Day 1 - Lands End to St Austell
So a nervous group of cyclists assembled at breakfast. The weather forecast was variable. In fact our assembly at the famous signpost was delayed as a squall blew through.
One of the biggest highlights for me over the whole 14 days was meeting Peter Southcombe and his wife Christine, who had come to see me off. I had not seen Peter for almost 40 years, although we had kept in contact via Christmas cards, and it was our cycle camping holiday in France and Germany after our A levels which had planted the subconscious desire to do LEJOG all those years ago, and which resurfaced in lockdown!
The Cornish hills lived up to their reputation; short, sharp and numerous. Whether it was nerves or just my body's normal reaction to heavy exercise but my appetite disappeared and I could not take advantage of the superb lunch at the Linden Hey tearooms.
Earlier, we had our introduction to the "magic numbers" : Morning brew stop 13 miles Marazion Car park, Lunch stop 37 miles Linden Hey Tea Rooms, no afternoon brew stop as a short day. Hotel 60 miles - Premier Inn, St Austell.
Other memories of that day - the King Harry ferry straight after lunch, the long haul up the hill to the Premier Inn at St Austell at the very end of the day. Chris having two punctures on day one, some navigational "mishaps" by Paul who took a scenic route along the way and Ravi and Mahadev who turned right and went down the hill to the ferry before lunch rather than left and to the lunch stop. Not sure if they enjoyed the climb back up the hill from the ferry. There was also a local cyclist who was chatting away very happily to me as I was cycling up a hill very slowly and where it was a real struggle to keep a polite conversation going whilst I was feeling the hill.
When Chris and I were settling into our room and sorting the first recovery drink of the fortnight, my phone rang and my brother and wife had come over to see me in and were out in the car park, but I had arrived before them.
The Pedal Britain description of the day was/is:
Day 1 Lands End to St Austell 60 miles Hard Elevation Gain: +4274 ft Overview This is a tough start to the trip with plenty of short, sharp hills to tackle. The road from LE to Penzance is largely undulating with a couple of short, steep hills. There is a descent into Penzance & then a 2½ mile flat coastal track to Marazion (most of this track is along a compacted gravel surface) After Marazion there is a fairly gradual climb away from the village then more undulating quiet roads to Leedstown. The route continues to be hilly for most of the rest of the day with notable hills away from the King Harry ferry, and Tregony. You will cycle along mostly quiet country lanes with the busiest section at St. Austell. Practical Notes • The 2½ mile coastal track from Penzance to Marazion is compacted gravel & a bit bumpy in parts if you prefer you can cycle along the A30 (quite busy) and follow signs to Marazion. • Please ensure you have £1.00 for the Ferry it runs every 20 mins • There are lots of short, steep hills today.
Yes - lots of short steep hills! Strava elevation stats 5,398' - almost double my previous altitude gained in a day.
Below is a link to Bill Ross' video of day 0 and day 1
