Monday 23 May 2016
Ok first things first…. I completely forgot to mention that at breakfast yesterday Dan shoved a Bourbon biscuit into the middle of his croissant and proudly declared he had created a new breakfast pastry….the ‘Dan au Chocolat’. I think it could catch on.
Second night in the tent and its apparent I still need a lot more practice. I never really got to sleep properly and then when I eventually dropped into something that felt nearly like sleep I got a monumental leg cramp. Struggled for about half an hour before succumbing and deciding to get up. It is though impossible to move in such a small tent without waking the other two and so I triggered a synchronised visit to the bathroom. Sorry guys although frankly it was a blessing to escape the man fug!
This is the route planned for today….
….although we already know we will have to tweak it a bit. We need to find a bike shop before ‘Dan the Destroyer’ explodes another chain. A quick google finds one in Bampton which is a bit of a detour and means we won’t be going up onto Exmoor as planned (shame but hopefully less hills!)
Last night we met a really nice couple who were doing the route the other way (JOGLE). We got chatting and compared adventures although to be honest theirs were a bit more adventurous than hours. This also very kindly gave us a spare chain link so the pressure to find a bike shop is off, a little bit.
We do a quick comparison on our ‘cyclist tans’ and then head off around 815
We quickly realise that we are all much more tired than we thought and decide that we will take a risk and give Bampton a miss. It’s a 10 mile detour that none of us fancy.
By 11am we have completed another county and moved into Somerset.
We have been trying to get a third of the days miles done by the time we stop for our first coffee. We manage it again today but it looks like it might be starting to take its toll.
The hills today are truly brutal but somehow we are still managing to climb them. It’s mostly down to stubborn determination but could it be possible that we are already a little fitter than we were three days ago?
A bit of panic starts to set in when we don’t come across anything for nearly two hours that could possibly be considered a lunch option and then joyfully an oasis appears.
Five miles later we find a nice spot and devour the lot!
The sat nav has been playing up all day and so our route is a combination of guess work and intuition. What I didn’t see coming at all was it taking us up and over the Quantock Hills……30 minutes of sheer uphill agony. But we did it….
We are starting to feel invincible…..very tired but invincible.
The remaining 20 odd miles seem to take forever but they are flat and easy compared to our morning stint. A quick stop in Bridgwater (dont go there it’s horrible) so we can stock up on chain links (newsflash Dan hasn’t broken anything today) and then on to Cheddar.
As we check in and pay for the nights camping the guy at the desk seems genuinely interested in what we are doing and asks lots of questions about what and why. Shortly after we have pitched the tent he comes back over and hands me the cash back saying that he has spoken to his boss and they have agreed that we can camp for free and in return they would like a photo of us to put on their website what a great thing to do……well done Petruth Paddocks. Later we get another free delivery…..
A firepit with some logs and marshmallows….it may seem silly but we are a bit overwhelmed by such spontaneous kindness.
Speaking of which here is our justgiving page (seamless Nick, absolutely seamless) please give whatever you can.
A short walk into Cheddar and we settle in for the now customary carb fest and a couple of pints.
Big day tomorrow starting with cycling up Cheddar Gorge…..gulp!
Goodnight, that is all!