9 Royal Marines, 2 Royal Navy and 1 CivPop, all controlled by Royal Marine Mountain Leaders....yet who was sent to watch as safety? The Fire Brigade!! 3 tenders, complete with crews, were sent to offer assistance to our drop down Durdham Down on the A4 in Bristol. No pressure to get it right then! (Before I continue, you'll have to forgive us that our photographer and nurse, Nic, has a confirmed case of chickenpox and so has been taken ill. Therefore, we have no access to her photos of the abseil today. We endeavour to get them soon though.) 4 of us (Scanny, Rob, Sharky and John) climbed through the frames of their bikes, locked them in place and scaled down the 200 feet granite rock face to the bottom. The rest of the team made it down in rather less obtrusive order and we all gathered at the bottom for photographer Gill Shaw (publishing a book on Help For Heroes events) and events company, Riot Events (who made some superb egg/sausage banjos!).
After the fun and games thanks to RMR Bristol (thanks to WO2 Dan Jones and Sgt Ian Rainkine), we were back on the road for a shorter than usual day. Down the A4, fight through Bristol and on to the A38....and on....and on....and on. It was only a 66 mile day to Tiverton but nonetheless was to prove pretty taxing and a taste of things to come with long drawn out hills. It didn't prove uneventful though with the physio, Mark, piling in to the tarmac ahead of a car with two nurses in! While this may seem like a brave stunt by Mark, rumour has it that it was " Big Red" Chris Hall who pushed him in a fit of unquenchable jealousy over who was the stronger.
The photo of Scanny that you can see below is actually a bit of an apology and a thank you rolled in to one. Last night, during a meal in an Indian restaurant, some of the team were a bit boisterous and Scanny had to go and apologise. With the beaming grin that only a mother could love, they gave him £20 for the cause! Thank you!
Tomorrow is back to a more usual distance at 85 miles but is nothing to celebrate just yet as it will also be the day with the biggest overall climbs - some 1900 feet! Will I, in fact, be awake enough to write this tomorrow? Of course! We have a night out in Newquay to look forward to!
p.s. The picture of a deer is from Scanny who found it wandering through our camp this morning!
Best of luck for all the hills tomorrow! Remember for every uphill there is a downhill........well generally :)
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