Day 3

Day 3. Taunton, Somerset. On waking out tent had slight condensation but nothing too concerning. Our clothes some of which I had hand washed the previous night were still pretty damp. The campsite where we were staying had a tumble dryer so after collecting a token from the farmhouse we put our clothes in the dryer and hoped our lycra wouldn't shrink on the cool setting. 30 mins later socks, microtowel were ok but the cycling shorts were still damp so they got bungeed to the pannier rack.
Back onto the A38. At Bridgewater we found a nice cafe with tables and chairs outside. We enjoyed scambled eggs on toast and coffee. A quick flick through that mornings daily rag which seemed only concerned with Cheryl and Ashley Cole.....yawn. The cafe owner kindly put my mobile phone on charge while we breakfasted, after a quick toilet visit with the magic cream we were on our way again. Staying on the A38 we avoided Cheddar Gorge where I had been told there was a rather large hill, but we still had to climb up the Mendip Hills to go through Sidcot and Star. Quick stop at a roadside van for a can of juice and a phonecall back to say hi to my work mates back in Carnoustie. At Langford we went onto the B3133 cycling right past the veterinary labs there. Just before we got to Clevedon we stopped at our first bike shop of the trip. Asked if we could have our tyre pressures checked. The owner made smart alec remarks about Mark's bike being no good for this trip because it had smaller mountain bike wheels ( how I would like to phone him up now and tell him we did it in 11 days with no punctures!!) By now I'm guessing it was about 2pm so we stopped at trendy looking bistro on the seafront. Food was ok but way overpriced for what it was and the waitresses looked sour-faced and stuck up! We left Clevdon on a quite back road making our way in the direction of Pill and the River Avon. It was on this road we took our only wrong turn of the trip and what a wrong turn!! Mark ahead of me as usual went off round a bend and up the beginnings of a hill before I could catch sight of him to say that I think he'd gone the wrong way. I had no option but to follow up a hill graded at 14%. I couldn't cycle up the damn thing, walking was hard enough, it took ages with teenagers deliberatly shouting out their car window to make me jump, apparently they told Mark to get off his bike aswell but Mark being Mark decided he would cycle up it almost killing himself in the process. When I eventually got to the top I was less than lady like and did a fair bit of gobbing off then demanded a fag of him!! The ride back down was good though although my brakes had decided to become quite squeeky.

Day 2

Day 2 and after a hot shower and some sleep at the White Horse Inn in Launceston, I tried my best to eat the full english breakfast but I'm just not a breakfast person, so munched on a couple of slices of toast and played with the rest. We picked up some water to refill our bottles and a bottle of suntan lotion as I got burned to a crisp on day 1, mainly down my right side. Off we set, back past the non existant campsite that we had spent ages looking for late last night and back onto the busy A30 to Exeter where we stopped at pub and had a much need bar lunch. 40 miles covered so far.
Leaving Exeter on the B3181 and then the A38 at Appledore to Taunton. Here we followed some campsite signs and found the most charming campsite which appeared to be fairly central in the town. It's called Tanpits Cidar Farm, a campsite in situated in Apple tree Orchards with all sorts of farmyard birds running loose and peacocks too. Tent pitched and water put on to boil on Mark's not very good campstove. As it was quite late before we got here we had to tuck into our ration packed food....yuk Day2 completed our total milage was now 163.14miles.

Day 1

We set off from the famous land's end sign post at 9.45am. Boy does Cornwall have plenty hills! I just kept telling myself wot goes up must come down, my top speed on a down was 30 mph, if you compare that with 4mph on some of the ups. Total milage for the day is 85 miles with the last 5 wasted looking for a campsite which my map showed to find it doesn't exist. Hence I was a very grumpy person. We are now staying in the swan inn in Launceston on the cornwall / devon border. So after a nice hot shower, dinner and now bed!

Packing after midnight!!

Whatever I seem to do, I'm always on the last minute!! So here I am, packing panniers, listening to the Stranglers, charging phones, ipads and battery chargers at almost 1am!! I'll pay for it later cause I have to be up at 3.45, to be ready to leave at 4.15am, then cycle to Dundee to get the train to Penzance at 6.30am. Mind you the train doesn't get to Penzance until 7.30pm so maybe I can snooze on the train but I doubt it...that's not me!!
ok better go .....catch you later......night night xxx

Almost ready

Just collected my bike, all checked over by Chris in Forfar. Handlebar box fitted, new brake blocks on the front, spare inner tube and bungees bought. So apart from packing my panniers, almost ready!! Mark and I had our new tent up in the garden last night with no major problems. 3 more days of work left..... I just want to DO IT!!!

Food for thought - Dalmatian Welfare

Do i go home today My family brought me home cradled in their arms.
They cuddled me and smiled at me and said I was full of charm.
They played with me and laughed with me and showered me with toys.
I sure do love my family, especially the girls and boys.
The children loved to feed me; they gave me special treats.
They even let me sleep with them - all snuggled in the sheets.
I used to go for walks, often several times a day.
They even fought to hold the lead, I'm very proud to say!
These are the things I'll not forget - a cherished memory.
I now live in the shelter - without my family.
They used to laugh and praise me when I played with that old shoe.
But I didn't know the difference between the old one and the new.
The kids and I would grab a rug, for hours we would tug.
So I thought I did the right thing when I chewed the bedroom rug.
They said I was out of control and would have to live outside.
This I didn't understand, although I tried and tried!
The walks stopped, one by one; they said they hadn't the time.
I wish that I could change things; I wish I knew my crime.
My life became so lonely in the backyard, on a chain.
I barked and barked all day long to keep from going insane.
So they brought me to the shelter but were embarrassed to say why.
They said I caused an allergy, and then they each kissed me goodbye.
If I'd only had some training as a little pup.
I wouldn't have been so hard to handle when I was all grown up.
"You only have one day left", I heard a worker say.
Does that mean I have a second chance?
Do I go home today?
Sharron scott. Dalendale dalmatians

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