One English Summer Day

Tuesday 14th June 2011: Packed and Ready to Go
Let the Challenge begin!
A post by the Secret Secretary

All seasoned travellers know that however much (or hopefully little) you pack the chances are you will only need half of it. So, early Tuesday morning, as Les stumbled under the weight of two hefty holdalls through the living room to the front door, the wisdom of travelling light seemed to finally gain weight not least because in addition to the luggage there was a bike to push around at Paddington and onto the train to Truro. Happily, there was time before the taxi was scheduled to arrive for a bit of repacking and with some careful rationing the load was reduced to one, albeit large but considerably more manageable case.

So, his load lightened, Ulysses was ready to set off on his two-wheeled Odyssey. It was a glorious morning: blue skies and sunshine but, true to form, the fleeting English summer was forecast to last for only a day. What a shame that day would be for travelling and not for cycling !

The taxi taking Les to Paddington station arrived at the house on time at 07h45 but had to turn around after just a mile or so as the intrepid traveller had forgotten his jacket - a jacket donated by Rab for the ride. Fortunately this seems to have been the only hitch in an otherwise smooth journey to Truro where Les was meeting the rest of the Challenge Team. The train ride even provided an opportunity for some interesting contacts: a fellow passenger was telling Les how he has made something of a career out of round-the-world-sailing. The yachtsman had his computer with him: a computer equipped with an App showing actual wind direction and speed whenever and wherever you are. Les was very encouraged to see that forecasts predict a very favourable westerly: good news for any End-to-End cyclists presently pedalling North East from Cornwall.

Westerlies: favourable for End-to-End cyclists pedalling North East from Cornwall.

May the wind be forever behind you and the sun always on your face... if only. After a very warm and dry spring, the UK weather has settled back to a more familiar unsettled, summer pattern. According to those that know, this is a consequence of a lazy jet stream that is now meandering slow and wide causing a certain amount of disturbance as it fluctuates (not oscillates, oscillations are predictable, fluctuations are not, apparently). So after setting out under London's blue June skies, Les arrived with the rest of the Team at a Lizard Point shrouded in a thick fog that would have had Stephen King reaching for his pen. Even the lighthouse siren was letting forth a melancholic howl at regular intervals.

The Pedal for Parkinson's Double End-to-End cycle Challenge
Day 1
Wednesday 15th June
From Lizard Point to Launceston: 80 Wet Miles (must be a good augur).
On the programme for the first day of riding : 80 no-doubt-hilly miles from Lizard Point to Launceston. After the blue skies and then the fog of Tuesday, the Cornish firmament was now a menacing grey. It didn't take long for the rain to start and once it started it didn't stop, it just got heavier and heavier. 80 no-doubt-hilly miles are far enough but in the rain they are even further. So yesterday evening when Les eventually 'phoned to report in, there was no mention of the beautiful Cornish scenery, the coastline or even of possible sightings of great white sharks in Cornish waters: only a weary commentary about the many different ways the rain can find to fall. At least (I presumed) when it did start to rain horizontally the favourable Westerly caused it to go in the direction of travel.

(Above) "Rain" by David Hockney

So it was that after a hard first day's riding everyone eventually arrived in Launceston; very wet and weary by all accounts. The cloudy night skies meant that the Team wouldn't have even been able to enjoy last night's lunar eclipse - reportedly the longest lunar eclipse in more than a decade and one that turned the moon blood red. That being said, even if the heavens had been clear and starry, I don't suppose any of the Team would have been awake to see it: after the physical exertions of the day, Les was not the only one to find himself nodding off during the evening meal. It always amazes me how even when he is obviously very hungry, Les has the capacity to drop off before a plate of food... even a bowl of pudding; I guess that after all the excessive wobbling, Parkinson's must be exhausting.

The Pedal for Parkinson's Challenge Team reached Launceston yesterday evening a little weary after a very wet 80 miles. The grey skies meant that even if the Team had been able to stay awake they wouldn't have been able to enjoy the longest lunar eclipse in a decade, which apparently turned the moon blood red.
Can only be a good augur.

Happily, as this post testifies, before hitting the sack Les, like ET, managed to 'phone home. There was no signal for his mobile in the village so the call came from a payphone. Needless to say, there was no WiFi either. So whilst Les is out in the remote back-of-beyond (cybernetically speaking) and offline, I am fulfilling the office of Secretary and Shadow Writer and updating the blog as well as his telephone reports and hearsay allow.

To be continued...