Last night was spent at one of the Fire Fighters Charity Centre at Harcombe House, Devon. We were lucky enough to all have a bed for the night in one of the recuperation bungalows, so a good nights sleep was had by all….. following the evening meal (which was around eight o’clock by the time we got there, most adjourned to the bar for a drink and to nurse our aches.
Karoke was the flavour of the night for the clients on site, and never one to be outdone Bob led the way with a classic rendition of ‘If you want to be in my gang’. A few others managed to string a few syllables together, but the award for best performance must go to Tatie for what can only be described as a show stopping performance……
Everyone had wandered back up to their bungalow just after 11pm, in preparation for the next day.
The next morning saw breakfast in the main house, and Tatie relieving the night before. Afterwards, the now common sight of people tinkering and repairing bikes could be seen in the forecourt ready for the 9am off (With the obligatory photo's first. A big mention to Phil 'Filthy' Adams, whose repair skills have been seen morning day and night......
New tyres on for various members, new tubes in and we were just about ready for the off!
As ever Laonies bike felt the need for new tubes, one at Chiudleigh and then one at the side of the road. Andy also had a puncture, and Bob just couldn't leave ASDA without a quick tube change, having also managed at one point to mash his gears into a shadow of their former selves
Today was 78 - 80 miles, with two ASDA stops - One in Plymouth and one at St Austell.
We split into two groups today, A group of 4 who were going to undertake the scenic route (Gav, Jon, Toby & Pete), with the remainder going for the speed ride down the A38. Brave souls :)
34 miles to ASDA ensued down the busy A 38 dual carriageway, and fair to say that today was a hard ride. Navigation was easy (one road pretty much) but the hills were something else.......
On arriving at plymouth, a quick set up of the gazebo and tables by Smithy and the crew, was quickly followed by the arrival of Plymouth's Pump and Turntable ladder. Bobs day was made when they put the TL up in the car park of ASDA (Will, we have the registration for you)
Smithy & Clive, along with Taity, Sim & Princess did an absolutely stirling job giving out information, leaflets and collecting along with the Plymouth crews & Simon Wonnacot (formerly Oxfordshire - now based down in Plymouth). A big thank you to all of them.
The cyclists came and went over an hour or so, having had a lunch at ASDA put on by the store, and then were off to St Austell, with a stop scheduled at friends of Josies at their shop (Coast Country), just off the A38. Fantastic to see a good luck message, and a wealth of snacks, scones, etc which made the day a lot more bearable.......
Meanwhile, further down south of the A38, the rebels on the scenic route were making good progress having managed to achieve Jons dream of a cream tea in Devon, were heading through Plymouth, and out the other side to catch the Torpoint chain ferry. From here a ride of about 20 miles took them to just above Looe (Fair few hills in between). However disaster struck at the bottom of the hill (about 4 miles out, when Tobys cleat disintegrated and he could no longer pedal up hills. Unfortunately in the fact that with them carrying everything else, spare tyre, tubes, gas inflator, cables, etc - the only thing not being carried was spare cleats or pedals!!
Having finally made it into Looe, having walked every up hill in the first part of Cornwall, and then out the other side, (Gav & John had gone ahead at this point) Toby was reunited with his new set of cleats from the lorry, having been rescued by Clive and his Dad George who lives just outside St Austell.
Whilst operation 'Rescue Toby' was underway, the main group were battling the hills (Who said Scotland was hard!), and finally wending their way down into St Austell to ASDA about a mile from our end at St Austell. yet again the support crew were doing a sterling job, and were out spreading the campaign message, and collecting.
A grand total of £724.59 was raised at the two ASDA's, a fantastic result and all of us would like to say thanks to ASDA and the crews for supporting us all in collecting it.
We all finally rolled into St Austell Station around 6pm, to be met by various friends. Our new CFO Dave Etheridge had also arrived, having already met up with Toby & Pete at the roadside whilst they were attempting repairs to Pete's pedal, in preparation for joining us on the last leg of the journey to Lands End
After an hour of ablutions and generally staggering around the station in a haze of tiredness, dinner was served, and a proper meal of real fresh Cornish Pasties , kindly provided by Clive's Dad (Thank you George!), along with chips, beans & gravy was just what we needed to round the day off and recover.
A few drinks down the road to wash it all down, along with the obligatory last court hearing, finished us all off, and needless to say , the climb back up the hill was longer than the one down it earlier!
All in bed by midnight, (after a little feast on the leftovers!) ready for the final day!!!
55 miles to go..........!
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