Day 8: Cheddar to Launceston

Today started so promisingly! Firstly there was the excitement of it being our penultimate day riding and there was a beautiful descent right near the beginning. We spent the first leg with a friendly third cyclist and had a really enjoyable ride. However, by the time we got to the first pit stop, Adam was beginning to feel pretty ill. He wasn't really able to stomach any food. As the second leg progressed, Adam began to feel more and more unwell. Desperaate to not call it 'The Bug', Justin convinced us both it was just hypoglycaemia and exhaustion from not sleeping very much for the last few days. After crawling along the really rather undulating and tough roads, we stopped in a layby. Justin forced Adam to eat a flapjack in that special way he does even though he's a psychiatrist and not  a proper doctor any more. Soon a passer by came to chat to us about what we were doing. By the end of the conversation, Adam had disappeared behind a bush to throw up! I tell you, it was a very glamorous holiday.

Keen to get back to camp for a rest, Adam sipped some water (under doctors orders) and we got back on our bikes. When we finally arrived at the next pit stop, Adam collapsed on the floor for a power nap. He was offered some diaoralyte which he dutifully attempted to drink but which resulted in him having to run (not easy in road cycling shoes) to the nearest loo. Not quite getting there in time, he threw up spectacularly against the wall of the leisure centre!! So, clearly Adam put his bike away and got the bus remaining 40 miles home. Of course not - he got back on his bike and we started the long ride onwards. After a while, we saw a couple of fellow cyclists who we had seen on the Sportive circuit in our training. They were significanlty better than us, and they had stopped at a corner shop, so we did the same. Adam got a weird craving for Calippo ice lollies and ate three. They were the only thing containing calories that were keeping him going, but he got back on his bike and carried on. Luckily there was a power stop laid on by the organisers, so 20 miles later we stopped for more Calippos and managed to get back on our bikes for the final slog. Dad incidentally stopped for a Cream Tea at this point!!

The roads were hellish. Hill after hill after hill just kept coming, but Adam soldiered on and it was with great relief that we finally rolled on to base camp in Launceston. Total cycling time was 9 hours, but we had been out for over 11 very long hours.