Monday 18 July 2011

A day of contrasts

This is Sunday's Blog; no signal last evening.

A strong westerly wind pushed me along the relatively flat road from Penzance to Porthleven in double-quick time. But things got a lot tougher as the day progressed. Serious hills started appearing. First it was down to Mullion Cove, where I had to shelter from a downpour. Then over to the pretty fishing villages of Cadgwith and Coverack. At one point, soon after passing the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose, I was less than two miles away from my planned destination of Gweek, but the Lizard Peninsula had to be done, with its several harbours.

The deep river valleys around the Helford River were the worst; most hills were between 17 and 25%. I'm getting concerned about my brake pads and will try and find a cycle shop in Falmouth tomorrow to get them replaced.

I finished the day about five miles beyond Gweek, at the first camp site I could find. Pretty basic, but no one there to take my money, so another free stay.

When I'm cycling, various tunes come to mind. Sometimes I sing, or whistle, but mostly I sort of blow through my teeth and a tune comes out. What's that called? It's not humming, whistling or singing. There must be a word for it. Try it yourself - with your mouth slightly open, blow out and try and make a tune, without using the vocal chords. Please, someone, tell me.

Tomorrow I will be crossing the River Fal by the King Harry Ferry, but either side there will be more big hills. I will attempt to get at least to Portloe, because on Tuesday night I'm booked into a B&B in Portwrinkle, which is quite a way along the coast. And there are lots of harbours to visit, as well as meeting neighbours Graham and Lynn in Fowey, where they're currently staying on holiday.

1 comment:

  1. Don't know what your not humming or whistling is called, Bob, but I know exactly what you mean! My father used to do it a lot, especially when he was driving. I think it helped him to concentrate. Probably the nearest word to describe it would be "sibilate" - according to the Free Online Dictionary, means to utter or pronounce with a hissing sound. "Sibilant" (adj) - hissing, sounding with a hiss. "Sibilant" (noun) sibilant speech sound or letter. Also "sibilance" (noun). I'm not sure that describes exactly what you're doing, but can't think of anything better!

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