LEJOG by Tandem 2021

Our adventure from Land's End to John O' Groats on a tandem

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Cornwall Conquered!

One of the hardest things about this challenging adventure is having to decline the full English breakfast offered by the B&Bs especially when you can smell it cooking, because we simply can’t pedal with such a full stomach.

After our light breakfast this morning we decided that the brakes should be checked before setting off. The combined weight of the tandem, our panniers and us is 181kg, so when we are whizzing downhill and there may be a tractor around the corner, it’s reassuring to know that your brakes work well!

We set off and rejoined the Camel Trail and rode 13 miles to where it finishes at the beginning of the climb up onto Bodmin Moor. A very wild, remote and beautiful landscape, a bit like the moon but with vegetation! It is hard to imagine that a few miles away is the very busy A30. After riding the inland road to Bude through quiet lanes and farmland, the hustle bustle of Bude itself came as quite a shock!

This evening we sat overlooking the sea and the many surfers on it, while topping up on our fruit and veg intake.

Tomorrow is a rest day (we need it!) so next blog will be Thursday when we will be riding into Devon.

Full English breakfast tomorrow!!

Total distance today 42 miles and total hill climbs 2584ft

Nearing the end of The Camel Trail
Up on Bodmin Moor

Day 2. Lots of Ups and Not Many Downs of Cornwall!

Today’s ride started with a long, upward climb from last night’s B&B before heading West to Truro. From here the route took us through endless pathways passing by quaint rows of terraced cottages which Cornwall has so many of. Then heading North to Newquay where the route took in such delights as the Elizabethan Manor House of Trerice (National Trust), a ford soon after and the Newquay Community Orchard (every town should have one!). Going back slightly inland and North to Padstow which was a relief as it meant we had then completed most of the day’s climbs! At Padstow we joined the very scenic waterside Camel Trail amongst lots and lots of other cyclists, mostly on hired bikes. We left the trail at Wadebridge to ride (you have guessed it!) UPHILL to our B&B.

Distance cycled today: 44 miles. Total hill climbs: 2826 ft. Min/max speed: 2.7mph/31.1 mph

Magnificent Trerice House
We were pleased the ford was not any deeper!
A very Cornish milestone!
The (flat!) Camel Trail at Padstow 

The Journey Begins…

We had a rousing send off from Gill and Kevin at Land’s End this morning and they cycled the first mile with us. Fantastic scenery all day but well earned by the hills we had to climb! We had to carry the bike and luggage down some rocks onto the beach for a while to get around a blocked cycle path which was being resurfaced. A few miles further on, up a narrow lane, we were confronted with a HGV reversing. So we pulled into a driveway which was obviously meant to be , because the lady of the house was putting her wheelie bin out at just that moment and generously donated £10 (thank you!). The hills continued all the way to our first B&B (The Kings Head, Chacewater), where the landlord kindly covered the cost of our evening meal.

Distance cycled today: 41 miles. Total hill climbs: 2523ft.

John O’Groats here we come!
Water wheel at Lamorna
St Michael’s Mount from a spot near Mousehole
Refreshment break at 30 miles

Arrived in Cornwall

We dropped off our hire van in Penzance at 5 O’clock today and then cycled the last 15 miles through Newlyn and Mousehole and up across to our B&B in Sennen. Gill and Kevin Silverthorn who moved from the Petersfield area to near here a few years ago kindly transported our heavy panniers for us and then treated us to a very pleasant garden meal. From our loft dormer window we have a view of Land’s End less than a mile away and the sea beyond. A relaxing rest day tomorrow to soak up the atmosphere before setting off on the first stage on Sunday (heavy panniers included this time!)

3 Weeks to go!

This weekends downpours prompted us to check over and test our wet weather protection, although we are hoping not to need any!

4 Weeks to go!

We thought we had better introduce some training rides with the rear pannier which we will be using on our trip. To mimic our 2 stone of luggage that we will be riding with , we filled the pannier with some bricks from the garden and rode 20 miles! To our relief it went well. It felt like a cross between a hill and a headwind!

Training!

Training is going well for our start date of 6th June from Land’s End

Daisy our tandem taking a rest in the countryside
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