Day 1: Barford - Land's End - Rock

Due to a hectic Friday at work I regretfully miss Our Leader's barbecue, throw my kit into a holdall and join the group at 3:00 on Saturday morning.

With my bike loaded we had two bikes inside the bus, three on a rack and three on a holder attached to the towbar. This solution removed the need for a trailer, which was a relief.

After an hour's fannying around in Barford, the drive to Lands End is uneventful, and we stop at a Tesco for a breakfast, and to pick up supplies - in my case milkshakes, much to everyone's amusement.

At Lands End we get changed in the blustery car park, then waste more time in the 'theme park' at Land's End. Disneyland it isn't.

Tourist trap photos are unavoidable, but I really don't see the point in signing a book at the nearby hotel. All of which means we eventually ease ourselves into the narrow Cornish lanes at 13:45, nearly two hours behind schedule.

We ride together today, but usually in single file. The heavens open as we ride along the front at Penzance - fitting for the first day of the summer holidays. St Michael's mount is hardly visible through the drizzle, then we head inland to Redruth, which doesn't feature on many postcards. Unaccountably we get lost trying to exit Redruth - mainly because all roads are signed to Truro - where we didn't want to go.

We pick up the A392 towards Newquay, as we needed to make quicker progress than through the lanes. It's a good road, with swooping descents, then onto the A39 'Atlantic Highway' and across the River Camel at Wadebridge.

We head up the other side of the estuary towards Rock, stopping at our campsite at Dinham Farm, which had been organised with friends of Our Leader (http://www.dinhamfarm.co.uk).

67 miles in 5.25 hours.

We put the bikes in newly-built washrooms for security. As I close the door on mine I hear it topple over - resulting in two bikes being trapped in a washroom with no access apart from the four inches I can open the door.

Using a mirror from the bus I see the bikes' position, and Rod eventually manages to create enough of an opening to squeeze in and complete the rescue.

Everyone else drives off to a local restaurant. Although it's been a deliberately short day, I'm physically and mentally exhausted, having had a long week with too little sleep. It's all I can do to put up my tent, blow up the airbed and eat my sandwiches sat in the middle of a field, before turning in. During the night I'm sure I hear warthogs nearby...