After a good night’s rest and a solid breakfast, I worked on
my bike to see where the intermittent sound was coming from and
where the back wheel was catching.
The weather at the start of the day was nice and sunny, but deteriorated
quickly by the time I left around 11:30 am. I lumbered my way to the centre of Truro. It is a bustling town, apparently the
major shopping center in this area, but I could not find any bike shops.
I continued towards St. Austell, hoping to find a bike shop
there and grab some lunch as well.
It started raining again, and also started getting a little chilly. I
was passing through a tiny village called Grampound and saw a small
deli-like shop called Cornish Smokehouse which was open. I took shelter there from the rain. The lady who runs the store is called
Lisa, and I found her to be a very interesting person.
Lisa and her husband are from Cardiff, Wales. They had a destination wedding in
Stowe, Vermont at the Green Mountain Inn, have three daughters and moved to
Cornwall several years ago. It is
apparent that Lisa misses Wales very much, and “people who talk like her.” The husband is quite happy here, but Lisa
still feels like a tourist after all these years. She said that this area is almost all white, and there is
not much diversity. I think most
places in the world lack diversity if they are not major commercial, educational or political centers. In any case,
the important thing is to be broad-minded and in the age of the Internet it is
not difficult to inform oneself of other lands, peoples and cultures.
The rain subsided and I made my way to St. Austell, which is
a sizeable town of maybe 20,000 people.
As soon as I entered the town center, I saw a skate shop. I asked the guy if there is a good bike
shop in town, and he pointed me to one around the corner.
The bike shop is called Pave Velo, and it is a most welcoming place with tea, coffee, cookies and brownies. In the words of Nick who
runs the place, what’s a bike shop without espresso?
Nick went over the bike methodically and made several
adjustments, including the front
and back brakes, and said I was good to go. No charge. On
the way out I bought a bunch of
chamois butter packets to take care of my saddle soreness.
While I was getting some lunch in St. Austell, the heavens
opened up. After a long lunch, I
decided to stay the night in Lostwithiel.
A few climbs with gradients approaching 20% later, and down
a hill with a similar gradient, you will find Bentham’s Guesthouse run by
Shirley who welcomes many cyclists..
There is a pub about 250 yards from here that serves great food, and an
interesting array of beers which I had to sadly forgo. I am trying to stay well hydrated and
abstain from alcohol at least until I am well into the ride.
p.s. My thanks
to all who have made their donations to the Nepal Micro Enterprise
Project. The web site to make the
donations is: http://www.dooleyintermed.org/index.php?/news-events/bike-for-nepal-1
Click on the link at the bottom of the page, and please
remember to add “Nepal Micro Enterprise Project” in the special instructions to
the vendor just before you complete your donation.
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