Day 1 – the journey’s begun….

Alex, me, Jackie and David at Land’s End.Here we are at the start of our epic journey along the length of Great Britain.  The day was overcast to start, but with the encouragment of Deidre, Diane and John we kitted up and got on the bikes.  Wow. it was good to be on my bike again.  The 3 speed was fab in Berkeley, but this was the girl for the job!!  We set off and for the first third of the journey it was relatively flat.  We stopped at MacDonalds, some for a shake and some for coffee, and felt like we were getting somewhere.  Then the hills came – oh, and the wind too.  I think I can safely say we worked hard on our first day in the saddle, and out for some.  Alex had bravely – or crazily – put on his clippy bits the day before we set out so that he could experience the full excitment of a new toy on the first day of his epic journey.  And experience it he did.  He equalled my first day of clippy excitment with three falls.   Though he coped manfully and we gave him tissues for the bloodshed.  Other mishaps included 2 chains off for myself and Alex, lost gloves foe Jackie and Alex, and general struggling up hills for all.  Well maybe less so for David. It was a relief to stop for lunch with only 15 miles to go, and we had missed the rain too.  After a welcome break we did some stretches before embarking on the final leg of our first day.        I for one thought the final 15 miles would be a breeze, but it seemed as long as the first 43 on many accounts.  Maybe because I’m still jet-lagged from America, maybe because of the wind and hills.  Whatever the reason, we were glad to see  John on his bike to guide us, almost directly to the pub we are staying  in tonight.  We had a delicious meal here after showering/bath soaking and drinking the bubbly we were going to have before the start but forgot!!  Tomorrow it’s breakfast at 8:30, departing at 9:30 for possibly one of the most challenging days of the trip.  Wish us luck,Beth xxps.  Thank you all those who have continued to wish me luck, and for those who maybe new to this blog, don’t forget the page tabs at the top of the page and the previous 9 months blogs you can check out if you scroll down the page!  xxDavid, Alex and Jackie stretching with coach John looking on.

Just a footnote, between the wireless connections not always being totally full on and the way the blog takes over my page setting abilities, these blogs don’t always come across quite how I’d planned.   I hope they’re giving you a taste of my journey though, and that you are enjoying the read ?!!  xx