On a day of storms and floods I make my way to Penzance by train to start a split cycle ride from Lands End to John o Groats. The journey itself ends up taking the better part of 11 hours, mostly due to the curious workings of trying to take a bicycle on the rail network. The first couple of legs to Exeter are simple enough. It was cheaper for me to travel in first class and the improvements on the cattle wagon are appreciable . Complimentary drinks and snacks, free wifi, a polite lady waiting on you and not a screaming child or iPod-blaring teenager in sight. That said, my choice of shorts and t-shirt stuck out somewhat from the business and well-to-do pensioner type crowd.
I get into Exeter and the serenity changes. Knowing I had a long wait because of not being able to secure a place for my bike until a much later train, I went to a nearby pub for a drink and a walk. It turned out to be a student pub next to the uni campus with a stunning orangery room overlooking the exe valley. Definitely a place to come back and visit when friends study here.
Returning to the station and heavens open, the forecast storm is late but severe . It turns out its causing more problems across the south west, the line to Barnstaple is closed, attested by innumerable people coming up to the desk in the waiting lounge asking the same pointless question and getting the same polite reply. "go away and wait for an announcement".
I tried to see if I could get on the 1525 train to Penzance, but the dash up the rainy platform was futile when it turned out the bike storage area was already full and the guard supervising it didn't even seem to know where Penzance was! Great First Western Trains not doing well so far.
I eventually get on my original train which is late and finally leaves at 1635. There's another guy loading a bike on here too (same bike as mine actually, nice to see that he's ignoring the decathlons anti-pannier advice too). He vents some frustration at bikes on trains and the next I see of him is sprinting at full pelt along the platform at Par in Cornwall, presumably almost forgetting his bike was still on the train at the other end to where he got off.
The skies are brooding at times but we pass through some stunning countryside along this part of the journey, in particular the costal section hugging the cliffs around Torbay and the famous Brunel bridge just after Plymouth. Whilst the hills here in Cornwall aren't vast, there's a lot of them and you really get a sense for how tough the first few days of this are going to be. At least day 1 tomorrow is relatively short.
The youth hostel is set in a stunning hill top mansion overlooking Penzance and as such was abit of a steep ride to get to. The atmosphere is great, very family friendly and I meet all sorts. Also in my dorm is a man and his son of about 11or 12 who are cycling from Penzance to Canterbury in about 5 days. This is the 3rd big cycle tour they've been on together, what an amazing opportunity for the young lad. They seemed not too fussed about some long days they had ahead - up to about 100 miles albeit with not kit- the father conceding its usually him holding his son up. That said, I'd be happy to do 80-90 miles a day let alone the 100+ mark.
The room is as per usual for yha, unbearably hot and the 12 year old is reminding us frequently that his pillow smells of popcorn. Great.
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