Hi Gayle and Derek!
Trust all went well on bus trip and that you are well placed for next stage of your journey. Not sure what weather you encountered on way to London but yesterday we suffered monsoon-like deluges between 10-11am here at Sydney House! That being the case I waited until about 2:30pm to venture outside. When I did, sky was blue with lots of fluffy white clouds, although a few menacing ones towards the coast. Figured I'd try the St Agnes/Beacon circuit and was well on my way there, (about 7 k on the clock, I think), when skies opened, much like at Minack and I was pretty well drenched before long, although my riding shoes were not squelching! However, I'd worn a vest over a long sleeved shirt so I wasn't uncomfortable and was starting to dry out nicely by the time I was riding down into St Agnes itself.
Felt pretty good about actually getting there and recognizing various pubs, etc., but my euphoria was short lived when I started the climb out of the village. I knew I probably should have turned off, at some point, earlier, so when I saw signs for Perranporth I thought I recognized the name so decided I'd follow the road which the last sign pointed towards, for a bit, an initial reconnoiter. Didn't like the look of the descent down the hill close to what I assumed was the village itself so I turned around and retraced my steps.
Back into St Agnes and at the first roundabout I encountered I turned to the left and found myself heading down a fairly steep hill to the Beach! Was pleased to actually see the water, when I reached the bottom of the hill, but was not as happy on the return climb, although it was not too, too much of a struggle as I huffed and puffed my way back into the village. I dearly wanted to circle The Beacon but I really didn't know which way to turn and St Agnes was not smiling upon me either. I ended up exiting the village on the same road as before so I decided I'd take a look at the Wheal Kitty Workshops and Blue Hills Mine, I think, in spite of the warning sign, 33% grade! In the end, not really wishing to attempt such a ridiculously steep route I merely dipsy-doodled my way to the start of the light industrial complex which constitutes WKW and then retraced my steps to return to St Agnes.
Third time lucky in the sense that on this final ascent I found myself exiting the village on the route I felt was the one we had taken after riding around The Beacon. Turned out to be the case and I was soon whizzing along the road to Mount Hawke. Not quite sure how I managed it but before I decided to follow the signs to MH I came to an intersection and I turned left onto a fairly flat, long straight road, leading back in the general direction of St Agnes, as far as I could tell, and so cycled about 2 K along it, just to see where it went, before retracing my steps. Back at the earlier intersection, I went straight ahead and descended a rather long, steepish slope, heading, I believed into MH. At the next intersection I discovered, at least according to the signage, that MH was back up the hill, about 3/4 of a mile. The way down looked too, too punishing to cycle back up if made a mistake so I turned left and, much to my relief, began to recognize parts of the route, a sign here, a fallen tree there, a farm building or a real estate sign.
At some point I passed the mine stack made into a house and negotiated the steep hill which Derek delighted in racing down, all the better to reach the other crest with as little effort as possible, (Can't honestly recall which came first), and I knew, for certain, I was on the right track. Icing on the cake was Etherington Meats and shortly thereafter I was through the roundabout and heading down hill into Blackwater. By this time I had logged about 37 K so I decided I'd follow the sign to Chacewater, making a right turn about mid-village, just by the car dealership, Hawkins Motors, I believe. Did just that and followed Station Road into Chacewater itself. Made a left turn and then a right turn up a slight hill and exited the village. A minute or so later, I began to feel that I had been along this lovely, leafy, quiet lane before. However, I tempered my delight, knowing full well that most country lanes look much the same.
Continuing on I next entered Twelveheads and then I knew exactly where I was going as I had traveled the exact same route, in the opposite direction, last Thursday, once Tony, at the café there, had set me straight. I rode past the turnoff to United Downs and very shortly I was at the petrol station across the road from Bike Chain Bissoe. Turned around and headed back towards Chacewater. On the way back I mulled over what must have happened to have me end up on the A390, last Thursday, and I realized that I had turned right when I entered Chacewater, away from Station Road, just a sharp left around the corner. Pleased that the penny had dropped, that all the pieces of the nightmare ride had finally fallen into place, I patted myself on the back and continued on to Blackwater, cheerily greeting dog walkers and horse riders along the way.
Even though The Beacon had alluded me, (I think I caught a brief glimpse of it, off in the distance, when dipsy doodling near the Wheal Kitty Workshops.), I was immensely chuffed at solving the mystery of my tangled first solo ride and pleased at the 51.33 K ride, accomplished without having to touch The Burning Ground from very start to finish!
