Day 56 – Hayle to Sennen Cove
Actual distance 37.89km or 23.5miles
Total Ascent 464m
Staying at Penzance (Madron) Scout HQ
This was the morning of our final riding day for the JOGLE so we were up early and tucking into an awesome cooked breakfast courtesy of our hosts the 5th Redruth. A final flurry of packing saw our penultimate day starting in good time with us heading back to Hayle to tackle the final leg of our adventure.
It started relatively easily with a fairly flat run south out of Hayle towards St Erth then continuing along the water front, meaning we were able to reach Penzance in good time and before the heat of the day peaked. We’ve often struggled to meet up with our support team for lunch, but today this happened exactly as planned, with us all congregating in a lovely sunny park near the beachfront. We spent almost an hour lunching with Sarah, Abi and Moby, Phil and Elaine, and Jan and Neil who have driven down to join us for the last few days of the journey.
We could put off the hills no longer and so headed towards Mousehole and the tough, tough steep climb out of the village. However, the boys both managed to make it to the top without stopping! With water running short we decided we would stop in the pub in Lamorna Valley and so headed down a really steep section which required hard braking all the way (we dropped by over 60m in just 0.5 km!) We stopped at our final pub whilst on the JOGLE and cooled down with a soft drink.
With only 11km left we continued onwards and upwards quickly completing the final climb of the day (and of the whole journey!). We were then on the home straight. Sennen Cove came into view and we spotted multiple vehicles of ours, our support crew, parents and grandparents in the car park and gratefully stopped in front of a spectacular view of the bay. It felt difficult to stop with such a tiny distance left, but essential so we can all finish as a complete team tomorrow.
We loaded the bikes and the kids were desperate to head to the beach to paddle (or swim!) in the sea, and so we headed down the steep dunes to the bay. We found Paul and Jane (who have also travelled down to join us for the last stretch) on the beach with Sarah and Abi and joined in with the fun on the sand and in the rather cold water. Having dried off we headed back to Penzance for our final stay of the trip- with Penzance (Madron) Scouts courtesy of their DC Jeremy.
This evening we had a tasty chilli (thanks to Elaine and Phil) with everyone all together. It was great to chat around a campfire and for the kids to toast marshmallows before settling down for our last night away on the JOGLE.
