I woke up hungry! Yesterday's fish and chips obviously hadn't filled me up as much as I'd thought! I started the day with the cooked breakfast provided by the guest house, yum! At breakfast I chatted to a Dutch guy who was cycling Harwich to Plymouth, then getting the train back from there. I wished him well on his travels.
I took the bike path round to Bideford, where I met another 4 Dutch touring cyclists who were also doing the same route as my friend at breakfast, but heading all the way to Lands End like me.
After reaching Bideford I joined the A39 to Bude, followed by a short trip round to Widemouth bay where I stopped for a locally made Cornish pasty for lunch, delicious! From there I joined the coastal road, which quickly became incredibly steep; up to 30% gradient in places! I had to walk some sections of the climbs as the front wheel of my bike was lifting off the ground with every pedal stroke, not good!
After a short hike up the cliffs I found my way back to the A39 for a stint down towards Bodmin. Now the climbs were more manageable, but still very steep. I glanced Bodmin and headed on downhill towards Newquay.
On one of the long steady downhills, the driver of a white BMW coming the other way decided to make a quick turn across my lane right in front of me. I had to brake hard to avoid him. My language was colourful. The first and hopefully only close shave of the trip!
My route into Newquay took me right past the end of the 'Newquay airhub' runway and up one more surprise climb before I reached the town centre and found my way to the Trevellis guest house for my stay for the night.
After showering and giving my cycling gear a rinse in the sink, I headed into town to find a 'pie night' carvery at the Griffin inn in town. Turkey and cranberry pie was a little out of season, but very tastey, plus I ate my fair share of vegetables! I then went for a short walk over to the beach to watch the fantastic sunset.
Tomorrow is the last day and only a short one to finish, with 45 miles to cover before the finish line at Lands End. Nearly there!
Miles today: 84.7
Total miles: 859.7
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