Cora Lee was watching TV when I came into the house and she told me that over the course of the afternoon she happened to watch a silly, made-for-TV movie, Hush, and saw a close friend, Tom Shorthouse, playing a bit part, Dr. Camp, in the 2005 release. Tom was the Law Librarian at UBC when I worked there and we became good friends. He is a lovely, lovely man and wonderful pianist to boot. He was always interested in acting, musicals in particular, and had a fairly successful, part-time career, before and after retirement from UBC, appearing in commercials and playing minor characters in quite a few movies. We last saw him a few weeks before we left for England, at a UBC Library function.
Before showering, I prepared the vegetables we were planning to have for dinner, (carrots and beet greens), and downloaded my ride. Cora Lee had already boiled the potatoes and "squashed" them, ready to be broiled befoer serving. Around 7:30 pm we drove into Truro, (without any difficulty), and found free parking just outside the entrance to the station. Cora Lee stayed in the car and I went inside, to Platform 2, and Jamie's train arrived about five minutes later. We'd seen him when first in London, (We attended a wonderful noon hour, piano concert at St Martin-in-the-Fields and then had had lunch downstairs in the restaurant in the Crypt.), so we caught up on the way to Saintsbury's. We wanted to pick up a few more groceries although we forgot to buy peppercorns.
Shopping done, we were home just before 9:00pm and Cora Lee fried the pork chops we'd bought at the Farm Shop and readied the other vegetables while I unpacked the groceries and Jamie settled in to your room! We had a wonderful meal and spent a very pleasant time talking about all sorts of things. Jamie was just back from France where Bach Choir had sung in three different cathedrals in Rheims so lots to tell about that, as well as our recent travels. Cora Lee repaired to the lounge to watch TV while Jamie and I cleared up. Poured ourselves a wee dram and we joined Coriandre. By this time she was pretty sleepy so she said goodnight. We stayed up to continue talking but when I noticed Jamie struggling to keep his eyes open I packed him off to bed and spent an hour or so catching up on email. In fact, I fully intended to send this message along last night but by the time it was 1:35am I was too, too sleepy myself to finish!
Not sure where you will be when you receive this but do hope all has gone/will have gone well with flight, etc. Sun is shining and although there are a fair number of clouds, day looks very promising for another ride. Rest of gang are still abed so not sure what they will want to do once up. I might drive them into St Agnes, at some point, and go for a ride while they potter about. Think route from Blackwater to Bissoe, via Chacewater and Twelveheads is about right for Jamie, in terms of distance and relatively flat terrain, so if he is game, we might do that. At any rate, we are more than comfortably ensconced at Sydney House so thanks for everything. Hope you will settle in to The Islay Inn in like fashion. Look forward to hearing from you when you've recovered from your taxing last few days and lengthy flight. Hello to one and all in Vancouver. Fondestos from Cora Lee and Spudnik to you both! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Non-Burning Ground Ride:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/353997129#.Uf_mR1QyF3g.email
Thanks for email Patrick. Have only scanned it but will read in detail once we have checked in at the airport. Looks like you had a few unexpected detours but I am sure you have now encountered most of the type of hills you are likely to meet on any of your future cycles in Cornwall (unless you go much further west where they are steeper!). Happy your guest arrived ok and it looks like for the rest of the week the weather is going to be kind to you. You may like to take Corrine to St Ives if you get a sunny day. If you do I suggest you park at Lelant and take the little train short distance along the coast to the town. Maureen can give you details.
Our bus journey up was uneventful and much more relaxing than driving oneself. We had one stop on the way up and had a coffee and panini. Arrived at the hotel fully refreshed after sleeping for a couple of hours on the coach. Hotel is very comfortable and only a few minutes from terminal 3 where we will be leaving from. Had a wonderful relaxing evening starting in the lounge bar and finishing in 'The Tuscany' restaurant where we had a very tasty caprese with pesto to start and Gayle had a terrific plate of wild mushroom tortellini with a wonderful sauce and I chose an equally tasty chicken, broccoli and wild mushroom risotto. Waitress, who was very Italian, suggested an Italian Merlot, which I can't remember the name of, and we polished off the bottle very easily! We were initially not going to have desert but decided on a limoncello frozen parfait with pistachios which was small enough for us to manage! Slept very well and just had a porridge and coffee at the Starbucks next to hotel. I refuse to pay £15 for a hotel continental breakfast!!
