July 26- Fort William to Drumnadrochit- 85.1 km

July 26- Fort William to Drumnadrochit- 85.1 km

Well what difference a day can make!!!

Yesterday and the day before Scotland turned on the fine and sunny weather...today it was very wet with drizzle and rain for all of the ride. This combined with most of the ride being on main roads made for HARD RIDING.

At briefing in Fort William the weather was OK and I thought we might be in for an OK day....well it seems that the Loch Ness monster had his say as we travelled along the shores of Loch Ness!!!

It was interesting to see the Caledonian canal which was built as a shipping land across Scotland  across all of the Lochs that make up the "Great Glen". From what we were told, the canal was started as rail was being used in the UK and by the time it was finished it was almost obsolete as a trade....pity because it is a real marvel. Today it is mainly used to ship pleasure craft ( motor cruisers, barges and sailing boats) from one loch to another.

Getting back to the ride....We organized to have coffee and scones at Invergarry at the local hotel where we were told by Rob ( tour leader) that they had the best to offer in Scotland!

Well after 42 kms of a mixture of climbs and "undulating" riding in the rain we were ready for a stop in the warm...

The Hotel staff were very good in getting us organized to hang our wet gear and get organized for morning tea... the only trouble was we had the thought of doing another 43 kms in the wet mainly on the main road (A82). But doing this with some sustenance was at least a good start!!!

The rest of the trip wads fairly horrible apart from a short period when we travelled along the bike path along the canal.

The only issue here was the path had this paving of loose stones (like Lilydale topping in Melbourne) which when wet splashed up to cover us all in a fine coat of white mud.... more on that later!

The ride after the bike path was along the A 82 which was busy with trucks, buses, campervans and all manner of cars ( mostly tourists) which made for difficult and careful riding. Despite this we were keen to get to the end of the ride to have a warm shower and lunch.

Steve led the ride for most of the day and we had Walt and his wife June with us and we made excellent time to be at Drumnachronit at about 1.30pm!!

I must say that for a "big fella" Walt really impressed me with his riding today. 

We lost Chris before morning tea unfortunately and he continued on without the morning tea stop to be first in for the group.....well done Chris!! ( Chris said he quite enjoyed the ride)

On reaching the hotel there were some issues regarding the storage of our bikes so we left them chained to a flower box outside the hotel so we could have a hot shower.

Getting in to my room I looked in the mirror and saw that I was filthy from top to bottom and hopped in the shower fully clothed, complete with Helmet to was everything. The shower was beautiful and I managed to clean my gear....now for the drying!!!

The hotel we are staying at is the Drumnadrochit hotel which is "fairly average".

After the shower Steve and I went to the hotel where others from the group were staying and it was certainly much better. We had a burger and a couple of pints with others to reflect on the day and what we achieved...( It was my first burger of the trip and it tasted good!!!)

Today was a day we needed to "get through" and we did without any mishaps. It was the best day so far as speed was concerned despite the weather ( ave riding speed of 23.1 kph) and we climbed 462 metres...so a flattish day

As a result of the weather I am afraid there are very few photos for you all.....

Todays route up the Great Glen...

At the start we had to negotiate this bridge on foot....
A lot of our group is pictured here with wet weather gear on!!!!

What a contrast....
Ben Nevis cannot be seen for cloud....
Glad we made the visit yesterday to see it

One of the weirs on the river between the Lochs...

Morning tea at last!!!!
June with Walt, Steve ( from Tassie) and Steve ( from UK)
Great coffee and scones!!!

The Caledonian canal... with Walt in the foreground

A lock on the Caledonian canal
Very impressive despite the rain!!!!!!

Home for the night
An average hotel

July 25 - Bridge of Awe to Fort William- 89.5 kms

July 25 - Bridge of Awe to Fort William- 89.5 kms

After a wonderful dinner including some nice French wine shared between "fast" Steve and I and a restful nights sleep we awoke to another beautiful morning and day. The past 2 days have been "right out of the box: with little or no cloud and temps in the mid 20's and little or no wind...delightful for riding!

After briefing it was off to the adventures of the day....

The first stop was Connel....you would not believe it!! 

It had a big bridge and I could not think how apt it was that a town named after John Connal , who is one of the best bridge designers in Australia....just kidding!!

After a bit of undulating riding on the main road it was on to Cycle Pat 78 which is a rail trail pretty much through to Fort William ( with a few diversions)\

Travelling on the Cycle Path was certainly easier than the road which was very busy with big truck and cars and campervans.

Some parts of the cycle path reminded me of the paths we have at home and the Warby Trail in the Dandenong's...the only thing missing is the smell of the Eucalypts...

I had a funny day today as I was thinking of my training for this ride when I rode on many of the Cycle paths in Melbourne...interesting!!

This was also combined with thoughts of my earlier calls home to Robyn, CC and Nick to see how things were at home....Jodes I tried you but it went to message bank. Sorry I missed you.

Along the path we met several who were on road trips with fully loaded panniers going both ways. One guy from England was doing the West East ride for instance.

We made a coffee stop at Kentallen mainly due to me going in to coffee withdrawal  but I sense it might have suited Steve as he had a couple of minor scrapes on the pathways. it is amazing how riding on cycle paths is different from riding on roadways and country lanes...as we have pretty much up to now.

After coffee it was on to Onich for lunch at a pub overlooking Loch Linnhe.At this stage we were riding with Bob, Steve, Chris, Jane and myself. 

After lunch it was the final push of about 18km in to Fort William.....BUT oh no.....

Steve said it was a good day to try and see Ben Nevis ( the biggest mountain in the UK) on what was a superb summers day. So we rode a further 5kms to see the mountain which was quite superb really.

On the way back Chris led us on a bike path to show us a 12th century castle which was also very interesting.

Tonight we are staying at the Guisachan Guesthouse which I am pleased to say had great WIFI so I can send out pictures of the past few days

We had a delightful dinner at a local seafood restaurant which was on the banks of Loch Linnhe and we were joined by Margarite from our group who lives in Scotland and was able to entertain us with stories of her life and times her in this wonderful country.

Today is day 17 of the trip and we have 4 more days to go.

A good day of riding with great weather.

Now for the photos....

 Steve and Peter on Connel bridge

Connel township from afar

....Oooppps Steve takes his first tumble and recovers well...

A view of Loch Linnhe....quite beautiful on a lovely day

The Cycle path we rode on...
Quite different from our normal riding of previous days!!

At lunch at Onich...
Yours truly, Steve, Bob and Jane...Chris is the photographer

 Ben Nevis in the middle....

Yours truly and Ben Nevis
I hope a train did not come!!!!

The riding crew with Ben Nevis
Steve, Jane, Chris, Bob and Peter...

An interesting view of Ben Nevis through the arch at the castle....

