Their story, in their words….
Wimbledon to Land’s End
Day 1
After a few months of inpatient waiting, it had finally come to the day of our cycle. We met at Wimbledon Station at 9am, with a planned route of 95 miles for the day. We were very excited, but also nervous as neither of us are very experienced cyclists. Although the day flew by very smoothly and without any punctures, after the first few miles, I already had regrets of overloading my panniers with unnecessary clothes, and cosmetics (that could last us weeks!). Once we arrived at the campsite in Somerset, Gabriel and I knew that the next 3 days of cycling would be extremely tough, but we stayed strong.
Day 2
Getting up at 7am wasn’t ideal considering that neither of us are morning birds. We started the next step of our journey at 9am with around 83 miles planned for the day. Every hill was getting steeper and steeper, and getting our minds off the physical pain was definitely becoming harder with every mile we cycled. We arrived at Exeter around 8:30pm and all we wanted to do is get as much rest as possible, to start the next day full of energy and enthusiasm.
Day 3
On this day we had planned to cycle a similar distance to the previous day (around 83 miles), so we followed the same time plan in the morning. The time spent on our bikes was getting less pleasant with every minute! Personally, day 3 was where I got to a crisis level – I was ready to get to the nearest train station and go home. However, ‘whatever has been started has to be finished’, so we continued. Each hill would get us more and more exhausted but on a positive note, we got to see some amazing views which motivated us to keep going. The worst part of day 3 was cycling through Dartmoor National Park, where going up a hill would take around 10 minutes comparing to 30 seconds of cycling down it!
Day 4
On the last day, our bodies definitely had enough of the physical strain, but we were too close to give up – we had 76 miles left from over 340 miles in total. Every mile dragged on for absolutely ages but when we got to Land’s End it was one of the most rewarding feelings that I’ve ever felt. 4 days of literal torture had left us feeling joy and pride. Later that day we cycled back to Penzance Train Station, and having taken a train to London Paddington, we finished our cycling trip there.
Summary/Advice:
If I were to do this cycle again, I would spend a much longer time packing my panniers and planning the best routes (not necessarily the shortest, but also taking into consideration the elevation per day). I found that when I came back home, there were clothes which I didn’t even wear over the 4 days, and those were the sorts of things that added extra weight that we had to carry from London to Penzance.
Also, when it comes to challenging yourself, remember that ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger!’ so anything is worth the attempt. This trip has taught me many things which will stay with me for the rest of my life, so I highly recommend starting your project application soon and using this amazing futuristic opportunity!