We will now go back to the room and finish packing the cases and head off to the airport in an hour or so.
Do hope all goes well at Sydney House and Cornish weather is kind to you during your visit. Will be in touch once we are settled into Islay inn!
Best wishes to Corrine and your guest Bye for now Derek
Ps Gayle asked me to tell you that you can freeze half the loaf of bread she made until you need it if you feel you won't be eating the whole loaf!
Hi Big Al!
Trust you are well. Thought I'd send along a few more snaps and crow about my latest ride. This impulse was prompted, in part, by Dr. Camp! Cora Lee was watching TV when I came into the house, yesterday, after I was just back from a glorious ride to St Agnes and environs. She told me that over the course of the afternoon she happened to watch a silly, made-for-TV movie, Hush, and saw Tom Shorthouse, in living colour, playing a bit part, I assume, (Not that I'm casting aspersions, mind!), in the 2005 release. Just sent him a message asking him if he had sold out? I guess after The Stackettes, goofy group we put together at UBC for Library parties, nothing mattered much! At any rate, it was quite a coincidence.
Right now the sun is shining and although there are a fair number of clouds, day looks very promising for another ride. Rest of gang were still abed when I got up at 7:00am so was not sure what they wanted to do once up. Last night we had speculated that I might drive them into St Agnes, at some point, and go for a ride while they pottered about. Think route from Blackwater to Bissoe, via Chacewater and Twelveheads is about right for Jamie, in terms of distance and relatively flat terrain, if he is game to ride. His back has been bothering him of late so he may beg off.
Just finished a tasty brunch, (by the time The Sleepyheads appeared it was too late for breakfast), of wonderful bacon, scrambled, free-range eggs and toast made with home-made bread. While eating it was legislated that I am to drive Corinne and Jamie to St Agnes. I'll leave them there, (perhaps forever!), and come back to house to go for a ride, probably to Trelissick. Once they've exhausted the sights and shops of St Agnes they'll catch a local bus back to Blackwater. Fondestos from Cora Lee. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Pics: Malt Scoop in Devon, Cora Lee's 3rd cousin's country pad; G/D at Pandora Inn; some shots of front garden at Sydney House; G's/D's feline, Spud whom I call Spudnik, even more spoiled than Maggster; free-range eggs, complete with straw and feathers attached, which Maureen buys, locally, from a friend.
Porthtowan:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/354483433#.UgEqv4ZbISQ.email
Hi Sneaky Pete!
Thanks for providing me with the "backstory", (Term we are bombarded with whenever we visit Ayn and Los Horridos as it is used/over-used all the time in LA as Tinsel Towners see most everything in terms of movies and pitching scripts!), of your move from Sweden to NZ. Be honest, you wanted to move there for the wine! As you say, you are in Sauvignon Blanc Heaven. Lucky lad!!! When there in '92 we only made it to Nelson on the South Island but I really loved the Pinots there. Found them so much more fruit forward than in Oregon or California.
When did you marry? What is your wife's name? I read your comments about people from Cornwall to our friends, Gayle and Derek, and Gayle said it described Derek perfectly! She was really kidding as he is a simply wonderful chap. Funny that you should mention Macmyra as we visited the distillery in 2010 when we were staying with friend, Kjell, at his summer cottage in Gävle. Bit frustrating as Swedish law does not allow tasting nor can you buy product, at the distillery. Tour was a hoot, however, principally because we all had to don coveralls, shower-caps to cover our hair, or lack thereof, and shoe booties. All this trouble and no hootch. Was so annoyed that I ended up not buying any at the Systembolaget! Pretty expensive hootch to buy there, especially when I'd never tasted it. Wasn't until Kjell's brother-in-law visited Vancouver and brought over a bottle that I had my first sip. Quite liked it and I almost bought a couple of bottles, this past May, when in Winnipeg, as I noticed two different offerings in the specialty store's malt section. A couple of other malts I wanted were available and considerably cheaper than back in BC so I opted for them instead. Still, think I will buy some Macmyra next summer if there is any. There will be a large family gathering at Falcon Lake to celebrate Cora Lee's parent's 69th wedding anniversary!Trust the rumbles subside! Fondestos from Cora Lee to you both. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrizzio!
Of course it was for the wine! Why else? I will have to start sampling
the Pinots. Off to Nelson and the Marlborough this weekend and then
Martinborough next weekend, where much sampling shall be done! (have to
build the cellar back up). 21 years since you
were here last!?!?! High time to return - the good news is that this
week has been pretty movement-free and, Wellington is filled with hills
for cycling!
