Stats: 109.2 miles, 10 hours 43 in the saddle(!) calories 6191, climbing 7795 feet, ave speed 10.2 mph.
Well that was a pretty brutal day! Rolling into Bovey Tracy after 9.30 having set off from Bristol at 8.30 was certainly not what I had envisaged when I planned the route. The 12 mph average speed I had reckoned we would achieve, and pretty much did for the first 3 or 4 days did not take into account the toll that so many 100 plus days in a row take it out of you physically. It's funny but looking back at the blogs at least until the last 2 days, the majority of my fears were all mental in their demons, and being able to cope with the demands on your attention and resolve looking at such a mammoth task ahead of you.
As can be seen by the tumbling average speed the issues now are mainly physical as despite the time we were out on the road today, the most climbing of any day so far (but only for 1 day, just wait until tomorrow!) the terrible weather this morning and the joint biggest distance of any day so far, I kind of enjoyed it! I'm sure my mam and dad must have dropped me on the head when I was a bairn......!
Sit-rep on the physical stuff isn't so good. Both me knees are killing me and the ibroprofen are just about keeping me mobile. My lips are all split and chapped as are my hands. Because they are so sore I can't wear gloves any more as they become to itchy. As a result I've bruised both my palms where they are holding the bars. My little fingers are going numb after about an hour of riding without a break and I've had several nosebleeds in the last 2 days. My big toenail is black, and not even going to mention my unmentionables! However it's all about still functioning but the energy just isn't there like it was at the start. Still I think there enough in the tank just to get it finished!
This morning started out with Dec's kids taking me and Kieran's bike for us as they posed for a picture with their dad at the hotel entrance. This was after the usual piss poor Holiday Inn Express breakfast where I managed to get down 3 pastries, 3 bowls of cereal and pinch all the bananas put out for later.
After saying good bye to Ali and the kids, with team TOFS/Dreamflight being 3 with Kieran Campbell joining us it was out into a dry Bristol morning. Or at least it was for about 100 yards. Then the heavens opened and wouldn't stop until after dinner (not lunch Dec). As we had done a reasonable job of keeping faff to a minimum this gave us ample opportunity to make up for it. With the stopping to don overshoes, gloves and jackets we had missed the road to Staple Hill. As it was only 8.30 on a Sunday anyway it was unlikely anyone would be there so I made a mental apology and we road down the empty roads into Bristol.
5 mins of gentle decending and a women on a shopper bike with panniers came past us. Dec wasn't having that and a few seconds later he was off in hot pursuit much to be and KC's amusement. After he had slipstreamed her then got passed her he seemed happy and rejoined the peloton saying how he should have trash talked her when he went past!
Within minutes we had the fist no-hander master class from Kieran as he ate he'd and messed around with vent zips on his jacket. Me and Dec had been talking about Kieran's particular skill in this the other day and we reckon he could instruct a whole Pilates lesson without having to hold the handlebars! A quick stop for a video and photo of the Great Western and it was on and upwards on the way out of Bristol.
In hindsight the route I'd chosen was very picturesque and quiet but the bad surfaces, constant changing of direction and steep gradients were having there toll.after what seemed like the 10 th steepest climb in 10 miles on footpaths and unclassified roads and the ave speed resting at 9mph, it was time to get out the map and go to plan B. When we stopped Dec did his usual feral dogs trick of stopping every 100 yards to mark his territory and had picked what looked like a deserted farm track. Just as Dec was getting started an enourous 4x4 with a horse box on the back indicated in and faced with Dec half way through, a Mexican standoff ensured. Luckily the lady was laughing as hard as me and Kieran and showing magnificent control manger to stock, shuffle over to the verge and let the lady by on her way.
As we calmed ourselves down a look on the map showed the next 10 miles was much the same as the last so the decision was made to follow the B roads instead to Chew Magna before we started the big climb over the Mendip hills. It looked steep on the profile of the day and it was horrible. Pretty much 15% all the way up, there were sections up to 17% and I was forced to zig zag across the road to help ease the gradient and stay on till the top. With Dec's panniers considerably lighter as he had ditched as much as he could with Ali and Kieran's fresh legs they both disappeared into the clouds waiting for me at the top to catch our breath and we all had a jolly good moan about how cold and miserable it was. Riding in the clouds across the top of the Mendips it was soon time for the scary descent with visability low and the roads steaming wet. By the time we got to the bottom my rear brake was also next to useless so we were glad to finally roll into Wells and stopped at the Costa to try and warm up and get something to eat. While Dec was in the toilets washing his socks out in the sink and drying them under the hand drier, Kieran thought the best way to warm up was tip his coffee all over his lap and down his legs!
