LEJOG day 2

 Dan's blog

A decent night's sleep did wonders for our mood. A lovely continental breakfast was delivered to our door which gave us a well needed dose of vitamins (and calories)

I actually ate fruit - not normally a fan as they make my teeth itch.

8am start and quickly got to the uphills that Cornwall is famed for. Skirted the edge of the eden project. Really is quite impressive.

vi

Continued on the NC3 and more climbing before descending into the Luxulyan valley and the Treffry viaduct. The enormous viaduct and the beautiful arching canopy of trees made the route feel "other wordly" and we were half expecting to be attacked by Orcs.

Climbing up to Luxulyan itself, we were greeted on the climb by two young girls on Barbie bikes calling, "come on, You've got this". Very cute and made us feel like Olympians, at least for a minute.

Crossing the A30 into Bodmin

Onto Bodmin, where we took the opportunity to sort out Tracy's issue with getting into the lowest gear. She did amazingly well on the climbs thus far, without having access to the "Granny wheel". She had learned how to do the slalom climb and wished she had known yesterday. We took a short detour to a bike shop on the edge of Bodmin, Trail Munky, who made a few adjustments and we were back in business! Shout out to this bike shop, so friendly and helpful, with a tale or two about LEJOGgers who were far less prepared than us!

A half hearted look for a coffee shop in Bodmin, before giving up and deciding to stop on the camel trail instead. On we journeyed.

 A lovely ride away from any traffic up to Wenford bridge, where we stopped for a well earned lunch at the Snail trail - an off grid cafe, complete with solar panels 

I look vaguely disgusted at my choice of the healthy option salad plate, but sometimes the camera does lie - the food was amazing. They had a lovely selection of cakes, but Tracy thought that she would save her cake stop for later - a decision that she would come to regret.

After lunch and a bit of prevarication, we had to face the longest climb of the day. A tough 120m climb up to St Breward, which we managed without having to get off and push. Tracy's second biggest climb, according to Strava. I think that record will be broken next week. They were having a scarecrow festival in St Breward, which was cool. We liked shaun the sheep and Clarkson.

We continued our climbing, eventually reaching 263m above sea level, on the downs. There followed a discussion about why they are called downs and not ups. In some parts they might be called "Sunlit uplands" rather than downs. Glass half full/empty I guess.

Are they downs...

...or ups?

Ever onward, on the NC304 on the very flat remains of Davidstow airfield which provided welcome relief from the typical Cornwall contours.

Davidstow airfield

Onwards on the NC327, and a sign saying Launceston 12 miles. Our pace was now quickening as overall we were dropping height, arriving at the hotel at 4:30. A welcome early finish compared with yesterday.

A bit of chilling and a shower before heading to the bar for drinks and food. We ate on the terrace, lovely views of the valley that we had cycled up.

Pickled onion rings, a thing of beauty (oh and so is Tracy)

I made sure to order something unhealthy. It is important to have a balanced diet.

A good day to be in the saddle.

distance covered: 51 miles

Average speed 8.5 mph. Maybe we'll average 10mph once we leave Cornwall.

Cake of the day: none (v. disappointed ☹️)

Whinge factor: 2/10 What Tracy expects me to do about her sore arse, I'm not sure.

Total miles: 114