Day 3

Ha, so you thought the weather would defeat us - no chance!! 

The Falmouth Beach Hotel may have (sadly) burnt down, causing a slight deviation to our route, but we got to Coverack by 6pm, tired, but proud of what we had done.  Brake failure caused Roz, our fellow cyclist, to finish prematurely in Falmouth, but Roz being Roz, got it fixed, is getting up at 5am tomorrow morning to cycle the tortuous, hilly route to Coverack (from Ponsanooth) to join us for 10am. And then, she will cycle tomorrows route with us to Penzance.  What a star!!

Back to the route!  We left our B&B at 10am after a massive breakfast and cycled down to King Harry Ferry for the crossing, who waived the fee - thanks guys!!  We then popped in to Wendy Mudge's for an early lunch at Devoran.  Coffee, delicious soup and lots of banter - she is getting married this Saturday - Lots of Luck Wendy, many thanks and hope the weather is better than today!!

On to Falmouth, easy apart from heavy rain where we met our good friend and neighbour Judith, who plied us with the most delicious gingerbread. Sorry J, all eaten now!!  Due to the fire, we had to deviate and were unable to go around Pendennis Point so took a "short cut" to Maenporth, (big hills) and then to Mawnan, Port Navas, Trengilly Wartha and Gweek.  Then off to Mawgan via the short cut (Very steep!) and then past Gear Farm and eventually to St Anthony in Meneague. Lovely ride around the creek, despite the heavy rain and strong winds and on to Porthallow. More climbs - we are getting good at these, then Porthoustock, St Keverne and finally, (delightedly!) Coverack, where a lovely welcome from Denise and her friend made all the hills worthwhile.

Then Roz and her husband Bobby joined us in the pub - The Paris Hotel - excellent burgers!. It was all downhill from there!!  Hot baths at R and B's lovely barn, followed by a 28 year old Mount Gay rum to help us off to sleep. More follows tomorrow (providing I do not drink too much of Bobby's rum!) after we reach Penzance - an easy ride after todays epic!!

Ben the Dog posing!!

Slightly wet!!!

Love the expression Gilly

Day 2

High winds, heavy rain and fording rivers did not stop us from achieving our goals yesterday.  The only sad part of our day was that Jayne, our lady runner, had contracted a particularly nasty virus the week before and it was always a slight question in her mind as to whether she would recover enough for the run around Cornwall. She managed the first day, but with difficulty, and it was a Team decision that she and David (husband and other runner) would support us (the three cyclists). Particularly nice yesterday with the bad weather!!  Plans are afoot for the cyclists to hand the baton to Jayne and David in a few weeks to complete their part of the challenge.

On to the day. Battered and bruised, we made it to Fowey, feeling quite cold. But after a swift coffee and sticky cakes at Niles Bakery,we all felt a lot better.  We had some serious hills to contender with, the one out of Polperro and Port Mellon being particularly tough. But we did everything without walking.  We then had to ford a river which had burst its banks, which was really exciting and was the highlight of the day!!

We arrived at our B&B near Port Loe in wet crumpled heaps and after a nice hot shower (someone who shall be nameless had a bath and took all the water!!), we repaired to the New Inn pub in Veryan.  Hot fire, wonderful food, fantastic quiz and even better, loads of money for the cause!!  Thank you all who were there and who supported us, even if we came last in the quiz!!

So today, we are off on one of the toughest legs - Port Loe to Coverack, via King Harry, Falmouth, Swanpool, Mawnan Smith, Gweek, St Anthony in Meneage and down th coast to Coverack.  As I sit here writing this, the weather does not look too bad - but never trust the weatherman!!!

For those of you who have been texting us or trying to ring us, we are sorry, the signals are very intermittent on the Roseland and, where we are now, not around at all.

Hmm, how do we cross this!!!??

Lovely views neaer Caerhayes

Full 

One of the many hills that day

Stormy weather

How to ford a swollen river with a tandem

How Mrs Collins did it!!!!

Day 1

Roz coming up the hill from Cremyll with Plymouth behind her

At the start at Cremyll lovely to see Richard and family, Maggie & lovely dogs & my sister Rose who blasted us off with shouts, cheers & a fog horn! Undulating terrain! until the lovely cliff top cafe at Freathy. All 5 of us indulged in lots of lovely unhealthy food. We were overtaken by a wonderful bunch of roadies who thought Gilly was reading a book, but which were infact the directions on my back. The sun actually came out as we approached Downderry & from there on to Seaton where we encountered Looe Hill - our first major uphill. A steep downhill followed ending on a beach! At this point we had to enlist the help of a wonderful family who helped carry tandem bike & trailer up a series of very steep steps! While doing this we met a fantastic lady who told us of her adventures as a child on a 1937 Raleigh tandem with sidecar in which they took her on holiday to Margate!! On to Looe where we met lots of very lovely generous people enthusiastic and encouraging of our venture. Another minor deviation and another big climb took us to a steep and welcome descent to Polperro - hooray!! Quick showers and off on the razzle. A big thank you to Rob & his lovely customers in the Blue Peter Inn for very generous support & entertainment. The kindness and generosity of strangers throughout today has been overwhelming.

