Day 1 - Lands End to Tiverton

Lands End to Tiverton

135.5miles 16.2Mph av. 8127ft climbed



Andy;

Up at 6am the aim was to leave by 8. We met up with Team Speed at Lands End and got away by 8:05. Both of us felt the fear for sure but were definitely glad to get started.



We knew Day 1 would be the worst in terms of terrain as the gradient map showed constant ups and down with almost no flat sections. It wasn’t lying.
We started well getting the first 30 miles done in pretty good time and so stopped in Redruth to formulate a plan to get the maps Sonny had left at home and get them posted out next day to Wales by my awesome Girlfriend. We cycled past Keith of Team Speed which we thought odd so went to find him. It transpired that he got separated from the others and didn’t have a phone so was essentially lost. Not good for Day 1!



I wasn’t long before we had to get onto the A30. A busy, undulating dual carriageway which meant constant climbing and no conversation. Usually I’d relish the chance to not have to talk to Sonny much but in this case it just got boring. I stuck JOR on my mp3 player and powered through to Bodmin.

On the descent into Bodmin, on a cycle path I might add, I hit a protruding slab of concrete at 25+mph and was pretty close to coming of my bike. I very nearly went to kick the mayor in the face after that as I had punctured BOTH wheels!! Rubbish.



We repaired my wheels, chowed down on pasties and left for the next leg on the A30.

Now, I didn’t really want to moan on this blog but I really have no choice if we are to report daily happenings properly. In retrospect, I’m sure we ate too much at lunch and set off too early after eating. As soon as we hit the first hill out of Bodmin I felt bad. I started getting stomach cramps which inhibited my breathing. It was like a stabbing pain in my belly which only got worse when I took anywhere near a full breath. The following 40 miles were the worst I’ve endured on a bike. I really considered my ability to carry on with the hills because I was unable to breath properly. It was, in a word, WAK.

There was no way I could stop on day 1, I would never forgive myself. As usual in such situations, I found myself fighting my mind as well as body. Various peoples faces kept appearing n my head and the voices of some of those people who had really helped us get this far. No way I could let them down. Oakhampton came eventually and we had a small rest with coffee and coke. That sorted us right out .

30 miles to go and we both felt good. The mental hills we came across in the remaining miles were both unexpected, and savage!. The rolling Devon countryside after 100 miles was punishing and made progress slow.

Eventually we reached Tiverton and were finished. Thank Jebus!!

I just wanted to mention a few other people quickly. Phil Retardis and Ang (sonnys dad) are doing an awesome job driving about and looking after us with food and extreme flatulence .(ANG!) Gem for sorting us out with the maps for the rest of the trip (and the other stuff!!) and Stevie B for going above and beyond with fund raising at his office. I think he’s managed around £140 so far – good lad!

Tomorrow looks more forgiving as we make our way to the Welsh border.



Sonny;

Well Andy have given everyone the lowdown and details. The ride started well, then the middle bit was horrible, then we felt better, then we discovered a new kind of hill on the final 30 miles. AWESOME.

The worst thing was being on the A30 for so long, it was a nice and direct route but the cars and lorries were fast, loud and un-ending.

The weather was mainly overcast, but warm so that was OK.

Today we have less hills, but the weather is described as “persistent rain”, which should be nice.

My Legs feel OK, and breakfast is done, so we are now about to drive to Tiverton and start where we stopped.