Home for the night at Fort William

The route today

 

Pictures from Arrochar to Bridge of Awe- 24th July

Pictures from Arrochar to Bridge of Awe-24th July

Briefing at the Arrochar Hotel...Rob gives us instructions...enjoy the day!!!

The big climb looking back from "RESR & BE THANKFUL"....we took the "high road"...

A pretty church at Cairndow...they were installing air conditioning...mainly for the heat.
We spoke to the Church Edler who said there were about 10 regular parishioners.....

The café at Loch Fine...very impressive but also expensive.
we needed a coffee after 23kms!!!!

A view of Loch Fine...they have very good oysters here....

The castle at Invararay....very impressive

The waterfront at Invararay...

Steve and a roadside worker who is dropoing off skittles

This was shortly after my altercation with a truckie....

A nice view of Loch Awe..

Home for the night at Bridge of Awe

Well run hotel by a Kiwi family

Good food and good rooms....

Pictures from Yesterday.....

Pictures from Strathven to Arrochar

Steve and Scott watch as Walt had a repair for a puncture

On a bike path through Glasgow

Iron bridge across the Clyde in Glasgow

The crew we rode with on the iron bridge
Yours truly, Chris (from NZ), Fast Steve ( from UK), Steve ( from Tassie) Walt & June ( from US) and Bob ( a POM who now lives in US)

Walt repairing his tube before lunch
He got a new tyre at lunch later on....

..an interesting sculpture on the bike path with a few of the "clan" on board
I am in the white....

Our lunch spot at Bowling Basin.
They had a bike shop where a few has running repairs done...

Yours truly at Loch Lomond...yeh!!!
One off the bucket list!

A pretty cottage near Luss...

The "main drag" at Luss...
Pretty village but full of tourists!!

Wonderful view of Loch Lomand... I feel a song coming on!!!
"By yon bonny banks etc etc...."

24th July - Arronchar to Bridge of Awe- 73.5kms

24th July - Arronchar to Bridge of Awe- 73.5kms

I think we all decided that the hotel at Arronchar was probably the worst hotel we have had on the trip so far.....The hotel was in bad need of maintenance and had a residual smell of smokers and the food for both dinner and breakfast was average!

The location however was very picturesque....all in all good potential not being used.

Having said that.... all of the hotels we have stayed at have been very, very good!

Today was a one sheet instruction ride of 75kms....a far cry from the 7 sheets of yesterday!

Chris, Steve and I started shortly after the 9.00am briefing and it was not long before we were on the the big climb of the day from Long Loch to Loch Fine. The climb to the top of the saddle was about 7kms at an average of about 6% on a good road. It was a steady climb with no relief. We had a choice to take "the old road" which was lower to start off with but had some steep switchbacks at the end....we took the "high road" so to speak and although busier was quite scenic.

The top of the climb is called "Rest and be Thankful" ...and we did and were!

On the way up we were passed by a Scottish rider who made me look as if I was standing still...great riding. I hope he was years younger than me!!!

After a short break it was then a big steady descent to Loch Fine. The descent was about 8kms and I topped out at speeds over 50kph....could have gone faster but my descending is poor compared to others.

We stopped at Loch Fine where there was a restaurant/tea room plus deli and had coffee and a croissant. The restaurant has some great history as it sells the famous Loch Fine Oysters and was the scene of a famous meeting between Gordon Brown ( PM at the time) and another politician where that decided on important things economically for the UK during the financial crisis....I would recommend this as a place to visit for lunch!!

After that it was along Loch Fine to Inveraray  which was about the half way point of the day...36kms.

This is a very pretty town which has a castle which is very well kept. It is the home of the Campbells. Many of our group had lunch here but Steve, Chris and I decided to "push on" over the second climb of the day through to Loch Awe. Once again this was a steady climb of about 12kms which had a real kicker at the start of 13% for about 100 yards then "flattened out" to an average of about 5% for the rest of the climb. There were some flat bits every now and then for some relief. Along the way we passed through some intense forestry operations with softwood timber and every now and then we were passed by trucks loaded with logs off to the mills.

The descent from the top of the climb was again exhilarating with us all going fairly hard as the road was good...until we reached a 2km stretch which was being resealed and there were loose stones everywhere. A truck passed me along the way and when we had to stop for the road crew doing their resurfacing...the truck driver was quite abusive...I ignored him as I could not understand a word he said.....At the stop I said to Steve and Chris that I would let him pass which he did without any further comment!

I must say that in all the travels so far this is the first time a driver has been abusive towards me...

We intended to stop for lunch at Lachawe but could not find a café so we pressed on to a café near the Cruachen Power Station ( Hydro power). This a delightful café on the banks of the Loch and the food ( sandwich for me, panini for Steve and soup for Chris) was good.

After lunch we only had a short ride in to the Brander Hotel at the Bridge of Awe. The hotel is excellent and is owned by a Kiwi who has just completed full renovations.

The menu looks good and talking to the owner he says we will be not disappointed with the cuisine

Unfortunately the photos cannot be downloaded again so I will try when the WIFI use is not less...

All in all another day of excellent riding with excellent weather ( sunny and in mid 20's) and a good mixture of climbs descents and undulating riding.

Today's route....

July 23- Strathaven to Arrochar- 98.8kms

July 23- Strathaven to Arrochar- 98.8kms

Today was an interesting day where we had very little climbing...in fact we only had a day where we climbed 431metres over the 98.8kms travelled.

The say stated out with our briefing from Rob and we were delighted that despite 7 pagesof notes for the ride, it was going to be flat and relatively easy....

It was a day where we negotiated through Glasgow and saw some very interesting country as we rode along cycle paths into and along canals, rivers ( the Clyde and the Leven) and finally we cycled beside Loch Lomond to our final destination at Arrochbar which is located on the banks of Loch Long.

We organized the day so a number of us rode together as in theory the day was an easier day.... Steve was elected leader and I was the "sweep" for the day.

The trip in to Glasgow was fairly uneventful other than there was a bit of rain and it was a bit cool....temp for most of the day was 16 degrees which was OK.

Going through Glasgow was interesting along the Clyde River where you could see the remnants of the big shipbuilding that was huge in the early part of the 20th century. 

My feeling was that Glasgow could make better use of the paths alongside the Clyde to have outdoor cafes etc....The interesting part was the number of bridges that cross the Clyde...there must have been at least 15 of them that we saw....many of these were built in the 1800's out of stone and iron. 

We also passed through some very depressed parts of Glasgow with Housing Commission style houses and apartments.

After passing along the Clyde it was on to the bike path along the Clyde canal....this was far prettier. The path we travelled on here was a former railway which is now disused but serves as a terrific bike path.

We stopped along this at a place called Bowling Basin at 54kms in to the ride. The café was OK but limited food was available as the electrics were "shorting out" when we arrived....Luckily for a few in the group, the café was located next to a good bike shop ( Magic Cycles) and those with tyre and puncture problems were able to get sorted out.

