Cornwall... DONE... Devon .... almost done!

So i didn't post last night for one enormous reason..... I made it out of Cornwall alive, but i merely survived it!!! I don't think i conquered Cornwall in any way at all.... i finished cycling as darkness descended after 8pm  - and all i could do was shower, eat and flake out .... also there was no wifi or mobile signal, so had i wanted to post i couldn't ...

Fair to say - incoherence would have ruled!

I had a real battle with the ride yesterday - it was an uphill slog out of Perranporth and we seemed to spend the day climbing the steepest of hills ... and descending their cliff like counterparts....  glorious weather meant that the sun drained energy and a bad choice to have a milk shake at lunch prior to grinding up some grim hill out of Bodmin saw me sick a few times during the afternoon... I did in the end make it up to Minions (the highest village in Cornwall! Up on Bodmin moor.... ) and the last 10 miles home were hard won.

Yesterday i really doubted my ability to make it to the end ... the briefing in the morning had told us that once at Minions it was a long descent to the River Taymar which marked the boundary of Cornwall - but then 3 miles of steep climbs to the B&B...

Well...i hit a real low point in the afternoon after I was ill... and I was pretty much planning that i would make it to the bridge and then fold & beg for the support van to pick me up ... to be honest there were times when i doubted that i'd get to the river... But Jeff/Geoff (must check!) the amazing sweep rider
from Bike Adventures (who is pretty much my riding buddy as i'm the slowest in the pack!) is brilliant and sorted my head out! He also knew that a bottle of Coke & a flapjack at Minions would restore me! Also the combination of the descent from the Moor,  knowing that we'd done with Cornwall, and Jeff's wise words was enough to get me 'home' ... and when i arrived the rest of the team cheered me in ... it brought tears to my eyes ... was a lovely lovely feeling!!

Now i haven't mentioned the rest of the group much - shall do in due course, but i really like the feeling that sits amongst us... a great mix of ages - some couples, some cycling solo, young and old alike...  there's a lively banter and great sense of team spirit ...  or that's what i've felt for sure...

Right - the internet speed is woefully slow... was going to do photos but i shall do a mass photo upload tomorrow!

And on to Devon - Well.... a longer day if you go by miles, but i was cycling better today - the climbs were long and arduous but not so crazily steep (well the odd one!) ...  and there were stunning stretches of 'undulating' roads ...  it was tough to be only at about 20 miles by lunchtime and i worried that i'd be crawling in at midnight ... but the main climbs were the long slog up to Dartmoor.... which, when up there, is not flat for sure but somehow the beauty and the sweeping views made the hills less imposing ... (having spent a good proportion of yesterday walking really steep hills i was in the saddle a lot more today) .... and so many animals... sheep - cows - horses wandering around ... getting in the way (why was it always when you were descending to 'catch the next hill' they'd stop you in your tracks...) i don't know - it just didn't seem as painful.  The descent from Dartmoor was naturally a joy ... and then through lovely Devon villages.... some nasty hills ... but also some 'flying roads'... and then i whooped with joy when we crossed the motorway and saw a sign 'M5 - The Midlands' suddenly i felt as though we'd made real progress...

And tonight we all went for dinner... and Rob (Team Leader!) let on that we're less than 10 miles from the Somerset border ... Devon ... nearly done....

And now for bed... that's all a bit factual ... and i'll share photos and the entertaining side of things tomorrow ... but for now brain is only able to spill the beans and let you know that i am surviving .... ahhh and i thought that the world was perfect when i arrived at the B&B to find my ensuite had a Bath .... AND the owner would put a wash on .... there is no more that a girl could wish for!!

Oh ... but you must know this.... as i was slogging my way up to Dartmoor this morning in the heavy mist .... a 1920's Bentley flew past ... pretty sure it was a 3 litre but may have been a 4 1/2 ....  just like Dad's... felt like he was swooping past to say hi....

I promptly burst into tears... and then pushed on up the hill - it was beautiful!!

So the Olympics are upon us!

And before i disappear into the frenzy of delight that is they bring upon us  (i've been excited about this for months now!) i popped up to see Mum and say hi ...

It's not bad you know trundling about with a bike - the only thing that surprises me is that mine is always the only bike on the train!  However i'm not complaining...

So i (for the first time ever!) arrived at home on 2 wheels ... woke the (oh so effective?) 'guard' dog up as  i walked past his bed ... seemingly the crunch of wheels and feet on gravel wasn't enough to disrupt his doggy dreams! And flaked out ... yesterdays miles were many short dashes about town - i racked up over 30 overall but there were up and down to hampstead....  NW3 - Soho - For coffee with a friend from my old Edinburgh days... great to say hi! .... back to NW3 to pack a bag .... dash up to Brent Cross (over the heath - in the heat!!) and back to NW3 to pick up bag... then sprint down to Borough market with rucksack (too hot!) to meet dear dear friend for a long drink (we had a couple of hours to catch up with each other whilst she was waiting in between hospital appointments!) Lovely sunny chats and stories to share... and then a dash to Euston to get the train to Brum!

 Amazing selections of freshly squeezed juices at Borough Mkt! 

 Yep... that would be the Shard. 

Bike... resting awhile in between dashes! 

This lovely weather is tempting me out of bed whilst it's cool ... so this morning i was on the bike by 6.30 and heading out from Sutton towards Staffordshire to revisit childhood homes and schools!! It was a bright cool morning when i left and with a stash of Brasil Nuts in my pocket i crept out of the house. Why is it that the first few miles hurt so much more than the next ones? For a while i felt the call of returning to bed... but quickly enough the countryside and big skies won me over...