Jayne and David on the road

Fame at last!!

I don't suppose there were many of you listening to Radio Cornwall this morning at around 6.12 am - but if you were - you would have heard me talking about the Round Cornwall Challenge with Ross Ellis, (standing in for James Churchfield). 

But do not worry, you can catch up with my dulcet tones on the BBC iplayer (I am going to as well, as I have no recall on what I said!!), which I imagine will be available after 9am today, after the show has aired.

We start the run / ride tomorrow from Cremyll, on the Cornish side opposite Plymouth, at around 10am. (timing is slightly dependent on the train from Reduth being on time and when we catch the ferry).  And from then on, we carry on each day around our beautiful coastline.  Lets hope we see at least some of it, as the weather is not looking too good and the visibility may be bad.

Radio Cornwall will be keeping in touch with us, quite possibly on a daily basis, depending on phone signals etc etc, but keep an ear out for me or one of the other Team members on James Churchfields morning programme.  And wish us luck - we will need it!!

A final PARTY TIME reminder before we set off!!

Oh dear, the weather is so far looking pants for next week!!  But I have faith in that the Weathermen  / Weatherwomen at the BBC Spotlight are not always right. Anyway, what's wrong with a bit of rain?!

All  the more reason to remind you about THE DO in St Agnes.As I have written in an earlier blog, kind friends have organised a do at the St Agnes Hotel on THURSDAY 3RD MAY. (Definitely not Saturday 5th May as published by the West Briton!).

The details are on the poster I have scanned in below, but we would love to see you all there. There will be a raffle, live local band Badland Blues and of course - us! Given that we will have run / rode from Zennor that day, we may not last the night out, but that does not mean you cannot. Hope to see lots of you rocking the night away and enjoying what promises to be a really good night out.

Final training ride with luggage!

Sunday dawned showery and with a cold, blustery NW wind - but undaunted we set off - complete with all the luggage we will take on Round Cornwall. To give you an idea of weight, the last time we did this in France last year, I weighed everything - I wish I had not, as we (including the two of us and the bike) were moving around 200kg on 2 wheels!! We have pared this down a lot, but I am not weighing it this time.

The tandem handles very differently with panniers front and back and a handlebar bag as well.  The steering is considerably heavier, making for sore shoulders, and because it has a "lady frame" on the back half (no crossbar), the bike tends to flex a lot more than usual going around bends, making cornering interesting to say the least!  Speed is a definite no no, as the rim brakes are never good at the best of times and with extra weight, even worse.  If wet, well, great care is needed and a keen eye for the road ahead, as stopping takes four times as long.  And of course, hills are a lot harder with more weight!



Testing how the "Beast" handles with luggage

But today, we had a nice day.  It did not rain, despite the forecast, we managed to avoid the worst of the wind until we had to turn for home, and nearly 30 miles showed up on my GPS, so honour was satisfied.



We will probably go out for a short blast on Thursday, just to check all is ok, and then (feeling nervous just writing this) we all set off on the 28th.  Wish us luck!!!

Final Off Road Ride before Round Cornwall

Well that's it, my mountain bike is now cleaned, polished, greased and put away until Round Cornwall is done and dusted.  (Well, put away is true!).

I had a final ride of 30 miles today in windy, muddy conditions - mostly off-road and a fair amount of uphill. Many thanks to my friend Richard who tests me, is always that bit fitter than me and knows exactly when I have had enough!

Gilly and I will have one last big ride on the tandem on Sunday. We will take all our luggage on board, partially so I  know she is not taking too much but also to check everything works with the added weight.

And then we will wind down training, with a little ride on Tuesday night to stretch the legs and then ready for the green light on Saturday 28th.

See you out there maybe??!! - or if not, come to the St Agnes Hotel on Thursday May 3rd for live music, the raffle and lots of good company - oh, and Team Round Cornwall!!

And don't forget to keep reading this Blog.  With the wondrous technology of smart phones, we will be updating it each night with how we have all got on, once we arrive at our destination.  That is assuming we have a signal of course!  So keep reading and commenting.  It really does help.