The boss (aka Gemma or Dr. P - she is a medical dr) and I very quietly tied the knot last year in Scotland (http://www.silverphotography.co.uk/wordpress/wedding-by-the-river-in-perthshire/)
Ah, yes, you just have to love Sweden and Systembolaget... No sampling and astronomical prices. Not much else to report from here - still slowly unpacking and putting things away for now cheers sneaky pete
Oh that is so terrible, of course I remember Mary, don't know if I ever met her husband though!
So sad, and scary....be careful D!!!
went to your place yesterday to get it ready for D/G and super
annoyed, Kristine left garbage under the sink and since she has been not
there since the 26th and didn't tell me till just this past Saturday it
was disgusting and your house in now a cloud
of fruit flies or was I hope its better today. She also left wet
laundry in the wash so was all musty and not dried towels in the dryer,
what an IDIOT is all I can say. she never stripped the bed and left
dirty dishes in the dishwasher, not turned on.
Super annoyed, dumb twit, I took some of the laundry home so I
didn't need to spend tons of time there, and the water in your building
is shut off today from 8-8 so want to make sure everything is ready and
not relying on the water at yours!!
Anyway my rant is done, love you both, Mags is OK, has only thrown
up once, but she did pee and poo right outside the box on the mat last
week, not sure if she was confused or just feeling mad at me for being
busy!! Chloe xxxxx
Patriçio,
P, looks wonderful. Thanks for the pics and the update.
Muchas graçias para la invitación.
However, I am afraid a Eurotrip is not possible for me this year.
Although I must have air miles galore, my finances are currently a bit
stressed and there are a number of issues w.r.t. the condition of my Dad
and the house that I need to sort out this
fall. Hopefully, I will be able to do some traveling including
including an overdue trip to Croatia next year.
On the lighter side, I have a gps app on my iphone. So I too have
started to track my cycle rides. I do find when the recorder is on, I
acquire a greater awareness of my performance … hmmm … not always
welcome(!).
Hi Patrick & Corinne,
I was so pleased to discover that the much-underrated 'Hush' was
finally getting a UK audience and that I can expect some residuals
therefrom. (I don't remember if I told you you that I recently - and
unexpectedly - received a cheque, in the amount of
50 cents, for my participation in some long-past film endeavour. At the
time, it appeared to be the final kiss-off to what was once a formerly
flourishing career, and it is encouraging that 'Hush' may turn out to
rekindle a resurgence in the public awareness
of my contributions to the cinematic oeuvre). A small correction: We in
the film world don't do 'bit parts' as you call them. They are better
described as 'cameos' , and this puppy, shot at Fort Langley in 2005,
was what I had considered to be my last kick
at the silver-screen can. In fact, after the aptly-named Dr. Camp I had
hung up the stethoscope, so to speak. But now there may be a chance
that the also aptly-named Rank Organization will be contacting me about some
equally challenging project. Let's hope so.
I enjoyed your detailed and
interesting saga of your recent travels. Cornwall sounds and is
beautiful, as shown in your excellent photos. You might consider doing
some serious writing on such matters for magazines
catering to travelers. Your tales about driving amongst the hedgerows,
etc. bring back memories of our own navigational experiences in the UK. I
was always turning on the windshield wipers when I was planning to turn
right or left. And Anne, my ever-courageous
navigator, once got the map turned around somehow and we ended up,
having traversed many such hair-raising lanes, in a cow pasture. I think
those days are well behind us. But carry on yourself and keep us posted
about how things are going. Incidentally, you
may be having occasional bursts of rain from the skies, but we just
broke the record for the driest July in history. So there.The Stomper
Pat,
What with 'petrol stations' and 'chuffed' in your vocabulary, you'll be eating bacon butties and calling us all 'mate' next.
Average speed @ 10mph! At least you
burned up 1856 calories which might allow for any excesses in the
eating and drinking areas. Some steep hills duly noted.
You mention the lack of helmets in
the UK. Bob Jackson, one of my mates in Hartlepool, wore one for the
first time when he came over here in 2006. He got used to it and bought
one on return home. Some of the locals were
questioning his 'street cred.' when he was seen wearing the helmet
locally.
Spoke at length with Jim Crowe
yesterday. He will be staying with us late September. We've invited his
wife, Margaret, to join us also.
