Day 31: Crossing the Moors
Spend the morning on media. Rich and Maike who put us up in Exeter treat us like kings and queens. We eat well, the website gets updated and the Cornish media informed about the BoardFree latest.
Before we head back to Launceston I record an interview with BBC Radio Cornwall to go out on Saturday, crossing fingers for more media before Friday.
I step onto the A30 just after 2pm. There's no choice but to take this road the whole way to Bodmin, across the moor. Headwinds and sidewinds are a worry, as is traffic, but hey...if we make Bodmin today it's a good step closer to the end.
On the A30 you can't avoid signposts. Bodmin 23 miles. Bodmin 22 miles. Bodmin 19 miles. It's a constant countdown, you can't help but concentrate more on the miles passing and as a consequence they pass slower. To help things along, returning VW vans from Run to the Sun in Newquay keep their thumbs raised across the central reservation.
A police car pulls up. Uh oh. I'm certain we're about to be stopped, the officer is concerned that the support vehicle is going too slowly and that it's not visible enough to prevent a crash. There's a big orange light on the roof, flashing away. I explain the situation, I'd rather not be on the A30, there's no alternative route between here and Bodmin. Officer agrees, safety is paramount, we'll be careful.
At Bolventor, a lunch stop halfway across the moor between Bodmin and Launceston, I join Becs and Dim for a hot chocolate. We're drinking in the Jamaica Inn, the setting for the famous Daphne Du Mourier book and former haunt for smugglers, villains and murderers. Ghosts roam around, and the walls are covered with foreign money. Odd place but strangely cosey, it's half five, there's 15 miles left to skate, it's windy outside, it's warm inside. Motivation lurks in the bottom of my mug.
Back on the road after a drawn-out return to the van. The time flies. The miles disappear. Bodmin appears, the roads are smooth, almost empty after 7.
25 miles and we stop. We're staying with a chap named John, a member of the Middle Age Shred forum who heard about BoardFree just before it started and offered the team a bed for when we were due to pass through. A bit late we are but John's roof is ours tonight. He and his lady Karen, rat Norbert and countless cats are great company. A good end to the day, where will we be tomorrow?
Before we head back to Launceston I record an interview with BBC Radio Cornwall to go out on Saturday, crossing fingers for more media before Friday.
I step onto the A30 just after 2pm. There's no choice but to take this road the whole way to Bodmin, across the moor. Headwinds and sidewinds are a worry, as is traffic, but hey...if we make Bodmin today it's a good step closer to the end.
On the A30 you can't avoid signposts. Bodmin 23 miles. Bodmin 22 miles. Bodmin 19 miles. It's a constant countdown, you can't help but concentrate more on the miles passing and as a consequence they pass slower. To help things along, returning VW vans from Run to the Sun in Newquay keep their thumbs raised across the central reservation.
A police car pulls up. Uh oh. I'm certain we're about to be stopped, the officer is concerned that the support vehicle is going too slowly and that it's not visible enough to prevent a crash. There's a big orange light on the roof, flashing away. I explain the situation, I'd rather not be on the A30, there's no alternative route between here and Bodmin. Officer agrees, safety is paramount, we'll be careful.
At Bolventor, a lunch stop halfway across the moor between Bodmin and Launceston, I join Becs and Dim for a hot chocolate. We're drinking in the Jamaica Inn, the setting for the famous Daphne Du Mourier book and former haunt for smugglers, villains and murderers. Ghosts roam around, and the walls are covered with foreign money. Odd place but strangely cosey, it's half five, there's 15 miles left to skate, it's windy outside, it's warm inside. Motivation lurks in the bottom of my mug.
Back on the road after a drawn-out return to the van. The time flies. The miles disappear. Bodmin appears, the roads are smooth, almost empty after 7.
25 miles and we stop. We're staying with a chap named John, a member of the Middle Age Shred forum who heard about BoardFree just before it started and offered the team a bed for when we were due to pass through. A bit late we are but John's roof is ours tonight. He and his lady Karen, rat Norbert and countless cats are great company. A good end to the day, where will we be tomorrow?
posted by boardfreedave @ 6:46 am
1 Comments:
At 7:55 am,
Anonymous said…
hey buddy, i keep on noticing your mum joining you at very different parts of the country on her bike... has she been going up and down cycling around britain without you knowing? she doesn't look half as tired as you.. :)
gael.
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