After lunch it was on to the bike path again with Steve leading and me sweeping. The bike path moved through Dumbaton ,which is situated on the Leven River, and then on to Renton, Alexandria and Balloch where shortly thereafter we were able to see Loch Lomond....

I must say that the Loch was very picturesque and being a Sunday the " locals" were out in numbers on boats and generally sight seeing.

The bike paths were also very busy with riders of all ages doing their Sunday rides from Glasgow to Loch Lomond and return.....We passed an older gent and his wife who were "very gruff " as we made our way....I guess with us trying to be friendly they simply did not understand us!!!

Alongside Loch Lomond we travelled to the town of Luss which is very pretty but was full of tourists. We had an ice cream and took a few photos then it was on to Arronchar where the ride fir the day ended.
As I said earlier Arronchar is located on Loch Long which has access to the sea...as opposed to Loch Lomond which is a fresh water lake.
Today was a good ride in many ways but in some way spoilt by my disappointment with Glasgow.
The photos are going to have wait as the WIFI connections are poor.


Here is the route for today

July 22- Moffat to Strathaven- 92.5kms

July 22- Moffat to Strathaven- 92.5kms

Well today I awoke after the rest day with a "good feeling" about the day and the ride ahead despite there being some drizzly rain and cloud around. The temperature throughout the day was in the "mid teens" and the drizzle was on and off for most of the ride...

The choice we had today was to do a shorter ride of about 70kms or the longer more scenic route of 92kms.....well Fast Steve ( now know his surname Bawtree) agreed that we would do the longer ride with June ( from the US and not sure of her surname!). So off we set, a little earlier than the rest of the group.

The first stage of the ride was a 11km climb out of  Moffat to the Scottish Borders region which I think starts to separate the Highlands from the Lowlands. The climb was fairly constant at about 5-6% which was not too bad. I must admit my "climbing legs" are feeling quite good after the past 13 days of riding plus a day of rest.

The view from the top of the climb was quite stunning and despite the drizzle we enjoyed a stop at the top to enjoy it. Thereafter there was a really good and long descent through country that was being farmed with sheep and cattle and with timber plantations. Steve explained that a lot of the softwood timber plantations were not native and the locals had made complaints about this as it did not attract a lot of bird life and that now restrictions were in place now to include local indigenous trees as part of the plantations.

We made or only stop for the day for food at Broughton ( after 37kms) and found a delightful tea room with some entertaining Scottish ladies who ran the shop. We had coffee and tea with the mandatory scones with jam and cream....YUM!.

It was then on further through some rolling country and some lovely towns. At one town, Biggar we saw a group of 5 chaps dressed in their kilts and regalia with bagpipes and they kindly obliged for a photo....A real highlight for us and for them to be photographed by an Aussie, a yank and a Brit.....

After that it was on over the Clyde river towards towns which included Thankerton, Carmichael, Lasnahagow, Boghead, Sandford and finally Strathhaven ( pronounced Stahern)...as the ladies at the coffee shop said...in Scotland you leave out the Tea and drink whiskey....makes sense to me)

The travelling after the morning break was quite fast with Steve setting the pace. The roads were quite good although we came across a road which was closed due to road works....rather than go around by a different route we decided to press on and take our chances. The road was in fact being resurfaced not far from the turning point and as a result we had to walk our bikes for about 500metres over some rough surfaces which were also soft....see later pictures.

We made really good time after this minor delay and arrived at our hotel at about 2.30pm, only to see that Chris had arrived via the shorter route before us....well done Chris!

We celebrated our ride with a ham sandwich, chips and 2 pints of the local beer...very refreshing

The hotel we are staying at is excellent and sitting here in my room you could not wish for a better feeling after another great ride ( despite the weather)

Today we climbed 1045 metres.

PS...the Dees had a good win today back in Melb over Port Adelaide and talking to Christopher this morning Mykala and Neat are now home which is great....

Now for the photos...sorry some are bit blurry as rain got on the lens   NOT BEER!!!

The route today

We crossed over this bridge on the way out of Moffat....

...as we leave Moffatt....quite sad really as we enjoyed our rest day here.

Near the top of the climb out of Moffat we stopped to enjoy the scenery
This is Steve and June..

..and wow this was the view...

...and what we still had to climb...errr!

But there was reward at the top of the climb...the "highroad"...

...and the descent was glorious...even though it was drizzling

Coffee at Broughton  ....June and Steve with our hosts who were very good
The coffee and scones were good also...

A view across the Clyde valley

The Scottish bagpipers we saw in full dress in Biggar....
Quite resplendent in their kilts.

Crossing the Clyde....it get much bigger when it gets to the coast!!

On the other side of the bridge there were houses with lawns which overlooked the Clyde
Pity about the weather!!!

Ooooppps ...should we go down this road???
Of course...only a short walk...maybe???
It will slow down the average speed for the day???
Going back is too much trouble...lets just go for it!!!

Finally after a good day of riding our home for the night
After 2 whiskey shots it was good to get to bed....

Friday 21st July-Rest Day in Moffat

Friday 21st July-Rest Day in Moffat

Today is a rest day in Moffat which is quite a lovely town over the English border in Scotland.

I awoke early in the morning at 6.00am to watch the news (BBC) and get ready for an early morning walk around the town with Chris before breakfast

Seems I am used to waking early ahead of riding after 12 consecutive days!!!

The walk around town was interesting and Chris and I had a stop at the bakery opposite the hotel to get a "coffee scroll" ( called a Chelsea Bun here). The walk through the town out to the start of farmland was interesting and the houses here are largely made of local stone...mostly bluestone from what we saw...

We then had breakfast and undertook our "chores" which included cleaning bikes and oiling the chain and organizing washing...thank goodness the hotel has a cheap cleaning service.

After our chores we had another walk around the town and a coffee.

Sitting here in the hotel dining room doing my blog I am her with many others doing postcards and resting for the ride ahead to John O'Groats.

In looking at the Garmin reports so far it is interesting to report the following "stats"

- Kms travelled- 1005.4kms!!!

- 13,600 meters climbed

- Days on the road so far 12 days

All of this is some sort of record for me!!!

Just on another less selfish point...I am missing my family and am looking forward to seeing my new granddaughter ( Mykala) and of course Robyn my wife....

Looking forward to the ride ahead which could have some interesting weather.

Now here are a few photos

House on early morning walk...pretty hanging baskets

Lolly shop in town....
What a selection!!!!

A couple of guys playing music in the street

...and we came across this plane ....a replica spitfire

...in the front yard of a house....
Not sure whether he landed it there!!!