ROUTE DIRECTIONS AGAIN!

We have written so many blogs that the Route Directions have become rather lost down the page - so here they are again. We already have some friends joining us for part day or whole day sections, which will make the run / ride even more pleasant!

ROUTE DIRECTIONS for 5 Run / Cycle around Cornwall in 8 days

DAY 1 to Polperro.

Ferry to Cremyll, having come down from Plymouth Station.

Start Round Cornwall 2012 at Cremyll on the B3247, head for Kingsand.  Head towards Rame.  Then Penmillard, Knatterbury, then on to Tregonhawke.

Head for Freathy, then Tregantle Downs and  Crafthole.

B3247 to Downderry, via Portwinkle. To Seaton Looe Hill, – Millendreath, – Looe.  Cross bridge in centre of Looe, Turn L immediately after bridge, unclassified road, to Portlooe.  Head for Talland and then Polperro for first overnight stop.

DAY 2 to Port Loe.

Polperro – Raphael – Windsor – Lansallos. Up hill to T junctn.  Tn L, first R past Carneggan Farm. Go R just before Tredudwell Manor – or past it and complete a triangle. To Carne Hill, then head for Pont. Cross river to Whitecross.  Head for Bodinnick to get the vehicle ferry across the River Fowey. Into Fowey town, follow the river south to Readymoney, then Lawhyre up hill.  L at junction, R at next past Lankelly Farm. Join the B3415 and then L onto the main road, the A3082 at rnd/abt. Stay on A road for several miles through Par. Head for Carlyon Bay and Charleston.

After Charleston, through Duporth, turn L just after holiday village – past Higher Porthpean.  Continue to Pentewan.  Take road to Mevagissey (B3273) – then Portmellon – Gorran Churchtown. 

Follow road to Gorran High Lanes – Trevarnick and Tubbs Hill. Then to Great Polgrain – West Portholland.

Take road to Treviskey and finally Port Loe for overnight.

DAY 3 to Coverack.

Port Loe via Camels Farm to Veryan. Straight through to Melinsay and Crugsilick Manor. Turn L onto A3078 to Treworlas. Turn R in centre of village to Treworthal to T junction. Turn L towards Philleigh (1m) and thence to King Harry Ferry.

Continue on road to Feock, Point, Devoran, old road to Falmouth, through Falmouth, Pendennis Point, Swanpool, Maenporth to Mawnan Smith.

Follow road to Porth Navas via Trenarth Bridge. Carry on, X roads straight over to Polwheverall then Nancenoy. L then first R to T junction, L for Gweek.  After Gweek, tn 1^st L into woods, head for Mawgan Cross. L in village for Gear.

L again just after Gear to Landvivick and Tregithew. At X rds follow road to St Anthony in Meneage. Go round village, take creek road back towards Manaccan. Head for Carne – Gillywartha – Treglossick – Roskorwell and finally Porthallow. Come out of PHallow on LH side (sea behind you), heading for Porthoustock via Trenance and Chyreen.

Steep climb out of Porthoustock to Rosenithon, then head to St Keverne.  L just after Rosewithen and B4 St K village, past Tregellast Barton, down Main Dale to T junction. L down B3294 to Coverack, next night stop.

DAY 4 to Penzance.

Coverack to Penhallick via Trevorthen and Penhallock. Tn R, first L to Zoar. Tn L B3293 Trelanvean. At Traboe X rds (1.5m after Zoar) tn L to Kuggar. Just after tn L to Poltesco. To Ruan Minor and Cadgwith. Up to A3083 via Clyhenra Farm to Little Trethvas junction. L to Lizard and back.

At Little Trethvas junction head for Mullion. Through M on Poldhu Road – Trewoon.

Alternative 1 (involves short stretch of bridleway):-

At Towan Cottages, tn L down bridleway until Willianton Farm. Here the road begins again – Gunwalloe – Chyanvounder. After Gunwalloe, head for Beripper, Little Nanspean, Tangines. L to Lower Goonhusband to Degibna Lane, which comes out by Helston hospital.

Alternative Route 2 (road):-

At Towan Cottages, carry straight on to Cury. In village, tn L to Mainlay, via Millpool, Millenane and Merries. At Mainlay, tn L onto A3083, past Culdrose to hospital rnd/abt.

Tn L at Helston Hospital, down road, go to Porthleven via normal road. Take RH road around harbour as you look out to sea and follow along cliff to Rinsey Croft.  Tn R to Ashton, L along A394. At Germoe X Roads tn L and do loop to Pengersick, Praa Sands and Pentreath, re-joining A394 at Newtown.