Not riding at the moment. Cardio
system not functioning well at all and I have a doctor's appointment
this morning with strict written instuctions from Sylvia to present to
the doctor. She tells me I minimize my health concerns.
Zuccinis coming out of our ears.
We've been making chocolate zuccini cakes and Sylvias made a z soup last
night also. Must grow them in a less sunny area next year so they are
not as prolific.
Don't know much about the bike
accident on 12th Avenue. It's is getting to be a major problem in the
city. You might have heard that the Point Grey Road bike lane has been
approved. Can't help but think that the cycle route
on 3rd should be adequate and that 4th Ave. will become really busy for
those travelling west.
Ray
P, looks wonderful. Thanks for the pics and the update.
Sorry to learn of the tragic bike accident so close to home...
In Boston now having
had a wonderful time along the East coast. About to ride south of Boston
this morning. We drive west tomorrow.Safe travels.Fond regards to all, W
Hi Gayle and Derek!
Trust you are now settling into life on Granville Island. Pleased that your enjoyable, pre-flight time in London allowed you to get you off to a pleasant, well-rested start to prepare you for the long haul hop you were to face.
For our part, we had a rather lazy morning, some more so than others, (I was up at 6:45am), and we enjoyed a scrumptiously tasty brunch, (by the time The Sleepyheads appeared it was too late for breakfast), of wonderful bacon, scrambled, free-range eggs and toast made with Gayle's wonderful home-made bread. Please thank Gayle for suggesting I freeze half the loaf she so kindly baked before leaving but I'd rather she flew back to bake many, many more! Unfortunately, for me, Jamie has an appetite which is even more prodigious than mine so we hardly need to freeze what will soon cease to exist!
While eating it was legislated that I was to drive Corinne and Jamie to St Agnes. While I washed up Cora Lee tried, unsuccessfully, to book her train passage from Italy to France. Some issue with not having an address in the UK which matches one attached to her credit card, if you can believe it, in this day and age! At any rate she plans to pop into a travel agency in Truro, (any suggestions?), when we take Jamie to the station this coming Friday.
Around 1:00pm we drove into St Agnes and after I left them, mid-village, I drove the way I thought I needed to go in order to pass the Beacon. When I did see what I took to be the structure in question it didn't seem to be as large as I remembered it. Nevertheless I continued on and the seascape, over the fields to my right, was as I remembered it on the ride with you, so I assumed I was where I wanted to be.
Once I completed the loop I cycled through town again, seeing the two tourists I'd just dropped off, and, once up the hill, I went past the turn I'd taken earlier to take me onto to Beacon Drive to see if there was an alternate route. When it quite quickly beacme apparent that I was on a dead-end lane I turned around and asked a chap doing some yard work how to drive past The Beacon. He pointed to the road I'd driven on earlier, just a short distance away, so I understood I'd been on the right track all along.
Having fixed, (To the extent that I was able to do so as, so far, I'm never quite sure if I am where I want to be or if everything simply looks familiar, déjà vu to the nth degree!), these directions in my mind, and knowing which way to turn once I was heading back into the village, I wanted to explore another route back to Blackwater. When I passed a young woman walking along the roadside, not far from a turn that had a sign posted to some beach or other, I stopped to ask her if I could eventually get to Blackwater if I turned right at an intersection ahead. (This was where I had previously turned left to head back into St Agnes and where I had continued to bear left, at the small roundabout, to enter the village itself.) She assured me I could so I did just that. (Trying to reconstruct this from both Garmin and Google Maps I still cannot be absolutely sure of where I was but I think it most likely that I was in Goonvrea.) I soon found myself heading down a pretty steep hill and eventually into a small cluster of homes at the bottom. Up another long, reasonably steep incline and shortly therafter I exited onto the Coast Road near The Victory Inn.
Carrying on I drove further along, via Towancross, towards Porthtowan. Some incredible views of the cove and beach, dotted with hoildayers, but tiny ants on the sand, splashing in the gentle waves. There was very little wind and the sea was quite calm. Still cloudy but plenty of blue sky as well. Perfect cycling weather but not sure how warm it would be closer to the water and in it. Made a mental note to explore the village at some point but wanted to get back to Blackwater to start my ride so turned left close to what seemed like the bottom of the rather steep hill and made my way along the valley there. Much to my delight I came to an intersection which I remembered from the ride of the day before as I had noted then the sign post which pointed back up the hill, announcing 3/4 mile to Mount Hawke.
