Day 9 - update - Launceston to Lands End

Day 9 and the last day of the challenge.
It started as had the previous 7 days, with a huge breakfast. Cereals, fruit juice, coffee, toast and Full English. Bearing in mind I don't normally eat until about 10am I've done well with consuming the calories early morning!
I had heard mixed views on the ride in Cornwall, some say it is the toughest day and others say that Devon is the hardest day. I had planned it to be my shortest day (except for JOG to Wick), in case I was feeling rough by the end, so it was less than 90 miles to go. As it happened, I didn't find the hills anywhere near as tough as in Devon, they were more rolling than steep, so could be taken quite easily by just spinning up in a low to middle gear.
My day consisted of mainly A roads, but not the very busy and dangerous A30 and in general the surface conditions were good, so I could pedal along at a decent speed.
Knowing that my challenge was to be over that afternoon brought on mixed feelings. Although I was really looking forward to seeing everyone at Lands End, I have really enjoyed being on the bike for 9 days and meeting some lovely people.
I stopped for lunch today after about 40 miles or so at a pub not far from Newquay and had a Texan Barbecue Chicken Baguette, really nice, but chicken could have done with being cut up a little more...

After lunch, there was only one thing on my mind, getting to Lands End.
So with the legs seeming to work quite well today, I pedalled on for the remaining 45 or so miles in the Sun.
The road continued to roll on, with uphills taking 5 or 6 minutes, then the descents only a minute or so at 30mph+ without too much effort.
With just 9 miles to go, I arrived at Penzance and thought that I had better have a couple of chocolate bars to boost the energy before the big finish. So, I bought a Snickers bar and a Double Decker, washed down with a cherry Lucozade and off I went again.
There was just one more decent climb to do on the road to Lands End, followed by 2 fast miles to the finish.

And I was met with a welcome sight. Mom, Donna, Caleb, Tiarne, Elaine and Emily were all there to cheer me to the finish.