It was 11.30 and we had been on the bikes 3 hours and had managed only 28 miles. Funnily enough though I didn't feel as bad as a couple of days ago and after checking the weather forcast to see the rain would stop soon and brighten up we donned the coats ( apart from Dec who had given all his rain gear to Ali this morning!) and set off for Glastonbury. Coming the other way were hoards of marshalling on motorbikes readying to sort the traffic out when it was kicking out time from the festival, but we had some momentum going and with Kieran on the the front of the train into a very strong head wind it we were making up some time.
Just after Glastonbury we were passed by a cycling club and a group of 10 or so riders. Dec motioned for us to get in the back for a bit but it looked like they were going a bit to fast for us and with still a long way to go decided discression was more important than valour and they slowly went away. But only slowly. At the next set of lights we caught them up and passed them then the hammer went down! I'm not sure what these guys must have thought as these three old blokes with massive panniers went past but all they did was tuck in behind out of the wind! We kept it going for a couple of mind and just as Dec asked them if they would like to do a stint on the front they said they were turning off in a minute! I mean really!
With our spirits lifted and the judgement call to miss out another 10 miles of twisty slow single tracks it was brave pills in and on to the A303 for the stint of 8 miles to Chard. Despite it being a Sunday the road was incredibly busy but it did have a strip of hard verge that we were able to make our own the only problem being the headwind and the sunken drains every 20 meters or so. With Kieran doing a monster stretch on the front then Declan doing an even longer one we done the 8 miles and pulled off at the services on the A road to Chard as Kieran was struggling with his shoulders and he thought the A303 was not the place to do his funky chicken no handers on.
A quick drink and we were soon rolling into Chard and a warm welcome from Ruth the supervisor and a well needed cup of tea. They had a collection bucket out and when Dec hobbled across the shop floor to the staff room one women asked what was wrong with him. When she was told what he was doing it she said "oh the poor thing" and got a fiver out! Collecting the double ration bag (we knew it would be a hard day!) it was now off into the hazy sunshine for the 2 big climbs out if Chard and then out of Yarcombe. Having driven down this road about 1000 times in the 2 years it took to do the Chard store I knew the climbs pretty well so put it in granny and span to the top happy as Larry in the afternoon sunshine. Finally getting to the top and the A30 we were on joined the A303 and got busy again so it was KC on the front again as we just got the miles in to Honiton.
Arriving at Honiton we stil had 31 miles to do and the vicious climb from Exeter to get over. and it was 5.30. When Kieran mentioned he knew a really good Italian in Honiton, our mind was made up we'd have tea on route instead of risking getting to Bovey Tracey and there being nowhere to eat. 3 bowls of pasta, 2 garlic pizzas and a bowl of onion rings washed down by 9 cokes was soon demolished. We hadn't eaten the second garlic bread so Dec was nominated to be the slowest pizza delivery boy in the world as he had emptiedhis panniers and it fit in perfectly! Now me and Kiren had no intention of eating it when we got there but thought it would be good to get him to carry it anyway!
In the now lovely weather we set off for Exeter along the old A30 and soon we were through it and climbing up towards Dartmoor, and up and up. In just over 2 miles we had climbed over 1300 feet and after 100 miles it began to take its toll. Dec stopped up ahead to take yet another video of me wheezing up a hill and I had to stop and take a breather as well. Setting off again I eventually caught them again at the top of the steep climb and we were off again only to be met with a small uphil bit to the summit. With the usual greeting I was passed both of them and sprinting to to top. Only Kieran excepted the challenge this time and we were full out sprinting when the junction at the top came into view and I nosed past him by a wheel! I'm taking that even if they did have to wait for me at the top of the real climb!
It was then a fast descent to about 2 miles from the pub where we staying at and on the now flat roads Kieran made a jump for the stage win. Coming from behind I managed to get past them both until the road went up hill and I went backwards. Dec came passed with the usual abuse and from somewhere I found some energy and got past him again. At this point Kieran decided enough was enough and fell back only for us in the heat of the battle to forget he didn't have the sat nag route and as we took a right at the junction we were out of his sight! Coming to our senses we knew he'd carry on so I went back to find him while Dec tried phoning him. Of course tortoise and hare simile alert, by the time we'd got hold of him he was sitting outside the pub the victor!
So another day done. 2 to go. We did have conversations of making tomorrow less brutal and changing the finishing point, but we're going to give it a go and have tea out on the road again.
146 miles to go!
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