DAY 8

Bristol to Tavistock

In the morning we escaped the dark tower with use of our enchanted keys and set off cycling out of Bristol. This was not fun. The hills were horrible, but one thing surprised us all – the weather was actually nice! Today actually warranted wearing suncream and vests.

Today we were all excited as it was our second to last, and thoughts of finishing in Lands End were already upon us. Today was by far our most difficult day – the rolling hills seemed to be relentlessly coming at us. It seemed that as soon as we climbed one, we would turn the corner, and it would keep winding up! Still, at least the weather was nice, which meant that when we did stop we weren’t freezing and dripping wet, hugging around the motor of the car, desperately trying to get warm and shovelling pasta into our faces.

So sun so far… and then came the cursed DARTMOOR. Some of you may be familiar with this place. I am not, but the glimpse that I got was enough to make sure that I vowed myself that I would never return. Dartmoor seems to have its own weather system, so although we may have enjoyed sunshine all day up until this point, it was soon to stop. As we began our ascent up into the national park, all seemed well, but gradually the sun was clouded over and replaced once again with the all too familiar sight of grey skies and drizzling rain. This only got worse as the temperature dropped, prompting a change in attire from the cyclists from vests to waterproofs (making their appearance once again).

As we cycled over the rolling hills of Dartmoor, my right ankle which had thus far managed to survive 870 miles of pain began to give. Grinding pains that I am now informed are shin splints plagued me for the last section of that day which was not fun. Although fine on the flats, the pain only started once pressure was applied to climb the hills, so my tactic became to sprint these ahead of the other two and wait at the top, stretching my ankle. Help came in the form of a couple of “man up” pills (Neurofen) that came from the support car.

The weather in Dartmoor turned from bad to worse and once again the fog descended upon us, making it dangerous to cycle. The support car followed us down, hazards flashing until we were clear of the fog. Once we were up the final hill it was a home straight down into Tavistock, where we were picked up by Oli’s welcoming grandmother and driven to her house in Plymouth where we were staying for the night.

I think the whole team agree that the hearty dinner of chicken, bacon and rice that we were served was delicious, and what we were looking forward to the whole trip, having been constantly assured by Oli about her cooking expertise. We were not let down. Stomachs full we retired to bed and once again fell straight asleep.