Tn L A394 and keep on main road to Marazion. Follow coast path, along the sea front to Penzance.

DAY 5 to Zennor.

Penzance – Newlyn – Mousehole, following coast road. From Mousehole up steep hill to T junction. L to Castallack.

Into Lamorna, road to New Town, Merry Maidens, Boskenna, Trevedran to Sparnon. At Sparnon, tn L to Treen. To Trethewey, X rds to Little Trethewey.

Tn R to Polgigga, to Trevescan – Lands End.

A30 out, past Sennen to Trevedra Common.  At Trevedra Common, fork L onto B3306 to Brea Farm – St Just.  Stay on B3306 all way to Zennor, via Nancherrow, Botallack, Trevellard, Higher Boscaswell, Tregaminion, Rosemergy, past Gurnards Head inn to Zennor for overnight.

DAY 6 to St Agnes.

Zennor to St Ives, B3306.  St Ives past Carbis Bay to Lelant.  Take L fork Church Lane just past Carbis B. Tn L by church again for road by estuary. Come out on A3074 by causeway. Follow old road into Hayle. Tn L by Lidl and take Gwithian road to Portreath. Portreath to Porthtowan B3301. Up long hill to Towan X. L fork to Bolster. Tn R in Bolster to St Agnes. St A to Goonlaze and Barkla Shop. Tn L Barkla Shop to Trevellas – St Agnes.

DAY 7 to Polzeath.

Perranporth (B3285) – Mount – Trebellan – T jnct, tn L to Cubert / Trevail. Tn R in village to Crantock. In Crantock, tn R for 0.75m then L by Trevella Park (caravan park?) up to A3075. Tn L into Newquay.

Follow coasta route around Newquay, coming out on cliff road to Porth, Whipsidery and Watergate. Up hill on unmarked road to Trevarrian and Mawgan Porth. 

On reaching Mawgan Porth, turn L in village towards Trenance and Efflins. Tn L at Old Macdonalds Farm for Porthcothan.

L after Porthcothan, having crossed river to Carnevas, Trethies Farm and Treyarnon, into Constantine Bay village. Carry on to Harlyn. L after village to Trevone, but not into village. Go straight on to B3276 to Padstow.  Either cross over estuary on Rock ferry or take the Camel Trail to Wadebridge, Rock, Polzeath.

DAY 8 to Bude.

From Polzeath, climb hill out to junction, tn R. 0.75m tn L to Port Quinn. Follow rd past Trewinte, to L tn to Port Isaac. Follow rd out to Port Gaverne, past Welshman’s Quarry and Tregarverne.

Join up with B3314 to Westdowns. Follow rd to Trebarwith. To Trewarnett, then B3263 to Tintagel. Tn R in Tintagel to Bossiney, past Trevalga, head for Boscastle.

Tn L in centre of Boscastle on B3263 past Hillsborough (2 house hamlet).

Alternate Route 1 (involves bridleway / byway):-

Tn L 1m after Hillsborough to Middle and Higher Beeny. 0.5m after take Byway to Newton Farm to connect up with road again.

Alternate Route 2 (road):-

Stay on B3263 about 2m to X rds, tn L for Newton Farm.

Newton Farm to Trevingue, Woodgate, Carn Dean and Crackington Haven.

Come out of Crackington, tn L Coxford. Follow coast rd to Higher Crannow, Millbrook, Gt Hanson, Widemouth Bay, Upton, Lynstone and finally end up in Bude for last night.

FINAL DAY 9 to Mead Village and Finish!

A3072 out of Bude / Stratton. Middle of Stratton, take L fork towards Poughill. Look for signs for Stibb. L in Stibb, past Stowe Barton, Coombe, White Oak Farm, Radar stn on L, Eastaway Manor to James X. Tn R.

Past Rule X, Hobbs Choice, Eastcott and Eastcott X. Tn L, A39 over Wooley Moor, to Wellcombe X. Tn L, past Lipcott X, Kings X, tn R to Welcombe, down to Mead Village and FINISH!!

A fun day out for three of us

Today (Sunday) was a good day for us on the tandem, as we cracked 40 miles - actually 45 miles and a record top speed of 42mph - not to be repeated - Mrs Mead was slightly scared!!

Apart from the niggly cold wind, it was perfect weather and we chose to ride from Stithians to Helston, then Marazion, Penzance, Hayle, Gwithian, then across to Connor Downs, Praze, Four Lanes and eventually home again. Our good friend Conrad came with us on his new road bike (he is really a mountain biker like me) which he has bought for a charity ride from Paris to Cornwall in September.  He found the gearing somewhat different, but soon adapted.  He was quicker than us on the hills - unsurprising really, but on the downhills he had to pedal like mad to keep up with us freewheeling.  One of the many joys of tandem riding!

