Post 7; Day 1, No Returns

One of the major factors in choosing to ride from Lands end to john O Groats, as opposed John O Groats to Lands End, is the South Westerly prevailing winds that are known to literally blow you along in the early days of the ride. these winds are a gift.

If they work...

hold on, shouldn't this flag be pointing the other way?

For some reason, today, the wind decided to defy convention to blow in the opposite direction and straight into our faces.


Having said that, it was a small price to pay. The contrary wind brought with it a mostly cloudless blue sky accompanied by warm sun. Riding in these conditions was going to be bliss, despite the wind.

We rocked up at Lands End in the Discover Adventure organised coach. Each of us was anxious, not just about the task ahead but the level of performance that would be...could be...expected.

Getting going was imperative, it would allow us to just ride and in doing so, get to know our strengths and weaknesses. But getting going took some time. There were bikes to unload, info sheets to hand out, maps to digest, speeches to give and photos to be taken of us each standing at the famous Lands End sign.

ready to hit the road

None of this was frustrating, it all had to be done and all added to the experience but none the less I was glad to push the pedals for the first time.

Oddly, the start line at lands End is blocked by a no entry sign, none the less, myself and a few others nipped across the line before nipping back and returning to the pack in the "correct" direction.

We were off!! It was flat, warm, beautiful, exciting, scary and most of all great fun. Within 2 miles a delegation of the team had managed to take the wrong route. We watched them from across the hedges getting further and further away as we pushed on. The adrenaline helped, all of the hills that we had driven up in the coach to get there looked huge and long, yet now that we were riding they melted away. It was easy going, although the terrain was in reality pretty lumpy.

Soon we hit the Penzance area (from where we had left on the coach that same morning) and stopped to take in the stunning views of St Micheal's Mount. We had promised each other to take time on the tour to stop and smell the roses now and again.

We wound through tiny streeted coastal towns at a good pace until pretty soon we were at our first tea stop. Bananas and water were taken on board and a brief chance to stretch out my legs before pressing on once more. We were 23 miles into a 1000 journey, it was time to go.

From this stop we climbed hard to the moors outside of Leeds town before dropping down to Redruth and onto Truro. The climb out of Truro was proceeded by an epic drop, moving with traffic this time and negotiating a safe position on the busy road. We climbed out of Truro to a well earned lunch stop in the town hall of Probus, the least likely sounding Corninsh town...(it sounds more like a spaceship or a procedure, than a mining town).

After lunch we promised to push on and miss the next tea stop as the weather was closing in and none of us were keen to ride in rain.

The dramatic hills soon changed our minds and we welcomed our last tea stop after the most epic climb I think I had ever ridden. A 10% lump that went on for miles and miles, climbing out of the seaside town of St Austell. 

Interesting rock structures accompanied us for tea,

Steady now...

Our group had, by this point  separated into a number of small teams, each finding strength from one another to push on up the now very challenging hills.

By the end of the first day, there were hours between the groups, each arriving with a heady mix of exhaustion and pride.

The best feeling about riding this way is the sense of progress, the sense of not having to return to the start.

No Returns....

11 more to go.

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