Day 83: Life's a beach

Day 83

0 miles

Today I faced the steepest climb of my entire trip. It was probably something like a 60-70% gradient. It was also a sand dune!

The day started with Bryant and me getting breakfast at the Pelican bar (I'll feel like a bit of the furniture by the time I leave here tomorrow!), and then once he set off I hit the beach!

I'd estimate the sand dune was about 60-70metres high. Maybe even more. Climbing up it was clearly a very popular activity, as lots of people were making their way up. And quite a few were sitting down around half way to catch their breathe! It was steep, and even for someone who has cycled 4,200miles it was still quite a challenge. But good fun, and with some fantastic views from the top.

That's a lot of sand!

The view over the otherside - where I'm heading tomorrow

Still wasn't all the way to the top at this point!

After running down (much quicker than on the way up), I went for a walk along the beach. Met one of the surfers who I was chatting to yesterday in the bar, and might well see them again later.

After that, I spent the rest of the day relaxing either at the campsite or on the beach. I did actually do a second ascent of the sand dune in the afternoon. By then it was really quite windy, and it felt like I was literally being sandblasted when I was stood on the top.

I also got a huge ice-cream today! It took so long to eat it was melting all over my hands by the time I finished.

But a lovely relaxing day to take in what I have achieved so far. The coast is lovely, and definitely feels like finishing on the west coast is the right way to do things. Now I have a week of leisurely riding and also probably a day or two more of relaxing on various beaches. Just need to make sure I dont start putting on weight again now that my exercise levels are decreasing!