So now feeling much more confident.  But it is easy to forget that we did not have our full complement of baggage with us.  Next Sunday will be interesting, as we will take everything we need on the ride proper, as a sort of test bed.  Something tells me we will find it somewhat harder than today!

An invitation to St Agnes

To help spur us on during our Around Cornwall run / cycle trip, and because we might need a beer or two by then, kind friends have organised a do at the St Agnes Hotel on Thursday 3rd May. The details are on the poster I have scanned in below, but we would love to see you all there.  There will be a raffle, live local band Badland Blues and of course - us!  Given that we will have run / rode from Zennor that day, we may not last the night out, but that does not mean you cannot.  Hope to see lots of you rocking the night away and enjoying what promises to be a really good night out.

Feeling guilty!!

With our daughter and husband, son and girlfriend descending on us for Easter, we had little choice but to forgo any training this weekend - but we did do a fair amount of walking (to pubs!) and a lot of eating!  And I did take my son in law out for a swift 7 mile sprint on my mountain bikes on Easter Sunday.  But somewhere between last weekend and this one, I have managed to pick up a cold, which, as usual, has descended onto my chest - extremely annoying and it means I will have to keep this week a bit lighter on the training. 

But this is only a minor setback and I will keep the leg muscles turning over on the rolling road during the week, so as not to stir up my chest too much.  Gilly, in the meantime, is on a strict training regime after tonight and will be out on her bike tomorrow night.

Easter Training

The plan was to run from Plymouth to Stokeinteignhead in 3 days. A distance of about 100 miles. We had booked B & B accommodation in Hope cove, and Dartmouth. So the first day saw us setting off from Plymouth in beautiful weather. We had three river crossings to make on this first day, and there was therefore a bit of pressure on with making sure we got to each one before the ferries stopped for the day. All went fairly smoothly for the first one. The next one we had to wade across, and we missed the last one! Ok, it was probably my fault for wanting an extra hour in bed! Because of this, we had to add on another 7 miles at the end of the day to go all the way up the creek, and down the other side. There was also a ford to paddle through as the tide had come in and submerged the road. We did make it to Hope cove in one piece, slightly cold and tired, but able to enjoy a five course meal!

The next morning, after devouring yet more food, we set off towards Dartmouth. Again, the weather was kind to us, although it did look like it was going to rain at one point. Another Ferry crossing at Salcombe, along with trying to avoid the hordes of holiday makers ambling through the narrow streets, and very soon we were back on the coastpath. This was a stretch I knew well, having raced it on the South Devon coastal marathon a couple of times. Today, we were taking it a bit slower so I had chance to appreciate the views a bit more. We stopped at Beessands where David managed to eat a huge meal of homemade burger and cheesey chips, and still be able to run 10 miles after it! We got to Dartmouth, found our B & B, and crashed out for the night.

Rather than run through Torquay and Paignton, we decided to go inland the next day and use small roads and green lanes to make our way to Stokeinteignhead. This involved quite a lot of mapwork, but was a lovely route, with a stop at Berry Pomeray castle. We made good time and got to our destination where we enjoyed a delicious meal cooked by my Mum, and David was able to watch the closing stages of the Masters golf with Tom.

Main lesson learnt from this training run is that my rucksack is going to have to be lighter for the real event! I think we will both need to really pare down what we carry as extra weight just makes it harder.

Almost a 40 miler today!

Today (Sunday) was the perfect day for us to do 40 miles, but we were 2 short, according to our GPS - I reckon it went to sleep while we were in the pub!!

Originally we were going to do the Penzance to Zennor leg from the Phoenix Stroke Appeal ride, and then hop over the hill from Zennor back to Penzance. But this meant using the car to transport us and the tandem to Penzance, and with the fuel shortages it made more sense to do a different route and start from home.


So we cycled to Porthtowan from Stithians and then followed our route to Cubert via St Agnes and Perranporth, at all times keeping as close to the Coast as was feasibly possible. We had a nice lunch at the Smugglers Inn in Trevellas (killer hills around here!), albeit a little pricey.


We then came back home along the Newquay to Chiverton road - not a particularly safe route - many cars came far too close to us at high speed.  So I am glad we will be on very few A roads during the ride proper.

But apart from this, we had a good day out.  All hills were ridden, lots of other cyclists on the road giving us cheery waves, 36.6mph top speed down a hill somewhere and 38.56 miles on the clock.