Moretonhampstead to Bridport - Size does matter

Cunningly, we had planned today as a relatively gentle wind down from yesterday's uphill grind over the Moor. Unfortunately, today's route was riddled with long uphill grinds so actually offered little, if any, relief. Today we encountered our first "pusher" which is pictured today. This was the exit route from the village of Branscombe. You know you are fighting a losing battle when your down to 2.5mph and getting over-taken by worms! Pushing the bikes up the hill was marginely quicker although no less exhausting. The exit from Branscombe was, however, made more exiting by watching motorists negotiating oncoming traffic on this steep, single track road. Many an accident was narrowly averted and I'm sure that this must be a hotspot for low speed crunches! The last couple of days have taught me to fear the exciting blasts down hills because it just means you have to go back up the other side! This was particularly true with Sidmouth where we stopped for lunch. The way in was exhilaratingly fast (and painful on the braking fingers!), but inevitably this meant a long labourious climb back out! A little further along the coast in Seaton, we met a helpful local cyclist who aided our departure from the town by suggesting a more gentle route back out. This took the form of a slight diversion from our planned route and whilst still presented itself as a steep hill, it looked a damn sight better than what we would've done! Today's highlight was the descent into Lyme Regis which offers a stunning view of the Dorset coast line all along Chesil Beach as far as Weymouth and Portland. This must be some of the most spectacular coast in the country! This view made the hard work from the rest of the day seem worth the effort! Tonight's arrival at the B&B in Bridport was a very welcome relief and I'm sure I will sleep very well tonight! Tomorrow's ride brings me back on home turf so I have a good idea of what to expect. Topped off with an overnight stay at home, I'm hoping that this will be a mid-journey respite!

Day 2 Par to Moretonhampstead - Dart-More? No Thanks!

I've been reliably informed that today would be the hardest day...I sure as hell hope that's true! I was prepared for this afternoon being tough as we were climbing over Dartmoor, however, what I didn't count on was the morning containing comparetively steep and lengthy hills. Yesterday's sunshine had obviously taken its toll on the outside of my right leg. I was aware last night that it was burned, but as I felt an increasing burning sensation throughout the first few hours of today's ride I decided that I needed to protect it from further sun damage. As such, a trip to Boots was necessary in Tavistock to pick up a bandage and tonight will no doubt play host to mass application of after-sun! Unlike yesterday, i actually feel like I've done a hard day's ride today. The average speed has dropped from a respectable 13mph yesterday to only 10mph today due to the long, draining hills which I hope to leave behind now! Right now, I could just do with going home and sleeping. Unfortunately, we have another week to go, so tomorrow will be an interesting test to see how I cope after a very tough day! Today's picture is of the bikes on top of Dartmoor (just to prove we really were up there!)

Day 1 Lands End to Par - Screwloose

If anyone's ever told you that Cornwall was hilly and you wondered if it was true, I can confirm that it is! Mind you, the ride today was not as painful as I was expecting which was a welcome surprise. Today's excitement came in the form of a missing screw whose absence I discovered about 30 miles in. Crucially, this particular screw was one that aids fixture of the saddle to the rest of the bike, thus leaving me slightly wobbly at times! Unfortunately, we were still 10 miles out of Truro which was our best bet for a suitable establishment from where to purchase some spare parts, so regular inspection of the saddle was required to ensure the other screw remained in place (if it hadn't, I would've ended up in the road so I guess I would have noticed!). Luckily, en route through Truro, we came across a Halfords so we stopped to pick up a screw and re-attach the the saddle. It transpired during the maintenance process, that the reason the screw had probably come loose in the first place was because the idiot who had fitted the saddle post in the first place (naming no names, Dad) had installed it backwards, meaning that there was not much thread for the screw to cling to! Anyway, having fixed that problem, it was a mere 20 more miles and a few more hills before arriving at tonight's stop over in Par. All in all, a fantastic day's ride, and the weather has been just about perfect! Today's picture is of St Michael's Mount viewed from Marazion just outside Penzance.

Day 0 - The journey to Lands End

We spent a good hour first thing this morning trying to work out the finer points of mobile blogging (and by that i mean, making the bloody thing work!) In the end it was actually extremely simple, so, with a bit of luck, these words will actually appear on the blog like magic! Other than the expected intermittant delays on the A303 and a brief encounter with a speeding ambulance, it was a fairly uneventful car journey down. After checking in to the b&b we took the 2 mile trip down to Lands End itself for photo taking and a spot of (rather late) lunch. Today's picture is of the bikes outside the b&b, fully loaded and ready for action!

testing

This is a test to show that I can blog from my mobile phone using normal e-mail.