This last week of sun has got the farms running busy ...  between Shenstone & Chesterfield i was passed by a convoy of equipment heading out to the fields ... and a Land rover full of cheering men! ... i was slogging my way up a particularly long hill ... and their cheers 'You're almost at the top love!!!'  'Grab the wing mirror we'll help' ... boosted me on...  Made me realise how oblivious to the 'land' we are in London ... i'm guessing that they were off to start bringing in the hay?

At 8.12am this morning the nation was meant to ring bells to celebrate the start of 2012 Olympics ... (shouldn't it have been at 20.12 this evening?.... but anyway) ... as i left Whittington i decided that i could get to the Cathedral in Lichfield in time if i put my mind to it so i pedalled as fast as i could and got there by 8:06 ...  then a lovely lady arrived on her bike and asked me if i'd come to 'ring my bike bell'.... we both commiserated when the cathedral didn't ring out (nor did any other churches that we could hear!) so we stood and pinged our bike bells together!!! 2 other cyclists joined us ... and we had a cheery olympic moment!  We rang our bells for Lichfield!

Lichfield Cathedral... 

And then i turned towards home ... aiming to be back comfortably by 9am for breakfast when calamity struck....  whizzing down a hill (the very one i'd been cheered up earlier) I suddenly felt the chain go slack and assumed that it had (bizarrely) broken or come off - so i pulled off the road and had a look. Well - i have to admit i didn't really know what i was looking at, but it was abundantly clear that something was missing as the chain was slack and hanging off the rear derailer... I put my best engineering brain to it and couldn't fathom how to fix it so i did what all good girls do...

(a) Phone Mum and ask for a lift home....

(b) Phone 'The Oracle' and ask advice - despite my crazy descriptions of things he managed to diagnose that the 'jockey wheel' had come off - which confirmed that there was nothing i could do in a field to fix it!

Not a bad place to be stuck for 1/2 an hour on a sunny morning! 

So ... the bikes now fixed and 2 cycle repair shops are baffled as to how it happened .. a fair bit of  'never seen that before love' type muttering and now the piece is replaced and the original one winging its way back to Shimano - Yay to warrantys!

Now back in London i'm ready to get the party going for the Opening ceremony tonight - and head off to see the Horses Skipping tomorrow (that is the Int Team Dressage!) ...  But before i go ..

I have been thrilled by some of the support i'm receiving from around the Globe .. and the number of Dads friends - who've known me all my life - who are getting behind me! My Godparents from Park City will be in the UK in September so are coming to see me en route... and other friends from Baltimore have asked to be kept updated on progress...

So for you Kevin - I'm still not stick thin (dammit!) - i am definitely getting fitter - I will always hate hills - but i have mastered clippy shoes for the pedals!!!  I shall keep you updated!!!

Happy Birthday to me.....

And to celebrate i woke up at 6am and headed out on the bike before it got too hot ... a glorious ride!! As it's my birthday (and pretty warm!) i treated myself to a long gentle ride.... 30+ miles along the Thames ... gorgeous....

Heading down through town i can already tell the impact of the Olympics, there's far far less traffic than normal (yay!!) ... but on the downside - where the Olympic lanes (which are now in action) are forcing all traffic into a single lane people are being much more aggressive with cyclists and barely allowing any room as they pass to ensure that they don't encroach the Olympic lane and get a fine!

 Lovely and cool in Lincolns Inn ... was fun to see lots of pre work training sessions going on! 

My Olympics definitely kicked off in style yesterday when we all cheered and whooped a dear friend who was running in the Torch Relay...  We had a beautiful day over in Kew and celebrated the Torch in style! So i smiled to see the Olympic rings on Tower Bridge... whoever thought of this deserves a big cheer i love it! 

The Shard ..... Really is big! 

Loved this typical view .... looking across the river seeing the beautiful church spire rising up behind the apartments.... I'm slightly sad that the skyline which was once dominated by spires and cupolas.... is now dominated by things like The Shard and The Gherkin ... and it's so easy to miss the spires!!! 

So my Birthday ride was a lovely one ... was getting hot as i got home .... and now for a lovely day ahead....  

Heatwave!

Ahhhh boy oh boy its a whole different thing cycling in the heat - but welcome pleasure to be under blue skies! I've been away in Bath / Bristol for the last couple of days and driving around the hills over there has certainly focussed my mind on how far i have to go regarding training .... there can be no slacking!

I was consigned away from the bike with a chest infection - but am happily back in the saddle now .... and seem to be doing ok ... todays ride was a more unusual smorgasbord of miles as i was in 'street clothes' due to meeting a friend from out of town in Marylebone...  Cycled down ... had a lovely time in the sun chatting and catching up and then i left her to go off and do some laps of Regents Park ... some meandering around the heights of Hampstead ... and then home...

Had a rest stop ... with a sandwich.... and a pretty decent view!

My confidence on the roads is definitely increasing only had a couple of near misses today ... learnt that cycling in jeans isn't as bad as expected...  coming up through central london at rush hour is hilarious fun with lots of bikes - but you have to have your wits! Whilst the weather stays this hot i need to be out early early early in the day ... and Water Sarah Water!!!

Feeling more and more at home in the saddle.... this is a good thing! Next challenge sort out diet to speed up the shifting of a few pounds!

xxxx