Day 1 – Sunday, Sept. 5th. – Land’s End to Perranporth – 43.9 miles. (Actual – 58 miles.)
The biking got off to an inauspicious start. It was Sunday morning and everyone was anxious to go. The weather was not cooperative, it was very overcast, misty and rainy so everyone was sporting their rain gear. The problem started right away because there were two different bike groups leaving the Land’s End Hotel at the same time. Being the first day, people weren’t familiar with each other. The problems was that the two groups were following different routes. In a situation like that there is the tendency to follow the people in front of you rather than following the route sheet you were given (which is not always easy to read).
Some people in our group, including me an Marie, followed people from the other group thinking they were part of our group. About 5 miles along Marie got ahead of me. Then it got to the point that I couldn’t spot anybody and began to suspect that I made a wrong turn. I backtracked and double backtracked. I was able to determine that I was on the wrong road. I was able to locate on the trip sheet a town that I should get to that would put me back on the route. I was able to find a local farm lady that gave me directions but by the time I got to the point that would put me back on the route I had biked 20 miles. The point that put me back on the route was a point that was actually 6 miles into the day’s journey. That means I had added 14 miles to my day’s total.
I didn’t know where Marie was and assumed that she was with Mike and Janette. I called the guide on my cell phone to tell her that I was back on route but that there may be others out there that were way off route.
I met up with the guide at about the 9 mile mark and rode the rest of the way with her. When I got to the B&B, Mike and Janette were there but Marie wasn’t. She arrived a few minutes later. She had gone 19 miles before she realized that the people she was riding with were not part of our group. She stayed at a cafe for several hours before the guides found where she was and hired a taxi to take her and her bike to the B&B.
Fortunately the rain let up about noon but it didn’t end. It was a very wet day although it was not too cold. The terrain was very hilly. The climbs were steep, the roads were narrow, the pavement was wet and you could not descend the hills without braking. It was a rude introduction to biking in England.
All’s well that ends well but we learned a lot about potential mistakes. Hopefully, the lessons learned early on will prevent problems in the future.
Land’s End, United Kingdom
Day 2 – Monday, Sept. 6th. – Perranporth to Ottery – 53.0 miles.
Today was probably the most challenging 54 miles of biking that I have ever encountered. From the start at 10:00 am until about 3:00 pm there was a fairly heavy, steady rain. I don’t like to ride in the rain unless I have to. I will never go out for a bike ride on my own if it is raining.
The terrain was what I described yesterday only much more severe. There were almost no flat runs. There was only steep inclines and treacherous descents. There were many climbs that were more than a 20% grade. I must admit that in some of those very steep sections I did get off the bike and use my shoes as my lowest gear. Add in the poor weather and it made for a very long day.
Although we wear rain gear it doesn’t really keep the water out. Not only that, but it tends to trap in your sweat so you get wet anyway. What the rain gear will do is trap the heat so you don’t get hypothermia. There is only one thing that will help a bicyclist get to his destination without getting soaked. That is called a “car” and is frowned on by most true bicyclists.
By 2:00 pm we had covered only 24 miles. We stopped for lunch at a pub (good food but no alcohol). During that time it really poured. At one point the rain was so heavy that it knocked out the satellite TV reception in the pub. There were doubts as to whether we should continue. Mike insisted that we go on. Although it was raining when we left the pub at about 3:00 pm, at about 3:30 pm it started to clear up. That saved the day but it didn’t resolve the problem of the steep hills and constant climbs. Again, on the descents you have have to ride the brakes. The roads were narrow, rough and wet, you never know when cars are coming and the roads are very winding. On the Across America trip of 3,700 miles we never had to change our brake pads. Although our brakes were in good condition when we started yesterday, Mike’s and mine are already worn out. They have to be changed tomorrow.The wet weather kicks up dirt and grime which chews up the brake pads.
We didn’t get to the B&B until about 8:00 pm. We only averaged 8.1 mph not counting stop time. There was a lot of stop time to make sure we were following the route correctly. Our total ascent for the day was 6,462 feet according to my GPS unit. (Ascent is the gain of altitude going uphill, not counting loss of altitude going downhill. It has nothing to do with the altitude above sea level.) I have to check my notes but I don’t think we ever did that much ascending in one day on our Across America trip including the days when we crossed the Teton Pass and the Continental Divide.
We did survive and we will take on another challenging day tomorrow. Hopefully, the weather will be more cooperative.
There is a British husband and wife team on the ride. Apparently, doing this trip was his idea and she went along with it. At the end of the day her quote was, “Today was the worst day of my life, yesterday was the second worst.”
Day 3 – Tuesday, September 7th – Ottery to Cullompton – 50.7 miles.
Compared to the first two days we caught a break today. The weather was beautiful when we left the B&B. It took some time to get going because a lot of maintenance work had to be done on the bikes. The drive trains had to be cleaned and lubed due to the rain, brakes had to be serviced and the bikes needed a lot of cleaning.
