Saturday June 10 started beautifully. An excellent breakfast at The Seiners Arms, Perranporth with wonderful beach views and the knowledge that the ubiquitous Cornish sea mist would soon burn off. So we cycled merrily up hill and down vale, pausing at the Lappa Valley narrow gauge railway to wave off Jack and his friends aboard the steam train as they headed off up the track to the woodland play area to celebrate his fourth birthday. How we laughed and smiled….At this stage we’d only done around seven miles, a fraction of our proposed itinerary, but the sun shone. 

Late morning, topping up our nutrition I flung a banana skin in the air only to discover they can and do work like boomerangs as it hit my helmet with a loud THWACK! 

The weather deteriorated sharply, lunch comprised a toastie at Sainsbury’s in Bodmin, and it got less pleasant from there! 

The lovely tracks which avoid the main roads drop down, what were now raging channels of water and mud in places, to narrow  river valleys, and steeply up the other side, impassible by ordinary mortals astride bikes.  So we walked. The satnav stopped working ( but we only discovered this when we found ourselves about to ride along the A 30, a trunk road,wet and busy. We pushed our bikes in poor visibility up hill  before trying to cut back across country to find our route. 

The paper instructions were now sodden, barely legible, and we meandered hopelessly across Bodmin Moor, happyin the knowledge we’d be more frightening to The Beast than he to us. 

A village called Minions cheered us up. Surely here, of all places, we’d find warmth and small friendly people? No. The pub was full of some of the largest, most tattooed men I have ever seen – and you see plenty in my job. All thoughts of politics now totally forgotten the  boisterous crowd watched the World Cup qualifier, celebrating and commiserating in equal part with multiple pints and shots. Attending to the important matters of the day. 

Still 15 miles to go to Tavistock, and now already 6.30, and having done 45 mikes, Keith ever positive thought we could manage to get to our destination in time for dinner. However, the  light dimmed, the rain came down and we finally knocked on the door of Kingfisher Cottage at ten, the owner ,Paul,having by this time sent out distress calls to  Bike Adventures and was getting ready for bed. 

We removed very few clothes, neglected our dentition, and fell quickly asleep. Tired yet happy?

Tired. 

Miles 60 (cumulative 105)

Hills walked up – no longer in single figures. Stopped counting at 13. 

Pints, snacks etc. 0

Pages read: 0 (cumulative 67). Book now wet and heavy. 

 But the good news: tantrums: 0