Day 2: Liskeard to Cullompton

Total: 66.3 miles
Time in saddle: 4 hrs 57 mins
Average: 13.2 mph
Max speed:  44.6 mph
Cumulative total: 141.9 miles
Chafing score: 1/5 (nice) 

Ha! Guess which numpty looked out of his window at the glorious blue sky this morning and thought, 'Great, I won’t bother taking the rain jacket today'?

This was the feared Day 2 over Dartmoor. We decided a steady, disciplined pace, reserving our efforts for the uphills and enjoying the downs, was the best strategy. John, Nick, Philip and I set off from Liskeard at just after 8am. The views towards Plymouth, the deep valleys hidden in mists but the summits glowing in the sun, were wonderful. While I was enjoying the Cornish sun, my 76-year old mother (sorry, mum), was, at the same time, preparing for her Driver Awareness course after being caught by a speed camera. I hope she was rehabilitated. Cyclists like me need protection from people like that.

We were back on the manic A390 again, but it became much more scenic as we approached Callington and Gunnislake. The descent from Gunnislake was a white-knuckle ride, especially as there is a sharp right hand turn at the bottom that takes you over the lovely old bridge across the Tamar and into Devon. We all took turns to pose by the Devon sign having collected our first county.

First county done

A couple of colossal hills took us to Tavistock and the morning tea stop. Bryan appeared in the van with what appeared to be a serious problem with his rear wheel and the four of us went with him to Tavistock Cycles to get it fixed. This entailed accidentally entering a one-way street the wrong way and cycling 100m to a chorus of “It’s a one-way street” from the eye-rolling locals. After the fifth one I blurted out, “It’s alright. We’re only going one way.” That’s London behaviour. I’m sorry Tavistock. Full marks to the shopkeeper who refused to accept payment when he heard we were cycling for charities.

Outside Tavistock Cycles: a shop run by a man with a good heart

And then it was up onto the Moor. 

Philip (left) and John head up onto the Moor

The warm sunshine soon turned to a pea-souper and the cold grey roads headed up and up, occasionally down, but more often up. We had a big descent into Postbridge, one of about five 40-plus mph hills during the ride, and had lunch in the village hall.

L to R: John, me (in radioactive top), Nick

Click to enlarge

And then the mist turned to rain and we got drenched for the rest of the day, taking extra care on the slippery roads when skirting round the wildlife. John insisted on stopping on the Moor in the rain to get a photo of Highland cattle. For some reason he said, ‘You’ll thank me for this later’. Eh?

 

The descent from the moor to Moretonhampstead was super steep on winding roads, as taxing mentally as physically, but I had the presence of mind to say ‘Hello’ to the shop in the town where, 8 years ago, my wife bought a hoe. We then hit a series of horrendous hills to Exeter in atrocious conditions. One of the hills was about a mile and half long and a 17% gradient. So hilly was it that at one stage our average speed for the day was only 10.9 mph.

We really pushed on after Exeter and the last 45 minutes or so was completed at over 20 mph in the teeming rain, all of us thinking of the hot shower that awaited us at the Padbrook Park Hotel in Cullompton. Philip who is cycling with John, Nick and me, is 61 years of age. He has a background racing mountain bikes. His strength is awesome.

We were the first of a fitful set of drowned rats to arrive. The bikes are stored in a large dry room and we spent a loving 20 minutes, still shivering in our wet gear, cleaning them and restoring them to perfect order. 

The Padbrook Park Hotel is a good choice by the organisers. It is a very plush golf club. Staying at a golf club helps cyclists feel that we are not the worst dressed people in Britain. Room-mate Colin and I have decked our room out with wet lycra and have the heaters on full blast and the window wide open. We are trying to offset out carbon savings from travelling by bike. 

We expected the later arrivals to turn up thoroughly miserable but everyone arrived beaming. This day was a huge milestone on the trip. The mileage was low but the terrain certainly wasn’t. We have done a lot of heading eastwards. Tomorrow we turn left and head north. We will cross the Severn Bridge to Chepstow during a 91-mile day: Cornwall this morning; Wales tomorrow. That makes us feel like we are starting to get somewhere.