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We sat on bar stools along the breakfast bar that looked out onto the square. Claire -
the girl from reception - brought over two large cappuccinos, two fry-ups and a couple of
newspapers.
We'd only been travelling for six days, but we both felt completely out of touch with
whatwasgoingonintheworld.I'manewsjunkie.Ican'tgoforanhourwithoutchecking
the BBC website. I usually have the radio on, or the TV, and regularly read the paper, too.
SincesettingofffromCornwall,wehadhardlyseenaTV,hadnoradioupdates,andIdon't
think The Internets has reached the South West yet.
I had thought I would suffer severe withdrawal, but I was coping just fine. In fact, I
hadn't missed any of it. For the first time ever, I had no interest in what was happening
in the world. The front page of both The Mirror and The Guardian announced something
that David Cameron had said or done, but I didn't read it to find out what. Even the match
report of England's win the night before received little more than a cursory glance. I had
become detached from the real world and felt no urgency to rejoin it.
Whilst we ate breakfast, we read through the 'What to take' section in our route book -
the excellent
Bike Britain
by Paul Salter - which lists all of the equipment that is required
when attempting a Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride.
The list, which extends to several pages, differed just slightly to our own meagre be-
longings. Here is the list of everything you are supposed to take, alongside our actual pos-
sessions in italics.
Bike
Bike with racks -
inadequate bikes, no racks
Panniers and handlebar bag -
rucksack and pockets
Water bottles and cages -
water bottle, yes. Cages, no
Cycle computer -
as if
Small flashing LCD rear light -
Tony the Tiger reflector
Clothing
Raincoat -
no
Rain pants (with elastic cuffs or clip for right leg) -
bare legs
Mid-weight fleece top -
cardigans
Polypropolylene underwear (longs and tops) -
Union Jack boxer shorts (cotton, not
polypropolylene, whatever that is)
Hat -
baseball caps
Gloves -
no
2 T-shirts or cycle tops -
4 t-shirts each
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