Day 13

Day 13 – Woolavington to Crockernwell, the amended route (by Alex)

It was apparent after our soggy foray into the Mendips that taking Stuart over any more savage gradients was just going to increase the probability of him being unable to complete the ride. Unfortunately, if you are looking for counties to ride through that offer little in the way of challenging hills, Devon and Cornwall (especially Cornwall) probably rank very near the bottom – and this is considering the entire UK. Pretty much everyone who has ridden Lands End to John O'Groats (or John O'Groats to Lands End, for that matter) would agree that the most vicious riding is in the section we now have to ride over.

So in the somewhat subdued atmosphere last night – with the rubbish weather and hard riding, yesterday was probably the lowest point of the whole ride¹ – we decided that we would have to undergo some major course corrections and see how things progressed.

The course originally had us roughly parallelling the M5 – passing through Bridgwater, Cullompton and Crediton – using largely minor roads on our way to our current campsite on the north east edge of Dartmoor. Unfortunately, having ridden these roads earlier in the year, I knew that they were probably going to be too savage for our current fitness².

Depart day 13 - when will this rain end?

Our decision to follow the route into Bridgwater was only partly decided by the first major mechanical of the tour – after a good five years use, my non-drive side crank³ was completely shot, precipitating a visit to the cycle shop in Bridgwater. For the princely sum of 130 English pounds⁴ I got a new crank set, which was affixed to my bike on the streets of Bridgwater by our fantastic chief mechanic (Dad).

Chief mechanic to the rescue!

After this point, though, Stuart and I deviated from the route. For the first time since Scotland, we followed major a-roads for a significant distance.

To start, we picked up the A38, heading through Taunton – this turned out to be a happy coincidence, since it allowed us for the first time on route to cycle past a Majestic Wine Warehouse [Stuart - see below]. We continued following the A38, leading into the A361, into Tiverton⁵. We then joined the A396 going south into Bickleigh, where we met the support crew for a well deserved lunch stop. To this point, the roads had been mercifully flat⁶, even if they were somewhat busier than we had been getting used to. We were actually managing to average more than 10 mph!

The sun is out again - so spirits are clearly on the rise

From this point, though, Devon reasserted itself with a vengeance. The A3072 to Crediton announced itself with a 15% climb to the top of the hills, and from that point on the route could not be described as anything other than updulating. Speeds dropped, and the wisdom of diverting to the a-roads became apparent.

Our progress wasn't exactly helped by a pretty steady headwind – a 20mph wind from the west is not the most accommodating for a westbound rider – but the sunshine and warmer temperatures certainly helped to raise our spirits.

We arrived to the the campsite to be met by Mum, Dad, John and Viv - John being a colleague of Dad in his days as a chocolate scientist. The beer that awaited us was almost as appreciated as the company. Every person who joins us on route has played an integral part, whether bolstering spirits, or helping us with the riding (and thereby bolstering spirits too!).

Today, Devon, tomorrow . . . the world!

The day got better when two of my friends from work, Ruth and Jamie Savage, unexpectedly dropped in to join us for a beer and a sausage. It's a taster of what is to come tomorrow, when we ride - albeit along the A30 - to Belowda, destination of the penultimate nights camping and a large gathering of friends.

Bring on Cornwall!

1 Given our very low spirits, we are eternally grateful to Edmund for coming to ride with us. He gave us a much needed lift in the morale.

2 And they pale into insignificance when compared to the next two days, taking in Dartmoor and the brutally hard northern coast of Cornwall.

3 That's the bit that holds the pedal on the side that doesn't have the chain . . .

4 I'm saving the Scottish pounds. They look pretty, and it's fun to see the reaction of shopkeepers when I hand them over.

5 A very pretty town, familiar to me from the wedding over the Easter weekend. I was grateful not to be riding over a 25% hill this time!

6 Well, flat compared to the alternative. Between a busy 6% gradient and a quiet 14% gradient, there's no contest as to which we would chose at the moment.

[Additional from Stuart

Many thanks to the team at Majestic Taunton where I had the chance to stop for a break and help Mum and Dad choose the booze that we need for the finish (including the Champagne). After three miserable days it was a big boost to see some familiar faces (and a very smiley one at that). The sun has finally come out and I'm feeling pretty good again. I know I will make the finish now!

Stocking up at Majestic Taunton

Cheers]