JOGLE DAY TWELVE - Boscastle to Lands'End

TUESDAY 29 JULY - BOSCASTLE TO LANDS END - 95 MILES 2200 METRES
TOTAL = 1048 MILES & 19 000 METRES ASCENT

Yes, we did it we did it we did it!!! Well, Francis certainly completed the full journey of 1195 miles as it turned out and I managed 1048 in my 11 days.

Leaving Boscastle I was worried about my sore achilles and mild hangover, but on the steep winding ascent out they both seemed fine thankfully.We passed by Camelford and Bodmin, crossed between Newquay and St. Austell and through Redruth (ASBO capital of the south west apparently!)and St. Ives before bombing along full of adrenaline through St.Just on the coastal road to our final destination.
It was with tears in my eyes that we swooped into Lands End about 6pm, after battling a headwind and more wee winding lanes. It was an amazing adventure and with so much to try and remember and absorb. My very few scant words here cannot do justice to the amazing scenery, views, pubs, cafes, hostels, thatched cottages, windy lanes, vast Scottish mountain scenery, idyllic villages etc. that we encountered. A huge big thanks to Francis for his navigation and friendship throughout, and to Florence, Sally and Eleanor for their support. And, of course, not forgetting Gordon without whose bike, panniers and shoes I obviously could not have completed it.

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The weather remained fairly kind for the last day, with just a few showers, and we enjoyed our final day's cycling in Cornwall. We travelled through lots of narrow lanes again and made one final coffee stop before heading along the coastal route around the north coast to reach Land's End via St. Just. The owner of the cafe had obviously seen it all before but was very encouraging and local small boys obviously knew what was going on because two groups of them shouted things such as 'Well done' as we passed.

As we negotiated the coast road, a strong breeze caused us to drop through the gears until we were almost in bottom gear whenever the road turned inland and then blew us along at top speed each time it turned and headed towards the sea. At St. Just, there was a final 1-in-6 climb before we put our heads down and started flying along towards the finish, taking it in turns to go at the front and pedal into the wind.

Sally and Eleanor were ready to receive us at the finish and a few tourists were almost as excited to find that they were there at just the right time to see someone finishing the run. One group was so pleased that they put their hands into their pockets and donated £20 on the spot.

I now have a great example of systematic error for use with my A level groups because each day proved to be longer than my measured distance. My original plan was to cycle 1000 miles in 10 days, averaging 100 miles per day, but, after being reminded that I am not as young as I used to be, I planned a journey lasting12 days. It's a good job that I did this because we have still ended up cycling 100 miles per day and, as John has pointed out, could have completed the journey in 9 days if we had selected one of the standard, 900-mile routes.
We are raising money for prostate cancer research,details on www.justgiving.com/fhjogle, if you wish to contribute.

JOGLE DAY ELEVEN - Minehead to Boscastle

MONDAY 28 JULY
93 MILES 2745 METRES ASCENT

A relatively short day, but tons and tons of climbing wee country lanes that just kept us on a rollercoaster ride that had me done in after 6 or 7 hours until rescued by lager shandies, crisps and Red Bull in a friendly pub. We had a steep 1000 feet pull up on to Exmoor National Park - 400 metres up yet full of lush gardens, hedges and cute villages, unlike Scotland at that height! It was sunny yet again, the hedgerows were amazing, towering over everything. Passed through Withypool and North Molton and we had a great wee cafe stop in South Molton. The day was just full of meandering country lanes, and it was a relief to my weary body, and now very sore achilles, that we descended quickly into Boscastle, the scene of devastating floods 4 years ago, home to a very nice youth hostel and a cracking pub full of local ales and cyders that we sampled.

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What a hilly place Devon is!
We started the day with a large climb over Dunkery Hill, reaching a height of about 400 metres. The scenery was strange because we found ourselves cycling alongside tall, healthy hedges beside fields of lush grass at the sort of altitude at which, in Yorkshire or Scotland, there would be peat bog and curlews. From Exmoor, we got the most panoramic views of the trip, looking over Gloucestershire and over to South Wales. I also saw a tall plume of smoke which I assumed to be industrial in origin but which was actually the burning pier in Weston-Super-Mare.
The actual height climbed today - 2700 metres - was greater than for any other day of the trip, so far. The landscape is relentless. No sooner had we finished descending one steep, narrow lane, braking often because of the bends, than we had to drop through the gears to crawl up the next hill. John's gadgets, which gave us the figure for the height climbed, have told us that we have usually used an extra 2500 (kilo)calories each day, in excess of the usual 2000. Today, the figure was more than 3000. We have, of course done our best to make up for the extra output by eating accordingly.
Boscastle youth hostel is fantastic, sitting right next to the sea, at the bottom of the village. The hostel took the full force of the floods but is now very smart because it has just reopened after extensive repairs. The only problem, of course, is that the hostel is at sea-level and there will, therefore, be a climb at the start of the next day.

JOGLE DAY TEN -Slimbridge to Minehead

SUNDAY 27 JULY
104 MILES 1405 METRES ASCENT

Another fab sunny day. Started off again in short sleeves. Headed off through the flatlands of South Gloucestershire, past Dursley, Chipping Sodbury, cut between Bristol and Bath. Took in the amazing Cheddar Gorge and enjoyed an ice cream amongst the crowds, tootled near Glastonbury and through the Mendip Hills and Quantock Hills. Fantastic scenery again, lush farm country, rolling hills. A sting in the tail was the last mile uphill to the hostel up a dirt track after 100 miles, not fun, but the hostel was a lovely old building set in a park, where we met a man who was walking the whole length of Britain from cape Wrath to Cape Cornwall in 3 months - think I'd rather cycle thank you. After just catching the hostel meal and some Dandelion & Burdock, we settled into some nice comfy chairs for a bit of relaxation. Three days in a row over 100 miles!