20th July Armathwaite to Moffat- 95.4 km

20th July Armathwaite to Moffat- 95.4 km

Today was a fairly flat ride as we only climbed 757metres....
It was the day we crossed in to Scotland, the day the ride distance went beyond 1000kms and the last ride before our rest day in Moffat...
Steve (I call him "fast Steve" as he is normally first in to the hotels each afternoon) asked me to join him on the ride. As Chris was staying at a hotel about 11 km up the road for the previous night, Steve and agreed to meet with Chis and then complete the ride together.
Despite having some trepidation that I might be a burden being slower than Steve, we had a really good day of riding together...the 3 of us...
In many respects the country we travelled through was not as interesting to me as the other days we have ridden. Not sure whether this was because of the weather (coolish at about 16 degrees and overcast), a large part of the ride being on B roads which were busier and were largely beside the main motorway heading to Glasgow or whether I had to concentrate on riding to make sure I did not let Team Steve, Chris and Pete down.
To give you some idea of the relative speeds of the ride we had today....we averaged about 20kph compared to 16 on other days with stops included. Now 4-5 kph does not sound a lot but it means you work a bit harder on the whole ride whether riding up the hills or down...
You will see we took several pictures of the approach then finally the crossing from England to Scotland....to be frank it was nothing to write home about.
We also crossed Hadrian's Wall but there was nothing to see for the effort Hadrian made to buld the great wall across England to keep out the invading hordes from Scotland.
I am told the cross England walk following Hadrian's wall is something to do....not sure how you follow this when there is no wall to be seen!!
At about 30 km in to the ride we stopped in Longtown where there is an excellent bike shop. I wanted to check my bottom bracket as it was making some creaking sounds. The guys there made the check and it was OK....seems sometimes the creaks come from the carbon fibre frame when there is extreme pressure in riding up hills...this made me feel much better..the guy also made some adjustment to the back disc which was rubbing when freewheeling...I can now go a little faster now the breaks are not on all the time!!!
After Longtown it was on the Ecclefechan for lunch in a stately home...forgotten the name now. But we had sandwiches and coffee then pushed on for the rest of the ride. As I said earlier this ride of about 20kms was fairly boring being a fairly major road beside the motorway...the surface was good and it had good shoulders and the gradients both up and down were about 2%...funny how a boring part of the ride is a flatter road but there it is...
Along this part of the ride we passed Lockerbie which was the town that took the brunt of the Pan Am disaster many years ago. We decided not to go and look at the town or the memorial as it is a fairly bleak part of Scotland.
The final part of the ride after heading off B 7076 was more interesting as we headed in to Moffat.
We arrived in Moffat at about 2.30pm well ahead of most of the other members of our group.
We are staying at the Buccleaugh Arms Hotel ( pronounced beclew) which is very comfortable.
Steve and I went for a walk to get a few items to clean our bikes on the day off and some insect repellent for "midgees" who are apparently a real pest for bike riders as we head north...
Tomorrow is our day off and I am looking forward to a rest after 12 days of pretty serious riding
In tomorrow's blog I will give some stats on the ride so far.
Now for the photos...

The route for the day.....Now in Scotland!!!!

This sign looked promising....but we had a way to go!!!

A nice Church and a very big graveyard
Seems a lot of people die here???

"Fast" Steve & Chris at a cross road....the Gretna sign meant something to Chris as a Civil Celebrant

The Manor House where we had lunch....very impressive!!!
The touring company use this as a place to stay on some trips
Has a camping ground nearby.....for Phil!

Finally at the border...pity it only gets shown on the motorways.
We had to stand on a fence to get this photo....

Home for the night ....and the following night

Looking forward to a rest!!!

19th July- Dent to Armathwaite- 88.7km but climbed 1268 metres!!

19th July- Dent to Armathwaite- 88.7km but climbed 1268 metres!!

There was real 'nervous energy' at breakfast this morning as we knew we had one "mother of a climb" to get on top of the Yorkshire Dales to make our journey to the north of England. Over dinner last night there was a lot of talk and joking about the climb and the decent...One of our guys ( Nigel from the UK) is having trouble with his leg and was trying to work out how he could do the climb "one legged"... he reckoned if he made it to the top ( 535metres/1750ft) he could roll down to the end of the ride!!

The weather was warm but cloudy on the top of the mountains so we knew we were in for an interesting time.

The first 6kms were pretty good to get the legs warmed up then we started the climb.....well not only did we have a steep road with gradients getting to 20%, but we had a head wind blowing at us. The first part of the climb was about 1.6kms which was really tough....then we had 2.kms of climbing at about 8% average...again with a head wind and fog!

Needless to say it was good to get to the top and recover....I was pleased to say I stopped only once to get my breath! The ride so far has made me a much better climber and I am finding it easier to get in to a comfortable rhythm on big climbs...hope this continues when I get home.

You would not believe it but after reaching the top we then had a reasonably big decent which as I have mentioned in earlier postings is not a great part of my riding skills yet. The decent took us to a small town in Cumbria called Outgill and along the Eden Valley...quite pretty...well it needed to be after what we had been through!

We also followed the Settle-Carlisle railway line which had some very interesting bridges along our route. We were told the railway line was scheduled to close many years ago but the locals "kicked up a stink" and forced the authorities to keep it open, It seemed to have a lot of passenger and freight trains running as we made our way through the valley.

Morning tea was at a coffee/tea shop in Kirkby Stephen which is owned by a bike enthusiast and he talking to Chris and I about the rides in the region and some of the locals who had gone on to make marks in British cycling. His wife also offered to sell the shop to Chris and I....we declined the offer!

As morning tea was a little more substantial (Scones for me and cake for Chris) we decided to push on for a late lunch......well the riding was simply magnificent!

We travelled through rolling hills but with a descending trajectory all the time, the wind was also behind us as we averaged 30-35kph for most of the trip in the open country. At times we were over 45kph!!!

Wow this was terrific after the start! Unfortunately we had to slow down through the towns!!

We passed through some very pretty country which we could see now as the day cleared up to be relatively fine ( 22 deg) with a little cloud cover.

The towns/villages of note were Appleby-in Westmoreland, Long Martin, Newbiggin and Culgaith. Seems each had a big Manor House near the edge of the town with large farming businesses...presumably the houses/manors being in "family hands" for many generations.

We had a late lunch ( 2.30pm) at Lanhwathby ( 71 kms in to the ride) then pushed on to Armathwaite where we are staying for the night.

As the riders from the group arrive there is general big smiles of achievement of a days riding which was both tough and extremely exhilarating

Another good day....

Tomorrow I pass 1000 kms for the ride!!! Yea!

....and we arrive in Scotland

Now for the photos

Todays Route which took us partly through the Yorkshire Dales...the tough bit

Then along the Eden Valley

 

At the top of the climb...I was thrilled to get to the top.
I think I was second in the group!!!
June arrived shortly after me as I was takin this shot

A big viaduct for the railway
Just look at the engineering!