Basically, knew where I was now and was soon in Wheal Rose and then pulling into the driveway to Sydney House. It was just before 2:00pm by the time I was suited up and ready to go. I took the long hill out of town, basically following B3277/Penwinick Road all the way into St Agnes and then proceeded to do two loops around The beacon before tracing the same route I's mapped out with the car. Wasn't looking forward to the climb out of the valley between Goonvrea and Towan Cross but when I did finally start the ascent, it wasn't nearly as strenuous as I had imagined it would be.
Really enjoyed the ride overlooking the coast, down towards Porthtowan but really had to concentrate on the road once I started to descend as I clocked just under 50 KPH and could have gone much faster if I'd not been concerned about having to brake suddenly. When I turned left to follow the valley I became more keenly aware of the imposing, rounded hillsides hemming me in, covered with purple heather and sprinkles of yellow gorse flowers, stretching, seemingly endlessly above and around me. As well, I passed a number of weathered mine stacks witht their adjoining engine houses, some more weathered and tumbled-down than others. Funnily enough, these man-made constructions didn't mar the beautiful landscape but somehow seemed to blend into the colour and contour of the truly remarkable glens, imbued, as they were with a melancholy beauty, sepia-hued aquatints of a mining past that was certainly far more brutal and destructive to the environment than these now charming, ruined buildings would suggest, feeding our almost ingrained need to sentimentalize a past we never knew or experienced, to embrace nostalgia with open arms and closed minds.
To support my observations, Dear Reader, I offer a few snippets of information, gleaned from Barry, a retired tin miner. I was fascinated to hear about his life in the Cornish mines, in and around Blackwater, when he and his wife, Margaret, Derek's sister, were part of a gathering last Saturday evening. He had worked underground ever since he was fifteen and candles were used for illumination when he first started. Felt headgear was the only protection that was used and was only supplanted by hard hats when mechanized shovels were introduced to scoop ore from the blasted rock-face into hopper-cars. Due to the narrowness of the stopes, the shovels, once full, were mechanically levered over the operator's head in order to dump the load into waiting hopper cars. As one could imagine, ore could and did fall out on its way to the hopper. According to Barry, such accidents occasioned the beginning of the hard hat era. Difficult to even imagine such a complete lack of concern for the safety of the miners, given what many would now consider our overprotective "Nanny State", diametrically opposite to an era when miners placed wet handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses to keep out the dust!
Continuing on I had a few descent climbs and then I was riding past the Brian Etherington Meat Company in Scorrier. Only had about 30 K on the clock by this time and really wanted at least 50 K so I decided I'd do some serious dipsy-doodling before returning home. I didn't really want to go back to Chacewater since I knew that route fairly well so opted, once on the A3047, out of Wheal Rose, to take the road leading towards Skinners Bottom and Mount Hawke. Glad that I did as I ended up criss-crossing the countryside around Blackwater and came away with a much better mental map of how all the lanes and narrow country roads intersected, joining various communities.
I simply followed my nose, at times, riding down a road I had passed a number of times on earlier rides, to see where it would lead me. In so doing, I passed a number of what looked like industrial-scale operations with huge piles of stacked logs. Not sure, but I assume these might well have been for firewood as opposed to being milled for lumber. In one of the yarrds was a derelict wheel house structure, the only one I'd seen so far with a wheel atop the rickety tower.
Really enjoyed getting to know the immediate vicinty but I was also getting a bit tired at the same time. Had negotiated quite a few challenging hills over the course of the ride so was quite happy to head for Sydney House when I had 52.9474 K showing on my trusty Garmin 200! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/355024794#.UgKEMuxEZ1k.email
Had just made myself a java when Coriandre and Jamie walked in the door. They'd had a grand time in St Agnes, down to the beach and much window shopping. Had cider on the strandt and Sir James even bought Cora Lee some very attractive silver, flower petal earrings. Bus ride back went well so everyone was happy with their afternoon outings. Exhausted tourists settled into watch a bit of TV and put up their legs while I worked on messages. When Cora Lee and I started to get dinner ready Jamie decided to go for a short ride to see how your bike felt, Derek. In the end, he cycled to Chacewater and back so I was quite impressed as he had almost fallen off in the parking area. He was still getting used to the pedal clips and couldn't release his feet as quickly as he thought he could!
