And then there was two

Today was the biggest ride both me and Gaz have ever done by quite a way... and we still have many bigger and longer days ahead. (Tomorrow we are doing the equivalent of a cyclist's marathon). We covered 142km (88 miles) and 1700m of incline. We started near Callington and ended the long day through endless undulating winding up-and-down 'maze like' country roads to FINALLY get to Taunton, our third stop.

The day started with our merry convoy Captained by Ex-Marine Steve. We took a fantastic, varied cycle route to Okehampton through woodland trails and old railway line paths. Banter was rife, Gaz wasn't singing and my bike was rescued from a near catastrophe when our travelling engineer noticed the pedal and cog was about to fall off completely. So far all good.

Captain Steve and his crew wished us on our way roughly a third of the way into the day, but not after a glorious devonshire pasty and a coffee at a beautiful old railway station. We were served by the 16 year old version of Julie Walters in the 'Two Soups' sketch. Watching the kid carry each coffee and sugar pot out independently became a sort of theatrical event.

....Then there was two! We still had some serious mileage to cover so we cracked on with the Saddle Sore just starting to set in (its amazing how many different ways you can sit on a saddle). Met a group of cyclists doing End to End from 'Skedaddle Cycling' along the way. We shared some coffee and cake and I was very pleased to know that the route I planned followed the same way as the organised riders had planned.... Well, sort of. Had to add a few extra mega unnecessary hills in there by accident and had a bit of trouble working out which road the watch was telling us to take. But Gaz was very understanding about it.

Finally made it to Taunton to meet Rachel and Andrew, who met us with a protein shake, a whiskey and a bike service. What more do you need. As Gaz would say "People are awesome." (But not motorists... they are not awesome! But that's another story)

OH YES! I have to share that Gareth crept in to borrow my toothpaste last night and decided that using Savlon was a much better idea. I'm surprised just how long it took him to notice his error!

Keep sharing and donating!