Today was launch day.
Colin, Dipesh and I headed off at 06:45 from Land’s End for the 157 km ride to Bude.
I had a tech issue with my maps after 14km so the day’s ride is in 2 parts
Some great scenery and we stopped for a quick pic of St Michaels Mount
Weather had threatened thunderstorms, strong head winds and run. Either that or an abnormal heatwave. In the end we got the wind in the first half and some pretty hot weather in the second half.
The common thoughts about day 1 of LEJOG are thats its choppy terrain and you should avoid pushing too hard straight off or you’ll struggle massively later so we attempted to keep the effort manageable. None of us have ridden together so this was also a day for developing our group riding pace and style.
This is where slip streaming was a much needed technique and I was pretty happy that I got within a tyre of the lead rider and could then move forward to take my turn at the front. It’s unbelievable the difference that slipstreaming makes. When I was at the front riding across a disused airfield we were totally exposed to the wind and it was such a grind to make headway .
Some downhills were pretty quick and the roads were a mix of A roads but mainly B roads with a few paved single tracks thrown in.
Food and hydration was successful overall. We found a farm cafe at about 9am and had some tasty egg rolls (Dipesh and I) and a bacon and egg roll for Colin. We even randomly chatted about Bitcoin with the owners son who is studying FinTech at uni.
Lesson here was that its ok to head off early without a big meal so you can leave nice early and then pickup a meal enroute.
For lunch it was a pub stop with cheesy nacho and veg chilli and a pint of coke. Oh it was so good.
20km from the end I had run out of fluids and we all felt in need of a pick me up. Luckily Colin found a little shop where we scoffed back ice creams and lucozade
We have started developing some lgroup riding etiquette and will cal out “Car” on the single lane roads to alert the others.
Likewise when we go off at an intersection we shout out “clear” for the person behind us to let them know the coast is clear of cars.
For clothing I had cycle shorts and then a short sleeve full zip cycle shirt with a lightweight Gillet over top and then a wind proof rain jacket over that.
Once we got past the strong winds it started heating up so I put my jacket under the bungy cords of my saddle bag.
And that gives a general view of the day.
Tomorrow we’re looking at a ride of 177km so I’ll crack the Century (100 miles).
Chat tomorrow after Day 2 is done.
Captain Jaffa 
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