Go West....!

Today was our first cycle out to the West of Exeter, which we soon learned is known as the hillier side of town! (There seems to be a recurring theme in this blog....!)

Feeling very tired after a busy week I was a bit apprehensive about facing a ride today, but I knew I would probably be ok once I got out there and as the Coast to Coast event is looming ever nearer, I also knew I needed to get in as much cycling as I possibly can.

We set off with Kirby and then met up with Mark down on the quayside. Mark is a colleague of Anthoney's who has heard us raving on about the CTC so much that he's decided to join us and see for himself what it's all about. (Mark - I can only apologise that you joined us this week - it really isn't normally so uphill all at once. Please come again!)

The four of us met up with the others in Ide and then the ride immediately began with a hill. A hill which went up and up and then up some more! Mark and Ant were off ahead of me and I was struggling to find any rhythm or momentum and gradually ground to a halt, despite Kirby being there to egg me on. Determined not to give up so early on, I was straight back on the pedals again and found renewed energy to carry me up to the top and to keep going.

This was just the beginning of the upness. We went through lovely little lanes but they were all upwards and never seemed to stop. I don't know that I can say much else about this section of the ride without just mentioning that it kept going up! I did need a few stops to catch my breath, but I was pleased I cycled it all and didn't end up pushing the bike, as no doubt I would have done if I'd tried to tackle this just a couple of weeks before.

Finally we joined the road and crossed over the river Teign to follow the valley into Dunsford. This was a great stretch of road and it was a relief not to be going up all the time. Obviously, this was too good to be true and there was another hill up to the coffee stop but this time I knew there would be cake at the top!

The coffee stop was truly lovely. We sat out in the garden which was a gorgeous little suntrap, with wonderful views and of course, there was delicious cake! I opted for a sticky toffee cake and a pot of tea - just what I needed! We discussed our route back with Kirby and decided we would cycle on with the group a bit further until Chagford and then turn off back towards Tedburn and take the old A30 route home. I'm starting to enjoy the coffee stops for the chit chat as well as the cakes now! We're meeting more people and recognising people from previous weeks, so it's nice to catch up - in fact, we were all told off (again!) for stopping too long, so we were gently encouraged to get back on the bikes again for the next stint.

We set off down the road for a bit (yes, I said DOWN!) - but that wasn't to be for long. We'd missed the turning we needed and went back to take our route up another hill. Oh yay, lucky us! This lane was quite overgrown and had grass growing in the middle. I tried to stick to the tracks on either side of this, but this meant coming a little too close for comfort to nettles and brambles. This section was the one I struggled with the most. I always find it hard to get going again after a break and despite trying to grit my teeth and get on with it, I got a bit stuck in a rut (literally!) and had to get off my bike. I tried to get going again, but once more struggled and didn't have the luxury in such a narrow space of being able to cycle across the road before attempting to go up it! Just a bit further up though I found a smoother bit of track and managed to get going again. Fortunately this hill didn't go on for as long as the ones this morning and we were back out onto a main road again...although, the main road started going up again too.

Another big hill climb, another little stop for a rest, but then back on the bike again and no getting off and pushing. We reached the top and were rewarded with a lovely stretch of flat road with glorious views out across fields drenched in sunshine. This is the kind of cycling I enjoy! At Cheriton Bishop we said our goodbyes to Kirby and the gang who were heading on for more adventures, whilst we were turning back towards home. We stopped for lunch at a cafe and sat outside to enjoy the sunshine. This must have been the most I've eaten on a ride and I'm sure I felt much better for it - although I think the black and white cat who briefly joined us for a while was disappointed to discover there were no leftovers!

From the cafe we cycled into Tedburn, past Pathfinder Village and back to Exeter via the old A30. This was a very pleasant route - not much traffic and most importantly, not many hills! Hoorah! We were back in no time and said our goodbyes to Mark as we retraced our steps back through Ide and home again.

I haven't worked out the final mileage yet and I know we didn't go anywhere near as far as last week, but we certainly did a lot of uphill training, which I hope will stand us in good stead for our Coast to Coast challenge (only 3 weeks to go....eeek!)

My muscles are feeling surprisingly ok, but my legs are feeling rather battered after mishandling my bike on a couple of occasions. My left calf had a run in with my pedals just after lunch and then when we'd stopped to let the Double Locks ferry come through the bridge over the canal I thought I'd safely put my bike up against a post, but it then fell on my knee, leaving a lovely bruise on my other leg! So, although I seem to be doing ok whilst I'm sitting on my bike, I need to learn to be a bit more careful when I get off! Ah well I might at least get some sympathy at work tomorrow!

PS - I almost forgot! We should be getting a garage!! This is very exciting as we'll be able to store our bikes somewhere sensible and store more bike paraphenalia. Hoorah!! Wiggle here we come...