This morning Clare and I packed the car then picked up David, Darren and Dan (in order of proximity to our house, not necessarily preference) for the short drive to my work where we were to meet the rest of the team and perhaps more importantly retrieve our bikes and the minibus / trailer combo that was to be our transport to Land's End.
An initial worry that a few of us secretly shared was that Carl the trip organiser was in fact an internet fraudster who having secured our payment for the trip would then disappear, luckily this turned out not to be the case and he turned up at the agreed time. A quick team photo' of us all looking resplendent in our TTP kit and we were on the way (I wonder if we will need more than one bike between us?)
Travelling by minibus is a frustrating experience at the best of times, the top speed is limited to 62mph possibly by a fitted regulator but also possibly due to the massive bike trailer we are towing.
We had rest stops at Reading services (Burger King, Double Steakhouse Burger 7/10 for the burger, 2/10 for the chips so standard BK fare) then another stop just beyond Bristol (Costa Blueberry Muffin and a coffee, 6.5/10 for both). At Reading services a magazine caught my eye with the cover headline "breeze your way through multi-day cycle rides", luckily I had the foresight to read this in the shop rather than buying the mag as the tips were banal at best including such gems as "make sure you eat food."
Considering the bus is mainly full of blokes I have been very impressed at the lack of farting, although secretly a bit disappointed as farts are usually quite funny.
Our hotel for the evening is not actually at Land's End, rather it is in Camborne seems a long way to go to arrive back where we started.
Talk on the bus is mainly about people's pre-match nerves, the next few days are going to be tough.
Final thought, from entering Cornwall to our destination felt like an awfully long way. It is going to feel a lot longer tomorrow!
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