June Pathfinder – Shell Woods

I had been enjoying the delights of Falmouth’s Sea Shanty festival on Friday evening and all day Saturday.  I had heard enough South Australias for another year and drunk some delicious Beer, so Sunday was definitely the day for the Pathfinder ride. The weather wasn’t promising so I along with Liz, Don Morris, Margaret and Martyn decided to drive to the start of the ride and while we sheltered in our cars from the heavy shower the other 11 arrived all within a few minutes of each other with some coming from home and the others having started from Gnomeworld.  This was a route that we had ridden before and I remembered it as a fantastically scenic ride and we were not disappointed.  The start is straight up the hill to the lovely village of Blisland and then we followed a lot of Cycle Route 3 which wound through the beautifully quiet lanes across Bodmin Moor. I find that this Moor is much kinder than Dartmoor and a lot more sheltered, more compact is the way I see it.  We saw lots and lots of Sheep, some looking as if they would like to run along with us.  We also saw Lambs and even a foal sheltering next to its Mother.  The route was undulating and the hills challenging at times but short.  The weather was being very kind to us and as we cycled in sunshine some shed a layer.  After me getting stuck behind a big van which then met a Land Rover I fell a little behind but after a couple of calls to Phil Conroy I was soon back on route after Robin had come back to sweep me up.  It was then not far to the coffee and lunch stop where we were warmly welcomed to The Hilltop Café at Slaughterbridge.  The tables had been reserved for us and we enjoyed sitting in their new covered outdoor area and ate a selection from the menu ranging from Tea Cakes and jam, Small and large Breakfasts to Jacket Potato and Beans. The owner was a lovely lady and she even offer to take a group photo of us.

We sheltered in the Veg shed of the café before we set off waiting for a very heavy shower to pass.  We left the café as it abated only to find that we were following the rain as it got very wet as we cycled along the fairly busy road before making a left turn where we sheltered in a convenient bus shelter.

At the next junction we split into 3 groups, the ones cycling all the way home who were Robin, Julian, Phil 4 and Ian.  The next group were the Gnomeworld folk, Phil C, Phil S, Mike, Simon, Andrew and NZ Dave,  That left M&M, Liz, Don M and Gerald (aka Keith) and myself.

We finished the ride by cycling the last mile or so down the Camel Trail before reaching the car park  The rain had stopped by now and I’m hoping the others may have had a relatively dry ride back to where they started.

Another great Pathfinder and thanks to Martyn and Margaret for leading us out and for a great lunch stop.

Kath

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