The signpost going in to Cumbria!
Rob ( 0ne of our leaders) is from Cumbria.
Not sure whether tis is his house???

The railway line again....I just missed a train!!!

The Eden Valley with clouds on the hills.

This was the front gate to a manor house that took my eye...The Burrells
The photo does not really show the pretty house inside the gates

Appleby-in Westmorland. The main street

The Eden River in the same town....
I had a Mars Bar here.....while....

.....Chris spoke to the local Funeral Directors
He is a civil celebrant in NZ and said he wanted to understand the local customs
Could be a good tax lurk!

This sign took our attention...
Wonder if they have any shops in Knock???

Another grand entrance to a manor house

Lunch stop at Langwathaby for a sandwich and lime and water
Lime and water is a favourite drink for most of the group during the day and the first drink after the ride!!

 At Armathwaite..and the Eden River

Home for the Night at the Fox and Pheasant
Nice pub!!
The owner is even doing our washing and drying....wow!!!!

18 July 2017 -Hurst Green to Dent - 63.5 kms

18 July 2017 -Hurst Green to Dent - 63.5 kms

Before I start on todays ride I thought I should report on the dinner with Bill Reynolds one of my lunching group at the Australian Club in Melbourne.

Bill met me at Shireburn Arms Hotel (I think I named this wrongly on yesterday's post) at about 7.00pm after driving up from London on the motorways....a long drive! I introduced Bill to most of my fellow LEJOG riders and after a beer on the terrace we adjourned for dinner. Bill regaled us on his trip so far in Denmark, Germany ( Berlin), France ( Paris) and of course his days at the Ascot Races complete with top hat and tails. Seems he has had a really great time and It seems he might be doing the racing season here at Ascot again next year. The dinner with our table of Steve ( fast rider), Chris Jones Bill and myself was great with us drinking 2 bottles of red between 3 of us...Chris does not drink alcohol. I think the wine made me have a great night of sleep!!!

Anyway...on to today!

At first glance the directions sheet showed we had a shorter day of about 64kms.....It also ran in to 2 sheets as opposed to the normal 3 or 4 sheets....BUT looks were very deceptive as we were going to climb some big hills to get to the Dales and Yorkshire Moors to get through to our final stop at Dent in Cumbria.

The weather for the day promised to be sunny with the possibility of a tail breeze.

Setting off at about 8.30 am we rode through relatively flat country for the first 10 kms until Waddington....I had to make a loo stop at Waddington to loose a few kgs for the ride ahead!!! Very pleased I did.

The next 5kms up to the moors was a climb of about 10% average with some sections at 12%. This really sorted out a few early on. The view at the top of the climb was very good and the moor country sheep were interesting to see...even if they roam freely and have access to the roadways.

The next 6 kms to Slaidburn was through open country with some paddocks made of local stone. We had a welcome tea stop at Claidburn to fill water bottles and have a snack,

After tea it was then on to another relatively long climb to cross in to North Yorkshire. The climb this time was about 6 kms again at about 10% until we reached High Bentham where we had lunch. Lunch consisted of a roll and a can of ginger beer and lemonade...I was very thirsty and needed sugar!!

After lunch it was then on to Ingleton and on to Thorton in Lonsdale to get ready for the final climb for the day....and what a "mother of a climb" this was...about 10 kms with some sections at 16%. On the positive side the views were spectacular and there were many locals out hiking in the Dales for the day...once again we had to watch for sheep on the road and as we were in open country we had to negotiate a few farm gates. 

At the top we were warned of the decent which was very dangerous...so I took it slowly as we neede to negotiate a winding road and several farm gates on the road....You all might be interested to know that I am a bad descender, particularly on unfamiliar roads.

All up for each of the climbs I was pleased that I managed to do them without stopping for a "breather" and was in a good rhythm each time!

For those interested we climbed 1500metres for the day and despite the effort I feel OK at the end of it!

Tonight we are staying in a lovely hotel in Dent called the George & Dragon. Dent is a pretty village with cobblestone streets

Now for the photos....

Bill and Peter sharing a beer together before dinner

Our Route for the day....bloody steep!!

 At the start of the first climb...and where we had to go!!

  On the way up the first climb...Bob in front

At the top of the first climb with our van and a few of the "girls" celebrating the climb....
More to come!!!

Along the top of the moors between climbs...quite fast riding!!
But watch out for stray sheep!!!

...but here we go again for the next climb...the topis in the distance!!!!

..Gulp there is more!!!

The country is quite pretty...we were lucky the wind was behind us!!

...A hay shed for winter made out of rocks...
Note the rock fencing

Morning tea in Slaidburn...Steve and Scott enjoying the break
Quite a pretty town

Railway viaduct in Ingleton...another pretty town

...off again in to the hills!!!

Passing through one of the gates we saw this farm complex built out of local stones
Can't imagine what it would be like in winter!!

 ...and more climbing
I guy in a motorized wheelchair beat me up to here.
I thought about hitching a ride!!

 Finally at the top......!!!!

..and then the descent...GULP!!

 ...another shot of the decent with Bob in the foreground
FYI...I was "stuck" here for a while as my tyre got stuck in melted tar on the road!!!

 ...and home for the night finally
All climbed out!!!

17th July - Acton Bridge to Hurst Green- 97.2 kms

17th July - Acton Bridge to Hurst Green- 97.2 kms

Today was simply one of the best days I have ridden. The weather was perfect,( sunny about 22deg), there was a good mix of hills, long descents and flat riding together with some lovely country. Not to mention the birth of my 9th grandchild ( Mykayla Lee Harrison)...more on that later.

We started in Acton Bridge which was a cool start but after a short distance it cleared to a lovely morning.

Along the way to our coffee stop just out of Glazebury the scenery was simply wonderful and I hope the photos do justice to what we saw. The riding was fairly flat and both Chris and I enjoyed riding with a few of "the girls" who were full of beans asking us to "number off" as we rode in the peloton. Quite fun really as we had a long ride for the day.

We stopped for morning coffee at Bents Garden Centre for coffee as were simply gobsmacked by the size of this garden centre and what they offered. There was garden supplies, food and groceries, deli and one of the best patisseries I have seen. Talking to the staff there they were proud of the whole set up and it showed with the people there enjoying what it had to offer. Something like this would be good for Melbourne! 

I might divert here to say that I found out my granddaughter arrived in to this world shortly before coffee. Congratulations to mum ( "Neat") ,dad (Christopher -CC), brother Copper and to Robyn ( Nanna). I am so proud of you all and look forward to meeting Mykala when I get home. Funny that the next town we travelled through was Leigh....seems like a good omen!

After our coffee stop for almost an hour both Chris and I decided that coffee and strawberry tart would see us through for sometime ahead!

