Charity Bike Ride - Jogle Day 9 - The Last Day!
Firstly a huge thank you to our hosts at Lynher Farmhouse B&B in North Hill, just south of Launceston who were just wonderful. Such a fantastic peaceful location, lovely rooms, comfortable beds and so hospitable - they even helped to dry our kit and put out a wonderful breakfast for us at 5.45 a.m! To be fair everywhere we have stayed en route has been good and everyone so helpful, kind and hospitable except of course for the Manager at the Premier Inn at Stepps in Glasgow - remember by earlier blogs saying how unhelpful she was!
Yes, we decided that we would like to be able to finish as early as possible in Lands End, so unanimously agreed to start early and we could not have picked a better day to start early, although we actually got underway at 6.30 a.m andwere even seen off by our wonderful support team, making sure we had everything we needed.
We had 93 miles scheduled for our last day, but had already done about 8 the previous day, and a lot of this was hills, but that did not mean there were no more hills to go - remember this is Cornwall and the B&B was in the bottom of a valley, so what better way to warm up, than a long steep hill, but as we rose out of the valley the views were stunning as the mist lay in the valleys.Our sister Pip had rung the night before and was keen to join us for a ride, so met us just after 7 am and we headed off for another 23 miles before meeting the support vehicle for a hearty second breakfast of porridge and bacon and egg rolls ! It was now 10 a.m and we decided that with just 55 miles to go, we could probably do it without another lunch stop, so the girls were quite pleased to realise that they had just done the last meal in the camper van!
We set off with an ETA at Lands End of about 2 - 2.30 p.m and were feeling good, but perhaps unaware that 55 was still a long way to cycle in Cornwall. As we left the main roads onto narrow lanes, as usual they did not disappoint. We were dealt 2 hours of steep hills which nearly finished George and I off. Having done less than 20 miles we rang the girls to say that 3.30 to 4 p.m ETA looked more likely. However we then had a great run into Penzance and did the next 15 miles in an hour. With 12 miles to go, we rode along the sea front in Penzance feeling good and the adrenalin was starting to flow.
Finally at 3.30 p.m we saw the girls in the distance - our support team of Lucy and Sophie along with George's wife Anna and daughter Libby and we rode triumphantly down a short avenue to Lands End. A pretty emotional moment for the grown ups, but continual laughter from the boys as usual. Then champagne corks were popped from 2 bottles which Lucy had arranged with a photo label of the 4 of us in our kit - a lovely surprise. This was followed by the customary signpost photo overlooking the sea and in wonderful sunshine. From here we headed off to St Ives to stay in a lovely hotel overlooking the sea, to relax, savour the moment and reflect on the last 9 days.
A truly inspirational journey from end to end and an amazing, unforgettable experience for us all. We have travelled 983 miles and ridden for approx. 90 hours. A few pains have developed, but nothing too serious considering two of us are around 50 years old! The boys (17 & 16) have been an inspiration and kept their spirits up for the whole trip and to be honest kept us going, and along the way we have had some great laughs and many lifetime memories.
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