For whatever reason it took me a long time to get packed up on the Saturday morning, I had a quick shower to warm up and even after that my tent was still soaking wet from the overnight frost and despite the Sun it had not dried it off fully. I got my gear sorted and was under way just after 11.00am.
It was my intention to ride up until 2.00pm and then hit the road for home. I had reckoned that it would take me somewhere in the region of 4-5 hours to get home including small breaks.
After leaving the site it was back through Looe and on to the back lanes towards Portlooe, Talland Bay and Polperro, once again I encountered some very narrow lanes with incredible gradients, it certainly was a case of more of the same. Polperro is beautiful but you cannot get near the front or the harbour so I headed out on Raphael Rd towards Lansallos, from there it was on to Polruan. I am sorry to say that the ride to Polruan was uneventful, however the ride away was pretty spectacular however I didn’t stop to take any photos.
I did take a couple at Polruan, one out to sea and the other overlooking the harbour at Fowey.
If you look at the one above you will see a distinct mark in the current/tide whilst it is evident in the photo real life it was even more striking.
I still had it in my mind that I wanted to make it to Fowey (so close but nearly to 30 miles by back lanes) before heading home so I pushed on and despite seeing a couple of interest potential photos I literally didn’t have an opportunity to stop safely and take the picture, as the gradients was either too steep or there was other traffic around at the time. So I travelled up via Pont Pill, which waas a beautiful little inlet that stretched almost all the way up to Lanteglos, then through Whitecross up to Penpol and the beautiful Penpol Creek, it was during this last section that I spotted the large quayside facility at Par just above Fowey, most people including myself think of Fowey as this quaint fishing village, what you don’t realise is that 1.3million tons of China Clay is exported from this facility just up the river.
In and out of Lostwithiel in almost the blinking of an eye, saw me going south again this time through Castle and Milltown before arriving in Golant, I have to say this last section was probably to tightest and steepest I’d come across in the last couple of days, and the road surface had everything, from grass to loose gravel via thick farm mud a couple of times I decided to ride with my feet out like outriggers as everytime I applied some power I felt the back wheel snaking. It was no surprise when I did reached the end of this section I was sweating heavily.
I had forgotten that there was a Youth Hostel at Golant and it was nicely tucked away at the end of a mile long track. However I decided that it would be useful to find out whether they had any space for Monday night when I was due back down this way, when I finally tracked someone down unfortunately they were full, so it would be a case of getting on the internet when I got home.
It was now coming up to 2pm and I didn’t think I would achieve much more if I headed down to Fowey, looking at the map I had decided the weather for Monday sounded terrible so I was going to find a Guest House or B&B as I didn’t fancy trying to put a tent up in the pouring rain. I headed up the B3269 to Lostwithiel and then to Bodmin before picking up on the A30 a quick refuel and then it was the long slog home. It was a fairly straightforward despite the delay right at the beginning when all the traffic was held up by an overturned caravan at Boverton, I felt really sorry for the family huddled on the side of the road with their caravan on its roof as the Fire Service tried to clear it away. I don't know who was to blame however, they were towing well within the weight limit with a 4x4 and the caravan had a flat and on a bend, so I suspect a blow-out on the caravan had caught the driver by surprise after a long drive.
As I am waited I joined up with a guy going back to Worcester on his Trail Bike after taking part in the Lands End Trial, if you don't know about this every Easter up to 400 MCC members make their annual odyssey to the far west in the Lands End Trial. Until 1914, when light cars were admitted, it was bikes only but when it was resumed in 1920 cars were there in some force and the route deleted the "and Back" part, finishing at Lands End. Now it is a run over some very arduous terrane, dirt tracks, back roads, byways, time sections etc to Newquay. His plan was to get to Exeter and hope his Daughter was there with the trailer to take him back home, as this event is organised on the hostorical and principles of a by-gone age it would strongly reccommend logging on to the MCC site. http://www.themotorcyclingclub.org.uk/events/landsend1.htm
The weather had been lovely all day so far but as I rode further East the worse it got and three and a half hour, and another refill later I arrived back home just as it started to rain, I learnt form my neighbours that it had in fact been grey and raining on and off for the last two days, so I had been lucky. One thing was for sure that run back from Bodmin with one stop for fuel had a major impact on my backside and knees they were both aching like mad, two hours a stretch is usually about as much as I really want to do, so double that with one small stop was not ideal. Also with all the camping gear on the bike etc, once you get above a certain speed the fuel gauge gets into free fall. So the manufacturers guideline of 190 miles to a tank of fuel in reality becomes more like 160.
Take care and as Mick says ‘You don’t stop riding when you get old, you stop riding to go to a football match.
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