We had a big climb up one side of the Pennines to a moor to complete...this was about a 3km climb. At the top of the hill the views were great and we enjoyed a banana and mandarin in celebration of our achievements.

The decent from the top of the climb was great with several opportunities to "let it rip"

We then proceeded through a series of towns that form the outskirts of Manchester and over the Manchester ship canal. We were quite near Wigan for instance and passed through Blackburn both of whom have football, teams ( Rugby and Soccer)

The next pert of the ride was through lovely country with rolling hills and the occasional "steep climb"

We arrived at our hotel at Hurst Green at about 3.30 pm in time to "shout the group" who were there some champagne to celebrate the arrival of Mykala....

Today was a great day to be alive!!

Tonight a friend from Melbourne, Bill Reynolds will join me for dinner and I am keen to find out how his trip is going and how he enjoyed the Ascot Races....

Finally congrats to Neat, CC and our course Cooper on the arrival of their daughter and sister....

I have a photo here for you all to see!!

Now for the photos....

The route today

Welcome to the world Mykala Lee Harrison-with proud dad!!

Back to the riding....bugger!!
The Bridge over the Manchester Shipping Canal

The canal from the bridge...

A train passed through the wheat fields...in fact it was stopped!!

Ian and Lorna on their bikes ahead of us...
Very nice people...

Bents Garden Centre..the patisserie
Yummm!

The garden shop...plant showing was terrific!

Chris and I celebrate Mykala with a coffee!!

Back to the Hills and up the Pennines!!!

Part of the climb!!

 At the top...the views were great!!

...and of course you have sailing on the reservoir at the top!!!

..and now for the long descent!!!!!!
I am more nervous on descending...

Another view on the way down
Near the Spread Eagle Hotel where Chris managed to dislodge a rock wall that had been standing for 500 years...ooopps. We descended from here after tidying up!!!

Home for the night at Shireburn Hotel

...not before celebrating with some Champagne!!!
Welcome Mykala and congrats to Neat, CC, Cooper and Nana

16th July Harmer Hill to Acton Bridge - 80 2kms

16th July Harmer Hill to Acton Bridge - 80 2kms

The day started rather badly with a puncture in my tyre before we started the ride. We stored our bikes in our rooms and I must have picked up a piece of metal/nail which went trough the tyre for a slow leak of air.

Well after starting it began to rain and the first 25kms were a bit miserable in the rain and wind but after that it began to clear and later in the day it was sunny and warmish, The temp at the end of the day of riding was about 20deg.

Also I realized I forgot to put my "bum cream" on in the morning and towards the end of the day I was "feeling it a bit".....

Morning tea was Malpas which is quite a lovely village in Cheshire, where we spent most of the day. the café was a family affair with home cooked scones and cakes. Most of our group descended on the café almost at once which really stretched their resources. Despite taking some time to get us all served the food and coffee was good and it was a chance for us to dry out!

The ride then took us through Cheshire which is a very wealthy part of England. The houses, farms and cars travelling on the roads certainly showed real wealth. I hope you can see some of this in the pictures below.

Before lunch we managed to get lost but it was pleasing we did so to look at Beeston Castle. This castle is perched on the top of a hill which has good views of the surrounding country.

Lunch was in a café in Tarporley. Chris and I had a bowl of orange and carrot soup with lemonade ( home made). We sat in the sun for lunch which was very pleasant.

After lunch it was 15 km ride to our hotel at Acton Bridge, with the wind pretty much behind us.....all good for riding.

Despite a poor start it end up a great day.

FYI we only climbed 682 metres

Shropshire Union Canal...with barges

There seem to be a lot of canals

Morning tea with some of our group

Another photo of morning tea...sorry the camera lens fogged up!

Broxton Old Hall...One of the big houses we saw!
The first gate...where the poor people enter!

Broxton Old Hall...the Main Entry Gate!

Beeston Castle on the Hill

The Main entry to the Castle..

Home for the night at Acton Bridge

Todays Route...

 

15th July Weobley to Harmer Hill- 94.6kms

15th July - Weobley to Harmer Hill- 94.6kms

Before I get on to today's ride I think I should point out what a great place we stayed at last night. I had a room fit for a king with a separate living room as well as a bedroom and bathroom. We all had dinner at the restaurant in the pub which was just superb food. If you ever get a chance go to Weobly the "black and white" houses are just superb and are well maintained despite being hundreds of years old.

This morning after a "hearty" meal of cereal plus the normal poached eggs and bacon ( with tomato) we set off for one of the longer days of the ride. It was described by Rob ( one of the leaders..photo later) as an "easier" ride with only 973 metres to climb.

Once again the weather was cloudy but warmish with temps about 21-22 degrees. The wind was behind us all day which made for pleasant riding.

Most of the riding was again on country lanes with some riding on busier roads which was very easy to cope with. Our ride today was along the Welsh border mostly in neighbouring Shropshire.

Chris and I had a stop at the first village we passed through, Pembridge, and struck up a very informative conversation about the history of the town ( 11th century) the type of farming ( sheep) and the fact that the town was in its earlier days a leading centre in the region. Many of the buldings in the town were old but well maintained.

After about 24kms we came to another small town Brampton Bryan where we had coffee in a farm shed set up as a café and bookshop. The café (Aardvark) was lovely and being a Saturday morning was well populated by locals having morning tea and looking at books to buy. The café also had a delightful jazz band playing which made for a great ambience. My coffee and date flapjacks were very good!

After wresting ourselves from the Aardvark café it was on to the lunch stop at Wentnor. The country we passed through was a mixture of sheep, dairy, cattle and cropping which included wheat. corn and potato's. We passed along the Long Mind ( I think that is how you spell it) . This is a mountain that looks imposing where the locals pursue hang gliding, gliding etc. Bit of luck we did not climb it as it was BIG!

Lunch at the Inn on the Green pub was delightful and most of our group stopped there for some really good food ahead of a longish ( 10km) climb . My lunch was a jacket potato with ham, cheese and onion filling. Very nice for the ride ahead!?!!

After our long climb it was them about 35 kms of good riding on reasonably flat

roads. Unfortunately every now and then we encountered the odd hill just to test our legs again.

It was interesting today we saw many more people walking the roads, hiking and rising horses. Seems that is what you do on Saturdays to get some exercise. We saw the occasional cyclist as well.

We also passed some very big Manor Style houses with grand driveway entrances and big farm sheds and the like....be great to be part of the "landed gentry" here in the UK!

All in all another great day as we passed a third of the KMs travelled on the trip.
Lets hope this continues

Tonight we are staying at the Premier Inn at Harmer Hill which is a Best Western style hotel.

Here are some photos of the day to enjoy....

The bedroom at Weobley...quite exquisite

The sitting room...with dining table...with my computer stuff on it!

