Firstly, Cornwall and Devon are hilly. Please note. For those interested in sprockets and gear ratios and the like (Andrew, I mean you), I will do a tech piece at the end detailing bike, wheels, tyres and total expenditure since I started training. I will also put my route maps, training plan and the like into a Dropbox folder should anyone give a damn.
Today was a long day. I have not yet downloaded the Garmin data, but I was on my bike for around seven and a half hours, starting at 0930 and finishing at 1700. The highlight was extremely rapid progress along the A30 until I got tired of the constant roar of traffic in my ear at the halfway point (Bodmin),the low points the seemingly endless chain of climbs on the A390 from Liskeard to Tavistock. The climb from Tavistock over Dartmoor was particularly grim, not helped by gear issues such as my front changer not wanting to drop the chain from the big ring to the small ring. Note to self: when bike has been soaked in rain, get the lube out and get busy before you ride 100+ miles.
Learning point around food: stop for a sandwich around halfway, Percy Pigs will only get you so far.
On the credit side, I was amused to see signs to Minions (Despicable Devon?), Ventongimps (specially bred?), and a car dealer called Bigot Motors.
Right, that's enough for now. Bristol tomorrow and it will be another long day.
Mileage: 103.5
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/547358757
https://www.justgiving.com/Sean-Bonnington/
Superb opening days effort Sean! Well done, and good to get the first day out of the way with no hiccups. Hopefully not too many hills today, and hope you do not develop an allergy to Percy Pigs by the end of the ride! You may want to try Colin the Caterpillar as an alternative snack, guaranteed to give you a few extra miles!
ReplyDeleteI have "Travelling Percy" and "Percy Pig & Friends" as back up. Plus fig rolls. Sorted.
ReplyDeleteSean, looking forward to the tech piece and I'm sad enough to delve into dropbox for route maps too!!
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