Cora Lee made a wonderful curry sauce with sausage for the corn pasta she had picked up in St Agnes. I made a large green salad and wo bottle of Languedoc white later we felt pretty damn good. I had halved the watermelon that you had left in the fridge and cut off the rind. It was unbelievably sweet so it was the perfect dessert. After the tasty meal, I washed up while Cora lee watched Whitechaple and Jamie used my Mac to look at his email. We all went to bed around 11:00pm as we had planned a trip to Tintagel on the morrow.
Fondestos from Cora Lee. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Gayle and Derek!
Trust you are now settling into life on Granville Island. Pleased that your enjoyable, pre-flight time in London allowed you to get you off to a pleasant, well-rested start to prepare you for the long haul hop you were to face.
For our part, we had a rather lazy morning, some more so than others, (I was up at 6:45am), and we enjoyed a scrumptiously tasty brunch, (by the time The Sleepyheads appeared it was too late for breakfast), of wonderful bacon, scrambled, free-range eggs and toast made with Gayle's wonderful home-made bread. Please thank Gayle for suggesting I freeze half the loaf she so kindly baked before leaving but I'd rather she flew back to bake many, many more! Unfortunately, for me, Jamie has an appetite which is even more prodigious than mine so we hardly need to freeze what will soon cease to exist!
While eating it was legislated that I was to drive Corinne and Jamie to St Agnes. While I washed up Cora Lee tried, unsuccessfully, to book her train passage from Italy to France. Some issue with not having an address in the UK which matches one attached to her credit card, if you can believe it, in this day and age! At any rate she plans to pop into a travel agency in Truro, (any suggestions?), when we take Jamie to the station this coming Friday.
Around 1:00pm we drove into St Agnes and after I left them, mid-village, I drove the way I thought I needed to go in order to pass the Beacon. When I did see what I took to be the structure in question it didn't seem to be as large as I remembered it. Nevertheless I continued on and the seascape, over the fields to my right, was as I remembered it on the ride with you, so I assumed I was where I wanted to be.
Once I completed the loop I cycled through town again, seeing the two tourists I'd just dropped off, and, once up the hill, I went past the turn I'd taken earlier to take me onto to Beacon Drive to see if there was an alternate route. When it quite quickly beacme apparent that I was on a dead-end lane I turned around and asked a chap doing some yard work how to drive past The Beacon. He pointed to the road I'd driven on earlier, just a short distance away, so I understood I'd been on the right track all along.
Having fixed, (To the extent that I was able to do so as, so far, I'm never quite sure if I am where I want to be or if everything simply looks familiar, déjà vu to the nth degree!), these directions in my mind, and knowing which way to turn once I was heading back into the village, I wanted to explore another route back to Blackwater. When I passed a young woman walking along the roadside, not far from a turn that had a sign posted to some beach or other, I stopped to ask her if I could eventually get to Blackwater if I turned right at an intersection ahead. (This was where I had previously turned left to head back into St Agnes and where I had continued to bear left, at the small roundabout, to enter the village itself.) She assured me I could so I did just that. (Trying to reconstruct this from both Garmin and Google Maps I still cannot be absolutely sure of where I was but I think it most likely that I was in Goonvrea.) I soon found myself heading down a pretty steep hill and eventually into a small cluster of homes at the bottom. Up another long, reasonably steep incline and shortly therafter I exited onto the Coast Road near The Victory Inn.
Carrying on I drove further along, via Towancross, towards Porthtowan. Some incredible views of the cove and beach, dotted with hoildayers, but tiny ants on the sand, splashing in the gentle waves. There was very little wind and the sea was quite calm. Still cloudy but plenty of blue sky as well. Perfect cycling weather but not sure how warm it would be closer to the water and in it. Made a mental note to explore the village at some point but wanted to get back to Blackwater to start my ride so turned left close to what seemed like the bottom of the rather steep hill and made my way along the valley there. Much to my delight I came to an intersection which I remembered from the ride of the day before as I had noted then the sign post which pointed back up the hill, announcing 3/4 mile to Mount Hawke.
Basically, knew where I was now and was soon in Wheal Rose and then pulling into the driveway to Sydney House. It was just before 2:00pm by the time I was suited up and ready to go. I took the long hill out of town, basically following B3277/Penwinick Road all the way into St Agnes and then proceeded to do two loops around The beacon before tracing the same route I's mapped out with the car. Wasn't looking forward to the climb out of the valley between Goonvrea and Towan Cross but when I did finally start the ascent, it wasn't nearly as strenuous as I had imagined it would be.
