Has the road changed me?

Well, looking at the nifty little map that Tom Nicholas devised to plot my journey it seems that I'm over half way now in terms of mileage, although perhaps not in terms of elevation.  http://tweetedtrips.com/map/408/sarah-bowen-aroundthecoast/?loggedout=hjtw6w8d4ptydpf
So it seems like an appropriate time to let you in on a few little secrets... This journey has changed me. And the first secret is I LOVE BEING ON THE OPEN ROAD! There, I've said it now and I feel much better for getting that off my chest.

But that's not the only change. To explain the next one I need to introduce you to one of my hosts from the south coast. Now I don't usually talk about my hosts but in this case I have Charles' permission. His wife, however, shall remain nameless because I sense she would prefer it that way. Now Charles is a very affable man and, like all my other hosts, he and his wife went out of their way to make me feel welcome. This included the offer of pre-dinner drinks. I explained to Charles that I don't drink, not because I have anything against drinking but simply because I've never found a drink
I like - apart from the very occasional Snowball but that is truly very occasional because advocat goes off so it isn't worth buying a bottle. Well, this news greatly perturbed poor Charles who was not to be defeated and asked if I'd ever tried Pimms. No, I hadn't but clearly I was about to! And guess what? It was delicious and I just about downed it in one. After that Charles, wise man that he is, kept me topped up with fruit juice :-) A bottle of Pimms was promptly added to my birthday present list. Then matters got worse when I reached Holy Island and discovered Lindisfarne mead and cream liqueur - sheer nectar!  The trouble with all this is that my dear hubby, who has enjoyed the uninterrupted services of a chauffeur home from dinner parties and other social events for the last 30 years or more, is not going to enjoy taking it in turns now!

Another change is that I've taken up singing. Well, not necessarily out loud because I don't want to
frighten the wildlife, but certainly in my head and I think it's about time I taught you a couple of my favourite pedalling songs that have been helping me up the hills. Now you need to get into the rhythm of this one...
Left - left - left right left
I left my job
For thirty bob
M'boss and me
Could never agree
So I left
D'you think I was
.. Right?

Now this little ditty can be repeated endlessly until you get to the top of the hill no matter how high or long it is.
Another favourite, and forgive me those of you who don't have children and so may not know the tune to this one, but if you search for "the wheels on the bus" on YouTube you should get a fairly cheerful rendition of the original. My version goes as follows:
The pedals on the bike go round and round
Round and round
Round and round
The pedals on the bike go round and round
All day long

The gears on the bike go clunk clunk clunk
Clunk clunk clunk ...

The rider on the bike goes puff puff puff...
The brakes on the bike go squeak squeak squeak...

Yes, I can see you've got the hang of it already! It's amazing how fertile the human brain is and how many extra verses you can make up. Do let me know of any interesting ones you may come up with, I think I'm going to need to make this song very long indeed to get me round Wales.

I'm sure there will be a few more changes before 1st Oct when I finally cycle back in to Looe to catch my train home, but that's enough for now.  Till next time