The Journey Begins - NEWQUAY

After meeting with the usual gang for the last time in the next three weeks (don’t know what I’ll do without them!), I finally knuckled down to do some last minute packing. I’d laid out most of the things I needed out on the sofa in the living room earlier in the day, but it took me a good few hours before I was finally done. Unfortunately I didn’t realise how much I’d need for a trip like this, especially considering I’d need some equipment for a little project I’d be doing over the journey. 

After umm-ing and ahh-ing for what seemed like ages, I decided I could do without the energy gels that I’d bought a while back – I was sure I’d find energy bars of some sort to buy and eat along the way. I did manage to fit in the small emergency pack though! I did end up having to wear my cycling shoes as there was no way they were going to make it past the weight limit. 

Before I knew it, it was 6am – time to finally get some rest. The next time I opened my eyes, it was 8am to get ready for my flight.. I wasn’t a happy chappy!

All my worldly belongings..

A friend was kind enough to take me down to the airport and see me off. It was a bit misty along the way which worried me with the possibility of my flight getting delayed, but all was well!

 

Point A

Point B - With the weather still so grey, it was hard to tell I'd left Scotland at all..

 It was a small airport with not much in it. Thankfully one of the desks at the arrivals lobby was organising shared cabs for everyone heading in to town. I wasn’t too keen on waiting for the next bus, so this was definitely welcome. It turned out cheaper too!

The  view upon stepping out of the airport

On arrival in Newquay, I made my way to Trevilla Guest House, where I’d be staying for the next two nights. Ailsa, the host, greeted me and assured me that my bike had arrived safely and was locked up securely in a spare room – whew!

Perfectly adequate room for a short stay

It’d been a long day for me what with the long lay-over in Manchester airport, so I thought the assembly could wait till tomorrow. By the time I settled in and took a shower, it was late evening and time for some dinner.

I decided on Shanghai Express – I do love my Chinese food and, thinking I wasn’t going to get much of it through the cycle tour, I thought it was a good idea! A plate of Yong Chow fried rice and some mixed veggies later, I was full up and it was time for bed.

I woke up just in time for a delicious, freshly-prepared full English breakfast. By this time I’d ended up being the talk of the dining room – everyone had heard that I’d be doing the cycle back up north! Ailsa was kind enough to help me get the bike out to the back so I could start working on it.

It was good to see at the parcel had arrived with no significant damage. One of the wheel skewers was poking out through the side, but on opening the box up, everything was A-OK.

It’d been a while since assembling a bike back together, but I learned as I went along. The hardest bit was probably trying to get the wheels aligned with the handlebars..

I didn’t realise the tires would be deflated for the journey, but I was glad I brought a pump (a handy Topeak Road Morph G) with me – with the added bonus of a pressure gauge. It handled 100psi without a problem, although the last bit did need a bit of effort.

Good as new. I brought it out for a quick spin around Newquay – I thought it would be a good time to see what the town was like as well. I hadn’t realised it was such a popular surfing destination, but it did look like a great place for it in the sun!

First thing’s first – it’s so warm down here! 19 degrees is just about the sweet spot for me in terms of being cool without needing to wear any additional layers. Just give me some sun and I’ll bust out the shorts, a tee and flip-flops!

People are sunbathing.. in SEPTEMBER!!

Back in Aberdeen a few days ago, I could barely stay in the water for a minute! Mind you, it was the North Sea..

All was good with the bike so I brought it back to Trevilla to be stored away again. They have a nice porch out front so I couldn’t resist a quick photo of the bike. Unfortunately it was then that I realised I’d forgotten to bring a crucial nut and bolt for my GoPro mount. John, who also ran Trevilla, offered to see if they had one to spare – and he delivered! What a relief...

After depositing it, I went out for a walk around town to have a better look around.

Newquay is a lovely little city bustling with white-socked tourists. I partly wished I had more time to see what it had to offer. They do have their own zoo and waterworld, I know that much!

I had some fish & chips at a local Wetherspoons branch and came back to my room for a quick nap to catch up on sleep. Watched some TV (boy did this keep me company, I was so grateful they had one) and got down to some paper work. Dinner time soon after, so I stopped at a nice Portuguese place and had a plate of piri-piri chicken and rice.

All in all, I’m very glad I decided to come down two days earlier. I needed the extra day to make sure everything was in place and really just to settle down a bit after travelling so far south. I do miss Aberdeen and my friends, but I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow cycling companions!

Tomorrow, it’s the train down to Penzance and then a quick bike ride to Land’s End for the official start of our journey. I’m hoping to have enough time to update this blog as we go along, but with so many things to do, it would be a bonus more than anything. In any case..

Wish me luck!