Lejog day 7 - 6/9/2018

Today we rode from Northwich to Garstang. It was the worst day of the tour (there had to be one). We spent most of the day passing through the Liverpool/Manchester conurbation with heavy traffic and aggressive drivers.

As we were riding to the start point, Anne was panicked by a driver approaching rapidly from the left and slammed her brakes on without saying anything. I ran into the back of her and knocked her off her bike. I felt bad about that, but I had had problems with riders in the group stopping without warning and failing to call hazards or turns. I guess they're not used to riding in groups.

Morning brew stop

Lunch at the Rock Inn was lasagne and binoche pie - never had binoche pie before and it was good.

Lunch - Anne is standing

After lunch we were back in heavy traffic. Anne got hit by a car as she tried to make a right turn. She went to hospital and got stitches for a cut forehead and finished the ride. Wow.

The last 20 miles were back in countryside and we stayed at a very nice Best Western.

Best Western

We came across a hedgehog on the grounds of the hotel.

Amber and I walked around and found a canal so we walked along the tow path into Garstang for dinner.

Canal

I saw something I'd never seen before - a canal passing over a river!

We rode 71.9 miles and climbed 3794'.

Lejog day 6 - 6/8/2018

Today was one of the longest days, but without too much climbing. We rode from Clun to Northwich.

We left our B&B after a full breakfast and headed out on the rough Shropshire roads.

B&B

The route through Shrewsbury was mainly alongside the Severn river - very pretty but roads were rough and my shoulder was very painful.

Shrewsbury

Lunch was at the Burlton Inn in Burlton. I met David Ivory there, we hadn't seen each other in 40 years. He had a full beard and looked like a cross between a skinny father Christmas and a happy Ayatollah. He had become an evangelistic vegan which seemed to help his climbing skills but I think I enjoyed lunch as an omnivore more than he did as a vegan.

Lunch

David (right)

We rode the second half of the ride together and talked a lot, catching up. He flew up the hills like they weren't there. I slogged up them like I weighed an extra 100 lbs (which I probably did).

The riding in the afternoon also had rough roads, but also some interesting breaks.

David had parked his van at near the end of the ride, but we had a road closure within a mile of the overnight that forced us to take a long detour. Eventually we ended up at the Hartford Hall Hotel in Northwich.

We rode 86.6 miles with 4045' of climbing.

Lejog day 5 - 6/7/2018

We rode from Monmouth to Clun. It was an short, easy day which was good considering the drama of the previous night. Here's a picture of the ill fated King's Head which was the only room with air conditioning. Shame we couldn't stay there. Note the bright red Peak Tours van, one of two that supported us.

There would be a Peak Tours van at each of the brew stops. We quickly developed a Pavlovian response to red vans.

King's Head Monmouth

There was, as usual, a steep climb out of Monmouth followed by rough roads and rolling hills.

 Lunch was at the New Inn in Pembridge. We had cream of mushroom soup (good), sandwiches, and a strawberry tart. Every lunch was this good, it was amazing.

Old church on the way to Pembridge

The New Inn and lunch

Old church next to the lunch stop

View from lunch

Once we got into Shropshire the road surfaces got better and we had some nice descents and an enjoyable brew stop in the middle of a quiet village.

Afternoon brew stop

We stayed at a riverside B&B in Clun that was the best overnight of them all.The owners were an auto mechanic and a teacher who put us up in their five bedroom, riverside house. How could they possibly afford that? No matter - they were two of the nicest people I've ever met and fed us scones, did laundry for us, and even cooked Martina a wonderful vegan dinner.

Amber and I took our regular after ride walk and found Clun Castle - there's not much left but it was interesting none the less.

Clun  Castle ruins

We found an open co-op and bought even more candy and cookies and ate a decent meal at the White Horse.

We rode 58.5 miles with a mere 4037' of climbing.

Lejog day 4 - 6/6/2018

Today we rode from Street to Monmouth. It was a fairly flat route and we started on a long narrow road following a small river. A pair of swans with cygnets was not happy at the attention they were getting from the riders.

Cyclists and swans

Unhappy swan

After the morning brew stop we rode on a cycle path and through a gypsy encampment.

