Almost there

24 June 2011 7pm

A very good night’s sleep was had by all. This was not surprising as we are winding down and had that extra glass of wine, soaking up the atmosphere in the excellent Lamb Inn at Sandford. After a relatively light breakfast (no eggs) we were joined by Alan’s family (Sarah, James & Emma) who had set off early from London, before heading off into the lanes.

The lanes were narrow, winding, steep and flanked by tall hedges. The climbs up were not compensated by fast downhills as there was no way of knowing what was around the next bend (tractor, road junction, gate, cows etc). But the sun was out and we slowly worked our way through the four relatively big climbs before we reached Okehampton after 20 miles. After a quick cup of tea by the Motorway we then skirted Dartmoor and ended up in Launceston where I thought I had finally met the hill that I would have to walk up. It’s called St Stephen’s Hill and is a busy, narrow exit road from the town at the top of which is the Church of St Stephen the Martyr. I can only imagine he was the first guy to try and cycle the hill and failed fatally in the process. Three times I had to veer into a drive just to get 2 or 3 seconds respite from the incline and to keep my heart from exploding out of my chest. One or two degrees steeper and I would have had to push,

From Launceston we went over the top of the hills to the north of Bodmin Moor, peaking at around 1000 feet. We met with Sandra, Sarah and kids for lunch at Hallworthy before a final 15 mile descent into Wadebridge – fast but in a busy tight road and by now it was raining. In total 63 miles at 13mph with 5200 feet of climbing. Steve King was magnificent in keeping up with us – we’re getting used to all this climbing stuff and have trained for months – he joined us yesterday and I think he’s glad his two days are over.

We still have work to do tomorrow but we’re now confident of finishing. Mark’s bike still has gear problems but we are all OK physically and mentally (although some people would differ on that). I think we might have that extra glass of wine again tonight at our hotel, the Molesworth Arms.