I have no idea who Denis is, but Baiky and I were moved that someone had dedicated a rock to him.
I am not 100% sure what happened next, because it took me a good 3.5 hours to get from Newquay to Redruth.
Baiky was pretty keen to lead me off in the wrong direction though.
It is pretty much a straighforward cycle, although I do remember being buffeted by winds...I stopped at Redruth for a bite to eat and to admire the local artwork.
Boots that are dogs. The Tinner;s hounds by David Kemp. Represents the fall of the Tin mining industry (and the importance of well heeled dogs).
By this stage it had started to rain and a thick fog had developed, so while the cycle route out of Redruth was quite nice visibility was limited. I feel I missed what is probably quite stunning landscape. I hit up Hayle in no time, swung south to Penzance, and then outpaced the pirates to sneak into Lands End. With the exception of a confused kid watching me try to feed Baiky, it was a pretty uneventful cycle.
See the kid in background taking a photo of me taking a photo of Baiky. He is seriously questioning my rationality.
I had a campsite halfway between Lands End and Penzance. When I booked the place I envisioned this would give me easy access to both locations. Unfortunately, I did not take into account the topography. Doubly unfortunately, I did not consider thick fog and rains. So while I cycled between Penzance, Land's End, and my campsite I felt under constant peril from cars buzzing past me. This led to me using as many backstreet as possible to travel from place to place and only really traveling when I had to.
A short walk up the Penwith Heritage Trail before calling it a day.
I had planned for a days sightseeing in the area which I spend exploring Lands End, Penzance and Mousehole. I tried walking part of the Penwith Heritge trail, but with the weather as it was it was not worth it. However, I did stumble across a town called Mousehole.
Baiky goes for a swim (an actual seal).
To me this is a British version of places like Tangambalanga - a place you want to live just for the splendid postal address.
A cocktail overlooking Mousehoule.
The gloomy weather somewhat limited my adventures, but I was fortunate enought to see someone complete the John-O-Groats to Lands End challenge (by car). This is essentially traveling from the northeastern most point of mainland Scotland to the southwestern most point.
The end of the cycle path just outsied Lands End.
At Lands End they have a museum dedicated to the many individuals who have completed the trip including by foot, cycle, wheelchair, horse car, as well as other wacky forms of transport such as hitchhiking, hitting a golf ball the entire way, and even a group tha beelined. Their journey involved biking, kayaking and hiking so that they could travel in a dead straight line from start to finish.
An announcement informs visitors to the centre that a challenger is arriving. We all stood around clapping as they drove into the finish.
Personally, I have now caught the bug and am super keen to cycle the challenge. If I was still running I would attempt it by foot, but I think in my current fitness state I would make it to the first pub and call it a day.
Finally made it!
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