At Pembridge in the town shelter. The local we spoke to is in the background

Typical "Black and White" house/pub
Staunton on Arrow

Lovely farm house at Edgton......note brown tones rather than B&W

Morning tea at Brampton Bryan...Aardvark café
Miora and Ian with Chris in foreground...the "girls" on the other table
Great coffee & food

Rob  ( leader) at Aardvark café
Looks a bit like Wayne Dyer

Jazz Band playing at Aardvark Café...with some of "locals"

Lovely farm house on big farm.
Well manicured lawns

Lunch at Inn on Green!

Good food!!

Route for Day 7......

July 14 Cheptsow to Weobley- 87.2kms

July 14 Cheptsow to Weobley- 87.2kms

Before I get on to today's ride I found out during a wander around the town last evening that the castle in Chepstow was about to celebrate its 950th birthday. It was built by William the Conqueror a year after he took over England in 1066. The Castle took about  150 years to be completed....

The history of England is amazing!

Todays ride was in good weather 20 degrees with a slight headwind which got up later in the afternoon.

We started with our normal climb out of Chepstow past the Chepstow racecourse. Gee the track is big with what looks like a very long finishing straight in front of a big grandstand. I did not take a photo as we were labouring up the hill. ( ave gradient 10%)

The next stop was Tintern which is marked by a very old Cathedral/Abbey. Although it was ransacked by Henry VIII when he was having his "tiff" with the Catholics when trying to marry Anne Boleuin ( not sure of spelling!!), the building looks in remarkable shape being nearly 500 yeas old!

The next stop was for coffee at Monmouth which is the administrative centre for this region of Wales. It is situated on the Wye River and boasts a very old private school. There was monuments for a fellow called Rolls who I think was the same guy who was involved in cars.

The coffee spot ( the Hogs Head) was packed with people partaking of all sorts of drinks at 11.00am in the morning! Our beverages were tea and coffee ( cappuccino)

After making our way out of Malmouth again with a climb it was on to St Weonards to see the shop which has the Lands End John O'Groats sign....nothing much else there!

It is amazing however to see the riders coming the other was who are doing the LEGOJ in reverse. Quite some fun in waving to each other in sharing the experiences! We did not tell them what was in store in Cornwell!!

After this we had a very pleasant trip along the Wye River alternating between Wales and Herefordshire. quite interesting to see the signs both in English and Welsh.

The travel to lunch at a pub near Kingstone was largely along A roads with a few laneways.

The Pub at Kingstone ( Three Horseshoes) was very good and I had a huge ham, cheese and tomato sandwich with came with chips and salad. Big lunch which I shared with others in the group..

As the wind was starting to "get up", Chris and I decided to push on. Chris was struggling so I lead to provide some shelter along the roads and hedgerows as we made our way to Weobley ( pronounced Wobbly). We arrived at about 3.30 and after working out the shower are able to relax with a drink in a very comfortable pub.

Talking about showers....I have now been staying in 6 different hotels so far and every night there is a different system to operate the showers. The system tonight is to be turned on electrically outside the bathroom as opposed to a pull down light switch near the bath as in Cheddar.

You will see a picture below which shows the dangers of the narrow roads and laneways in the UK...we are taking it very carefully.

Good day of riding again and our group is "jelling" together really well with some very interesting characters.

Tintern Cathedral...very impressive!

Ric,,,for you an English Village...I will get more for you as I go!

Malmouth College...the motto is Serve and Obey!

Morning Tea at Malmouth...Kings Head Pub

Country Road...not lane...Chris riding.

Steve (from Tassie) and I at the LEJOG sign...al long way yet to be travelled!

A country view of Heredfordshire...lovel country.

Waiting for the fast train at a level crossing.
Maybe Dan ( our Premier) should take his level crossing removal project to the UK?

Woops!
This is what happens if you go too fast on a country lane
No-one was hurt fortunately...it happened just before we arrived!!!

Our team mascot...Gerald the Giraffe.
Brought by one of the ladies from the UK
It travels in the van!

Home for the night in Weobley ( I hope I don't get wobbly with too much drinking!)

Day 6 route..a good day of riding

 

Route So Far

Route So Far

Thought I should show you what we have done so far on the Strava maps

Day 1



Day 2 -the wet day




Day 3



Day 4




Day 5

July 13 Cheddar to Chepstow- 73.7kms

July 13 Cheddar to Chepstow- 73.7kms

This was day 5 of our ride and after a night of good rest I felt quite good despite looking at the surrounding mountains at Cheddar which needed to be crossed....another day of steep climbs loomed!

We were all quite surprised that the Cheddar Gorge was relatively easy with about 5kms of climbing at about 5% with 2 short 12% climbs to warm up the legs. The gorge was good to see as the photo's attest.

Thereafter the ride proceeded along country lanes and roads with a lot of downhills which despite being better than climbs, still provide a real test of the brakes with cars. trucks and farm tractors likely to appear at any time.

We passed through some very pretty towns such as Winford, Failand, Portbury and Easton-in Gordano on the way to the outskirts of Bristol. We had some lunch at the pub (Kings Arms) at Easton-in-Gordano. Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich with a cappuccino. Quite good with the bread being made by the publican.

The next part of our ride was to cross the Avon River on the Avonmouth Bridge by navigating the Avon Cycleway....this proved to be relatively easy compared to the later route finding for the Severn Bridge!

Between the Avon Bridge and Severn Bridge the countryside was flat and with the wind behind us we were travelling at speeds near 30kph for most of the time.

BUT....navigating the Severn Bridge had its challenges....we crossed on the wrong side of the bridge which really mucked up navigation to the final ride in to Chepstow where we were staying for the night....anyway after seeking help from locals with mixed success we met with a few of our fellow riders who had GPS navigation on their Garmin to help.

Accommodation at Castle View Hotel is very comfortable.

A good day of riding with perfect temp of about 22deg and the winds behind us for most of the day.

My legs are starting to feel better and am coping with the hills now quite well

FYI....The group we have has some very interesting people who have embraced significant challenges in the past. We have one lady who has sailed across the Atlantic from UK to US 3 times solo, we have another lady who is going in the NY marathon in November after this ride. Both ladies are in mid to late 60's and are very humble at what they have done and will do...Quite remarkable really.

Also one of our leaders, John, tells us he was a senior technician in the RAF and was assigned to the Royal Flight Corps and regularly flew with the Royal Family on various trips in the UK and the rest of the world..all very interesting.

Now for the photo's....

Climbing the Cheddar Gorge...see the wild goats!

Here is Chris Climbing the Gorge!!!

 A view across to Wales...
Our roadway is in the foreground

More Country Lanes...note the Hedge Trimming about halfway up!
Roads were quite generally but you need to watch for cars. If they meet head on it gets interesting

Will we go in for lunch at the Kings Arms???

Yes...of course it looks good and was!!!

On top of the Avonmouth Bridge...

....With a view of the Avon River

On top of the Severn Bridge.