Bike path

Morning brew stop

We had a lovely approach to and passage through Wells. It has an impressive cathedral.

Wells cathedral

There was a long hard climb out of Wells. We had a superb lunch at The Fox in Easter Compton.

Lunch

Then we approached the Severn Bridge and Monmouthshire.

Severn Bridge

After the smooth roads of Cornwall and Somerset I found the Monmouthshire roads to be appalling. Thank goodness we opted for the 32mm tires.

We checked in to the King's Head in Monmouth which was having problems with its fire alarm. Eventually they decided the only way to stop it from alarming all the time was to shut it off entirely which meant all their overnight guests had to be transported to alternative accommodations. We were all bused ten miles away to hotel back in England, then bused back again in the morning. Despite all this we still started the next day on time!

67.2 miles with 4319' of climbing.

Lejog day 3 - 6/5/2018

Much easier day today from Mortonhampstead to Street.

Lunch was at the Drew Arms in Broadhembury.

Drew Arms

The afternoon ride was even better than the morning.

Afternoon brew stop

Even though the roads were narrow at times, the English drivers were very patient. Here's a line of cars waiting to pass a cyclist.

We stayed at the Bear Hotel. I had a nice ploughman's and sticky toffee pudding. Hobgoblin beer is good.

Total distance was 70.5 miles with 3909' of climbing.

After I got back from the vacation I found my wife had crashed her bike today and broken her arm. She didn't tell me because she didn't want to spoil my vacation!

Lejog day 2 - 6/4/2018

Today is Fowey to Moretonhampstead - the hardest single day on Lejog. We follow the coast to Plymouth then head inland on NCR 27 up and onto Dartmoor.

Here we all are at the pre-ride talk.

The approach to Plymouth was lovely.

Goat track

On the way to Plymouth

On the outskirts of Plymouth

Navigating through Plymouth was tricky and we were lucky to be in a group that included a rider who knew his way around. While we were waiting for a light we were accosted by an elderly woman in a Skoda who felt we were a menace. I couldn't actually tell what she was shouting through her three remaining tobacco-stained teeth but I kind of got the gist of it. I confused her by agreeing with her.

Lunch was at a pub followed by a ferry ride.

After Plymouth we got onto NCR 27 which was amazing. It reminded me of the bike path over the Vail Pass in Colorado.

Two of the more impressive riders were Liz and Mike. Liz was riding an electric assisted hand bicycle and Mike was on a regular electric assisted bike.

Liz

Once we got up onto Dartmoor the view was great. There were still a lot of climbs even on the moor. There were sheep and ponies browsing by the side of the road and it was a bit scary flying down the hills knowing that they could decide to cross the road right in front of you.

This was now the toughest 100k I had ever ridden. Yesterday's record didn't last long. We rode 64.9 miles with 6368' of climbing. Wow!

Lejog day 1 - 6/3/2018

Today is 62 miles from Land's End to Fowey. Here are some of the other cyclists in our 25 rider group.

Eventually David got Amber's brakes working correctly and we set off towards Penzance.

Footpath to Penzance

We had a strong headwind and a spot of rain before we got to Penzance.

Just after passing through Penzance we passed near St. Michael's Mount.

St. Michael's Mount in the distance

Ferry over river Fal

After the ferry we turned inland and started some major climbing. It was probably the hardest 100k I've ever ridden.Tomorrow was supposed to be harder.

There were many interesting things to see such as this miniature horse and cart.

A combination of dehydration, low electrolytes, and extreme exertion gave me some serious cramps. But I did enjoy the downhills. Here is a video of us passing through Par.

I had the nose of my saddle too high and the rivet at the front caught on my pants as I tried to dismount which ripped a huge hole in them.When we got to Fowey around 6 pm I went and found a SportsDirect and bought a new pair of shorts for about half the normal price. They weren't the best shorts I've ever owned, but they did the job. I also dropped the nose of my saddle.

All in all it was a very tough day, but the scenery was wonderful and Peak Tours really worked hard for us. Total trip distance was 65.7 miles with 5179' of climbing.