Monday, June 5, 2017
Perranporth to Tavistock, UK
56 miles, 6,552 feet of climbing
Today was a tough day in the saddle in many respects: heavy rain, high winds, steep climbs, narrow roads, and, to top it off, a road construction detour that added another steep climb to the day. But it was also an amazing day in many respects: we accomplished (and survived) one of the most difficult days of the tour with no flat tires, no injuries, and no wrong turns! So, it's a win! Today's ride started with a category 4 climb right out of the box. Then, it was basically up and down long steep climbs all day. Much of our route today took us over these extremely narrow hedgerow-lined country lanes - paved (sort of), but barely wide enough for a car and a bike to get by each other, let alone two cars coming in opposite directions. I had a number of close calls while trying to pass (or let pass me), cars, trucks, and several tractors. Picture tying to navigate all of this during a torrential downpour, winds gusting to 40 miles per hour, and wet brakes that aren't working very well. We did however, get to see a pair of wild ponies (photo below). Lots of drama, but also lots of laughs, as the two of us looked like drowned rats at the end of the ride. We walked into our hotel lobby - a pretty fancy hotel - drenched from head to toe. The staff couldn't have been nicer. After we warmed up and cleaned up, we had a very nice group dinner in the hotel dining room. It was fun hearing about everybody's experiences of the day. Tomorrow, the journey continues! Hopefully, with less rain. ☺️
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Elevation profile of today's ride
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| Leaving Perranporth under cloudy skies; heavy rain is imminent |
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| Art looking snazzy in his high-viz rain gear |
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| A great day for a cappuccino break |
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| Wild ponies posing for us |
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