With a view of the Severn River
...another bridge in the distance...not sure of its name

 Yours truly on top of the Severn Bridge with Bike

Home for the night at the Castle View Hotel
Very pleasant

With a view of the Castle of course!

July 12 Sampford Peverell to Cheddar- 75.2 kms

July 12 Sampford Peverell to Cheddar- 75.2 kms

Well what a difference a day makes....

Today the weather started with a bit of drizzle and cloud but cleared in to a fine and sunny afternoon. A real chance to "dry out" and enjoy some very pleasant riding in some wonderful country.

Today there was some climbing as we moved out of Devon in to Somerset but some very pleasant flat riding through the Somerset Levels in to Cheddar

We climbed a total of 884m today which is a sharp contrast to the previous days of the ride.

It is amazing to see, smell and hear the world around when riding. The sounds and smells of dairy and sheep ( some)  farming, together with cropping of corn, barley and potato's. The farmers working their tractors along the road ( even the small lanes and hedgerows!)

We had one big climb during today from Bishops Lydeard up the Quantock Hill ( not sure whether Rod Q came from this region?). The climb was about 1 mile ( 1500m) with some sections having 18% gradient. The decent through the forest to Enmore was delightful and halfway down the coffee and scone break at the Pines Café was all the better for the home made food served. The views across the hills here to Wales and Somerset was lovely. All the better as the Somerset country looked to be "FLAT".

We had a bite of lunch at Bridgewater courtesy of Sainsburys...great fresh sandwiches and fruit to "fuel up" for the afternoon ride in to Cheddar. The ride along the Somerset Levels was really quite satisfying with us travelling at 25-30kph and making good time to get in to Cheddar at about 3.30pm.

All in all a great day of riding and some great sights seen!!!

Farming with solar power farm!

Steam train leaving station at Bishops Lydeard

..and another one waiting to go!

Cothelstone Manor Front Gate...very impressive. but....

Just before the start of the 1500m climb!!!

On the way down we stopped!

To enjoy the view!

 ..and the flat country!

..and for Coffee and Scones ( home made)

Home for the night...very comfortable B&B

 My room at the bottom

11th July 2017 Tavistock to Sampford Peverell- 91.5kms

11th July 2017 Tavistock to Sampford Peverell- 91.5kms

Day 3 of the ride can be described in one word.....WET!

Yes it rained for most of the ride today and all of us were soaked through to our skin despite having waterproof jackets, overshoes and all manner of clothing to keep the rain out.

We started at about 8.30am in Tavistock which is a really lovely village situated in the valley. The first climb out of Tavistock was a 10km climb with the Garmin telling me that we had gradients of 12% for most of the way. As we climbed up towards Dartmoor the weather turned very wet and cold for the downhills (later).

The trip across the moors was interesting with sheep and horses grazing, We saw a group of soldiers who were doing a 20mile hike in the day...good luck to them!

After the moors the ride was through some undulating countryside BUT there were some short/sharp climbs out of the towns with several of them being around 18%.

We passed through a lot of dairy country which I guess is normal for Devon for the cream for Devonshire Tea. Our morning tea was at a café just out of Whiddon Down where several of the group recovered with tea and scones ( so did I) and some warmth. One of our group (Walt) spent most of his time in the gents trying to dry his riding shirt using the hand dryers...it seemed to work for him even though he had 45kms still to travel....

Chrisand I decided from this point we would "go for the finish" rather than have lunch. Resting for lunch then getting back on the bike being stiff and wet was not a good option.

We made really good progress to Sampford Peverell but were held up helping Walt's wife with a punctured tyre (in true ANZAC spirit Chris and I performed the task with distinction) and to allow a herd of cows to make their way along the road to get to the milking shed.

Along the way we saw a number of the stately homes. It was too wet and cold to take photo's sorry!

We arrived at our destination at about 4.30 pm looking like "drowned rats" but after a warm shower, some food ( lasagne) and a couple of beers I fell much better.

We climbed 1387metres which was a lot less than yesterday but it was a harder day in many respects.

Tomorrow the weather forecast is for fine sunny weather...I hope so!

Out on the Moors...

Cold and wet!!

The cows being herded in for milking
All very well for the Cows...we were bloody cold!

...and again those cows
Note part of the manor housing in the background.

At the end of the ride...one drowned rat!!!

Home for the night...warm and dry again to fight another day

Tucking in to dinner.....Chris has his back to the camera on the right

10th July- Perranporth to Tavistock- 92.3KMS

10th July- Perranporth to Tavistock- 92.3KMS

Today promised to be the hardest day of the ride and it certainly lived up to expectations!
After a "hearty" breakfast of eggs and bacon to "carbo-load" for the day ahead and our briefing from John,  Chris and I set off on the ride.
Well the first hill out of Perranporth was a real "doosy" and after thinking the weather might be cool and getting our spray jackets and arm warmers on at the start of the ride, we soon "stripped off" all this additional gear for the ride ahead.
Many people have said that riding in Cornwell is as hard as it gets and I can really concur. Just to give you all an idea with all the climbs and descents of the day ( and there were many!) we climbed a total of 1950 metres during the day and many of the climbs were greater than 15% ( I reckon on average we were climbing at 8-10% during the day).
The roads we used were mainly country lanes with "hedgerows" and were extremely narrow. Often we had to stop to let cars and farming tractors go by. The English drivers in the main were very courteous and seemed to understand the need to allows us to share the road.
We passed some very pretty villages in Cornwell with most of them being at the bottom of the valleys. I presume this is so the town can get water.
Probably the pick of the towns were Belowda and St Neot.
Lunch was at Bodmin where Chris has lunched on his ride from London to Penzance. We went to the local Sainsbury store and bought rolls and ham and cheese and made our own lunch. This together with some fruit made a terrific lunch under a tree in the Sainsbury carpark. We managed to speak to a few locals who gave us some background on Bodmin as the Cornish "capital" and its rich history in having a prison which is now closed.
The afternoon ride took us through part of the Bodmin Moor near Minions and then in to Devon as we crossed the Tamar River. I left Cornwell with mixed emotions as the countryside was very pretty, the people we met have been friendly BUT there is so many hills.
The towns on the border with Devon and Cornwell have some interesting names....Bray Shop & Chip Shop....makes you wonder how this was decided!
Finally....after more than 90 kms we reached Tavistock for the night.
The hotel we are staying at seems excellent but there will be no partying as we are all pretty tired after a big day.
Interesting that we had to store our bikes on the roof deck for the night...great to climb stairs after 92kms!

Lunch at Bodmin...Great choice!!

Typical road we travelled on...narrow with hedges...quite safe really

The pub at St Neot...several of our group had lunch there.
Very pretty

The Tamar River..Goodbye to Cornwell!

Devon here we come!
Where are the Devonshire teas I wonder?