dressing gown affected Paul badly and it took him 30 minutes to build
his speed up.
Despite the hilly approach, our departure was reasonably gentle and we
descended in to Wells feeling good and with the full sun on Wells
cathedral. It would have been a great place to stop but we delayed the
coffee until Glastonbury, which even has alternative window cleaners.
The guy doing the coffee shop seemed to be gearing up for an all day
job. And ordering two coffees and two cakes from a wasted barista with
zero short term memory was a real challenge.
We are very happy to confirm that the Somerset Levels are in fact
level. Although a head wind did affect us throughout the day. Next
coffee was Tiverton, where two very helpful older lady cyclists gave
us some route suggestions which worked out very well. They were
serious cyclists who clearly regarded us as slightly retarded
amateurs. Their assurance that we wouldn't even need the small gear
ring was hopelessly wrong and we refuse to accept that women in their
60s could embarrass us that badly. We are therefore convinced they
were evil spirits wearing down innocent cyclists for fun.
Next stop Crediton. A motorcycle shop full of 70s classics which
distracted us for a while.
It was a long slow ride. I am now popping Ibuprofen and Paul's ankle
is making him hobble like an old man. Appropriate I guess !
Stats: 100 miles. Average 12.8. About 100 miles left to go, but
Cornwall is supposed to be very hilly. We will probably aim to do
about 80 miles tomorrow, leaving a short finish and a sprint to
Penzance station on Saturday.
Has his gout set in again, or is that a cycling injury?
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