OK, back to last night. Having arrived reasonably early, we were able to take time to chill out. We were staying at the Reservoir View Motel in Axbridge, and I stretched on the grass whilst looking at the eclectic mix of animals they had in their grounds. There were Lllamas, goats, geese (I think), hens plus fish. It was great lazing in the sun.
We then walked into town to meet Chris and Pete. We stopped at the reservoir and in the pic you can see Cheddar Gorge in the background which was our first stop the next day (today).
We awoke to another lovely morning. This is the only place we are staying that doesn’t offer cooked breakfasts. In hindsight this was brilliant planning as we had planned to stop and our mum and dad’s house for lunch, and mum does not do half measures!
One of Ian’s friends, Simon Thorne arrived on time at 9, as he was riding much of the day with us. He wasn’t impressed with our nutrition plan for the day – and it didn’t get any better (see later)
We spotted a cyclist ahead and it was the guy we’d seen yesterday in Taunton. He is doing LEJoG unsupported on his own in aid of Air Ambulance. We stopped for a chat and suggested he tag on with us until the A37 which would then take him into Bristol. His name was Dave Percival from Darlington, so if anyone wants to contribute, he is also on JustGiving.
We arrived at mum and dad’s ahead of time and it was lovely to see them. Mum made us a great cheese and bacon omelette with all the trimmings plus a bunch of green veg I’d asked for. This really appalled Simon as it breaks all the serious cyclist nutrition rules – but it worked for us :)
Thanks mum x
This should have been an easier day, but the wind had picked up and was still in our face, so there was no respite and it felt quite tough. We had a good ride back though mainly along the A46 and an exhilarating fast descent into Nailsworth.
The title of the blog really sums up the last 24 hours, as just about all our family have got stuck in and supported us in one way or another. Wendy did all the blogs and pics for us yesterday as my netbook packed up; the riding with Paul; lovely meal with Chris and Pete; Dave and Sue dropping the riders off; Warren and Debbie riding with us, Mum cooking lunch and spoiling us and Dad riding with us, plus Nats doing our washing, cooking our cracking tea and putting up with us tonight. Thanks people.
Tomorrow we head for Telford.
PS, I have to mention Wendy’s mum, Pauline – because she wants to be famous :)
PPS, we really like getting comments and seeing that people are reading this stuff we write - so please leave a comment, even if it just says you are reading the blog.