Really enjoyed the ride overlooking the coast, down towards Porthtowan but really had to concentrate on the road once I started to descend as I clocked just under 50 KPH and could have gone much faster if I'd not been concerned about having to brake suddenly. When I turned left to follow the valley I became more keenly aware of the imposing, rounded hillsides hemming me in, covered with purple heather and sprinkles of yellow gorse flowers, stretching, seemingly endlessly above and around me. As well, I passed a number of weathered mine stacks witht their adjoining engine houses, some more weathered and tumbled-down than others. Funnily enough, these man-made constructions didn't mar the beautiful landscape but somehow seemed to blend into the colour and contour of the truly remarkable glens, imbued, as they were with a melancholy beauty, sepia-hued aquatints of a mining past that was certainly far more brutal and destructive to the environment than these now charming, ruined buildings would suggest, feeding our almost ingrained need to sentimentalize a past we never knew or experienced, to embrace nostalgia with open arms and closed minds.
To support my observations, Dear Reader, I offer a few snippets of information, gleaned from Barry, a retired tin miner. I was fascinated to hear about his life in the Cornish mines, in and around Blackwater, when he and his wife, Margaret, Derek's sister, were part of a gathering last Saturday evening. He had worked underground ever since he was fifteen and candles were used for illumination when he first started. Felt headgear was the only protection that was used and was only supplanted by hard hats when mechanized shovels were introduced to scoop ore from the blasted rock-face into hopper-cars. Due to the narrowness of the stopes, the shovels, once full, were mechanically levered over the operator's head in order to dump the load into waiting hopper cars. As one could imagine, ore could and did fall out on its way to the hopper. According to Barry, such accidents occasioned the beginning of the hard hat era. Difficult to even imagine such a complete lack of concern for the safety of the miners, given what many would now consider our overprotective "Nanny State", diametrically opposite to an era when miners placed wet handkerchiefs over their mouths and noses to keep out the dust!
Continuing on I had a few descent climbs and then I was riding past the Brian Etherington Meat Company in Scorrier. Only had about 30 K on the clock by this time and really wanted at least 50 K so I decided I'd do some serious dipsy-doodling before returning home. I didn't really want to go back to Chacewater since I knew that route fairly well so opted, once on the A3047, out of Wheal Rose, to take the road leading towards Skinners Bottom and Mount Hawke. Glad that I did as I ended up criss-crossing the countryside around Blackwater and came away with a much better mental map of how all the lanes and narrow country roads intersected, joining various communities.
I simply followed my nose, at times, riding down a road I had passed a number of times on earlier rides, to see where it would lead me. In so doing, I passed a number of what looked like industrial-scale operations with huge piles of stacked logs. Not sure, but I assume these might well have been for firewood as opposed to being milled for lumber. In one of the yarrds was a derelict wheel house structure, the only one I'd seen so far with a wheel atop the rickety tower.
Really enjoyed getting to know the immediate vicinty but I was also getting a bit tired at the same time. Had negotiated quite a few challenging hills over the course of the ride so was quite happy to head for Sydney House when I had 52.9474 K showing on my trusty Garmin 200! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/355024794#.UgKEMuxEZ1k.email
Had just made myself a java when Coriandre and Jamie walked in the door. They'd had a grand time in St Agnes, down to the beach and much window shopping. Had cider on the strandt and Sir James even bought Cora Lee some very attractive silver, flower petal earrings. Bus ride back went well so everyone was happy with their afternoon outings. Exhausted tourists settled into watch a bit of TV and put up their legs while I worked on messages. When Cora Lee and I started to get dinner ready Jamie decided to go for a short ride to see how your bike felt, Derek. In the end, he cycled to Chacewater and back so I was quite impressed as he had almost fallen off in the parking area. He was still getting used to the pedal clips and couldn't release his feet as quickly as he thought he could!
Cora Lee made a wonderful curry sauce with sausage for the corn pasta she had picked up in St Agnes. I made a large green salad and wo bottle of Languedoc white later we felt pretty damn good. I had halved the watermelon that you had left in the fridge and cut off the rind. It was unbelievably sweet so it was the perfect dessert. After the tasty meal, I washed up while Cora lee watched Whitechaple and Jamie used my Mac to look at his email. We all went to bed around 11:00pm as we had planned a trip to Tintagel on the morrow.
Fondestos from Cora Lee. Cheers, Patrizzio!
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