We entered the Dartmoor National Park. It is a wide open moor that we are told was the setting for Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, Hound of the Baskervilles. There were long climbs involved but they were wide open roads and we could descend without braking. It was a pleasure compared to yesterday. At about the time we reached a peak altitude of 1300+ feet a rain storm rolled in and drenched us for about 45 minutes. However, it cleared up and we rode the rest of the day without rain and it allowed us and our clothes to dry out.
After leaving the park we encountered terrain more like the first two days (narrow roads, lot of steep climbs and more downhill braking than in the park) but it was much more pleasant because of the beautiful weather.
The scenery here is absolutely gorgeous, lush hills, green hedgerows, rolling country, winding roads, grazing animals and beautiful skies.
It was a challenging day, we climbed about 5,300 feet. But compared to yesterday it was a pleasure. Tonight we stay in a modern hotel and golf club. It is quite a change from the B&B’s of the first two nights. While it is nice, there is no charm or personal attention. Marie and I walked into town and had dinner in a pub rather than stay in the hotel. It was a great experience. It was a slow night and the pub wasn’t intending to serve food but the proprietor’s wife cooked up some food for us anyway. It is unbelievable how friendly people can be when you step outside the usual “tourist” path.
Wednesday, Sept. 8th. Columpton to Cheddar (53.4 miles)
Don’t forget your rain gear!
We got a late start this morning. The rear gears on Marie’s bike had developed a wobble. It was making a rattling noise and we figured we had to get it fixed. When we pulled the wheel we couldn’t find anything that was easily repairable. The guide called a bike shop and we took the wheel into the shop. The mechanic worked on it for about 15 to 20 minutes and came up with a repair but no one seems to know what the cause of the problem was. There was a space of less than 1 mm that was causing the wobble. After fixing the problem the mechanic refused to take any money. Maybe he felt that he learned enough from it that he didn’t need to be paid but I still wish I had insisted on giving him something.
At about 11:00 am we set out from the hotel. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The terrain was challenging but nothing like we had the past 3 days. Today’s total ascent was about 3,200 feet. It did involve a few very steep climbs. I do feel like I’m getting stronger already.
We did our best to make up for lost time and got to about the halfway point at about 2:00 pm when we stopped for lunch. Although the weather had changed during the ride and the skies were threatening at about noon, when we stopped for lunch the rain started. We waited as long as we could, put on our rain gear and set out. Of course, for the 4th day in a row we got soaked, However the terrain had leveled out so we were able to make better time. We passed through Wellington which is a very beautiful area.
We got into the hotel at about 6:00 pm. There seems to be very little service in the hotel. Laundry is getting to be a problem.. Hope we can get that sorted out in the next day or two.
Cheddar is very much a tourist attraction. There are very prominent cliffs and caves. Companies run tours of the caves. They claim ownership of “cheddar” cheese but I’m not sure if that is the case. It might just be a convenient appropriation.
Impressions after about a week: England is a very beautiful place. The people are very friendly and the appearance of the country is one of cleanliness. You don’t see all the junk and litter on the sides of the road as you do in the U.S. There are some blatant quirks in the way they do things but they are doing something right. You see no squalor. All of the cars are in great condition, you don’t see beaters. Did I say that the people are friendly? They want to converse with you and they show genuine interest.
The way the bike tour is run is 180 degrees from the Across America or Pacific Coast tours that we did previously. The American tours were guided by a retired Air Force colonel. Everything was precise and there was little flexibility in the schedule. The day’s schedule was set out ahead of time and we responded like soldiers.
This trip is much more laid-back. They give you the time frames but it is up to you to work within them. You are pretty much on your own. One system isn’t necessarily better than the other but some people thrive or die in one system or the other. It’s easy to see how, if one system works for a person, they will begin to think that it is the best system for everyone even though it may not be. I’m somewhere in the middle. Sometimes, on this trip I’d like more structure while there were times on the American trips the rigidity was very annoying.
Now that we are more into the routine of things I hope the days will be easier. The “X” factor always is the weather. As today proved, make sure you have your rain gear.
Day 5 – Cheddar To Chepstow (47.1 miles) – (Climb – 3125 ft.)
It was a day off for the weather devils. For the first time we didn’t get rained on at all. While the riding was not easy, the excellent weather made it much more enjoyable. Just getting out of Cheddar was a difficult climb through the canyon and there was a lot of up and down hills after that. We crossed two massive bridges over the Avon River and the Severn River. Chepstow is in Wales.
We stopped for lunch at a pub. Amazing! There were four beautiful blonde women working there. One may have been the mother but, if so, she was no worse for wear. Pub food is actually quite good now. It used to be that English cuisine was the subject of jokes but they have really raised their standards. They have incorporated influences from Indian, French and even Mexican cooking. There is a wide variety and it can be quite tasty. We are eating well. The evening dinners have been very good.