Diary - Day 2 - Wednesday 15 April 2009
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Description coming, but in the interim some photographs.
The day started with an article in “The Examiner” (Launceston) (copy in “Media” - see “Links”)
The day started out with a wind, rain and hail storm. We temporarily lost a tent …
Tent in storm ...
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Tent in flight
The rain continued through the day and the wind was trying for the unicyclists, but waiting for a break in the weather we started:
Group photo with host Susie prior to leaving "The Gables"
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Temporary break in the weather enables day two to start
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Taking a walking rest break up a hill
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Renewed uphill energy after lunch
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Sid writes:
We awoke to some nice sunshine shining on our tents. The weather forecast had predicted rain and it looked like the weather gods were with us today. And for the first (and not the last) time today, I was wrong. Halfway through breakfast, the wind picked up and soon rain was pelting down. As we all pondered the wet and cold day in store for us, the Clearwaters lost their tent to the gale-force wind. Nothing had moved faster on this tour than the tent. A few hours later, the tent was found having jumped two fences, dodged inquisitive horses and came to rest nestled against a bush in a church yard.
Once the rain had stopped, we all layered up and took off. Of course, the sun came out and the layers soon had to be removed. The wind picked up and the layers came back on. This cycle continued for the rest of the day. Soon, Matt, …
Matt in rain
… Tony and Tynan had sped away. Nick and Aubin steadily made ground. I was in the somewhere in the middle, getting blown away by the wind. After a lot of undulating terrain, I decided that after the next hill, I would change to longer cranks. I did, only to realize that the others had stopped 100m away and that was the last hill of the day. Grrrr! Lunch was had standing and shivering, in the rain.
After lunch, it was all downhill and pleasant. The sun came out and I raced to our rest-stop at Swansea (70km for the day). Matt, Tony and Tynan were with Barry and Dana, setting up the tents. Aubin and Nick arrived 30 minutes later. After the usual banter, a walk on the beach and some beers, we showered and dinner quickly disappeared. Due to the pool and table tennis tables inexplicably being locked at 7pm, we all ended up in the laundry room and ended playing a raucous session of Bum Darts. The aim of the game is to put a coin between your bum cheeks and drop it into a cup on the ground, played in a relay team format. It takes skill, strong glutes, and goofy-looking gait and looking stupid is a part of the game. It was a lot more raucous than the previous night’s Hearts session. This led to a quieter Roald Dahl story-reading session led by Tynan. And soon we were sunggling into our sleeping bags…A good day!
Distance = 71 km