On Sunday all roads lead to Long Rock Industrial Estate where the Wheelers congregated for Ian’s fabled Pathfinder around the far the West of Cornwall. This has been cancelled due to some extremely inclement weather at least twice already this year so it was nice to be blessed with some very nice early autumn sun.
Some groups arrived in cars, others cycled from Falmouth with yet another group managing to cycle in from Perranuthnoe. Perhaps not so strangely, there was quite a gathering in McDonalds just after 9 o’clock as those of us that cycled from Falmouth had had a really good run from the weighbridge in Halvasso that only took about an hour so we were early. Still about half the speed or less that the tour of Britain would have manage but more on this later!
There was a surprisingly large group of 22 riders from across the whole spectrum of the club which was great to see. The cycles present spanned from classic vintage racers though to very comfortable e bikes.
Just after 10 o’clock Ian led off on the 28 mile ride which started by crossing the A30 on a precarious -looking bridge. Ian had promised some beautiful views and this is indeed what we got. However, because this was Ian’s ride, it was inevitable that hills would also be involved.
Following a stop to look at some quite stunning views across the South Coast from above Zennor, Ian announced that we are about to attack a hill known as Zennor hill. Apparently, this was used as one of the King of the Mountain stages for the tour of Britain.
Sadly, we were not allowed to stop at the coffee shop in Zennor to prepare for the accent, but this did not hold anybody back. Apart from Ian of course who sped off to invigilate from the top, the King of the Mountain today was awarded to T Dave (by me in this text). I saw him go, what a pace, most impressive.
Eventually after more hills and more stunning views we stopped for lunch at Birdies Bistro near Hayle which we all enjoyed. John had the bubble a squeak which looked pretty good to me. The ladies on our Table who felt that the exercise had given them sufficient justification, enjoyed very nice-looking piece of cake for a late morning coffee rather the lunch.
Anyway, back on the bikes and another long hill to be rewarded by another stunning view of St Michaels Mount from the top. From here the group split with those cycling back to Falmouth (70 miles) turning left while the rest of turned right to find our cars. A nice day. Thanks Ian. Damien