New Record - 34 Miles!!

What a difference from last week's ride! We had a glorious day today and I almost enjoyed every minute of it!After last week, I was a bit nervous about doing a long distance again today and thought my poor legs might still not have recovered enough. Instead we had a fantastic day of riding and definitely the highlight of my bike rides so far.

As for our first ride with the CTC we set off to cycle from Cowley to Bickleigh. We met up with Debbie on the way and it was great to see her again. Then we were joined by Michael at Cowley and as it was just the four of us we managed to persuade Kirby to take the flatter route to Bickleigh - hoorah! This was the same route we'd taken last time so everyone was keen to compare our performance!

Luckily we were much stronger this time and it felt like we'd got to Stoke Canon in no time. I remember huffing and puffing up at least one hill last time, but today it felt like no trouble at all. We were soon off down the back lanes which were more familiar this time and then we headed back on to the main road. I remember having serious trouble with the hills last time, so I got in to low gear and prepared for the worst. The second hill was a bit tough and I did have to dig in to get there - but I didn't come to a halt or need a push from Kirby this time! Very soon we were at the coffee stop and for the first time at a coffee stop I actually felt ok! I was relaxed and happy to sit down and have a chat without feeling red in the face and all puffed out.

Some other CTC members met us at the coffee stop, so there was much chatting as we enjoyed our coffee and cakes. Anthoney had met Debbie for the first time, so he got to quiz her about what the London to Paris ride was like. Mostly positive - although she wasn't afraid of telling us the not so good side of the story too! I'm not going to dwell on that though!

Feeling very positive and pleased with myself, I happily set off out of Bickleigh not realising quite what Kirby had in store for us. Kirby had suggested taking a different route back to Exeter as the main road had been very busy heading into Bickleigh. That seemed like a good idea at the time. To be fair he had warned us there was a big hill that we'd probably have to walk up, but I don't think I've ever come across such a big hill - not even in the South Hams last week! I started off quite well, but soon started to struggle and stopped just short of the target Kirby had set si that was rather disappointing, but that will be something to aim for next time! (Did I just say next time?!? - what am I thinking?!) I did start cycling again after a quick break, but soon Anthoney, Debbie and I were all pushing our bikes up the hill as Kirby demonstrated how it should be done! Even walking up, the hill seemed to go on forever and it got even steeper towards the top - how on earth Kirby stayed on his bike I'll never know!

Stopping at the top to drink some more water we admired the view down over the fields and back across to Bickleigh. It was simply gorgeous and it was such a beautiful day, if a little hot for cycling up long hills! It didn't take us long to get back down the hill again and this time instead of my legs aching, it was my arms aching from pulling so hard on the breaks for such a long time! The road was gravelly in the middle so I tried to stick to the edge avoiding being poked by the hedge, which I amazing seemed to do quite successfully, although it was rather scary at the time!

After that the roads were a bit kinder to us, with just a few little hills here and there which I coped with quite well for me, even if I was somewhat slower than the others! After slowly passing some horses we made good progress and after an excellent fast downhill stretch of road I was amazed to discover we were back at Cowley. I had a bit of a struggle to get going from here as we'd stopped at the junction after we'd been speeding down the hill and along a flat stretch of road. I was in my hardest possible gear when I'd stopped and then had to try and get going again up a hill, which I just couldn't manage! Kirby and Debbie had disappeared around the corner and despite trying to move the gears down while I was off the bike I just couldn't manage. Starting to feel tired by now, I just felt frustrated at not being able to get going - but Kirby magically reappeared and came to rescue me, expertly spinning the pedals round and getting the gears down quickly.

Off we set again and took a back route into Exwick. I'd never been on that road before, but I started to recognise where we were and was delighted that we were almost home already - and Anthoney realised where we were when he saw the Village Inn. No surprise that he recognised the pub rather than the road signs as I had!

As we got back to the Quay I was beginning to wind down again and was feeling pleased that I really felt ok, despite being tired on the last section. However, Kirby had other plans for us. As we'd only done 25 miles and we need to be doing 50 next month, he thought we should carry on to Exminster with Debbie, then cut across to the canal in the direction of Turf Locks and cycle back from there. With extra water supplies courtesy of Kirby, I agreed knowing that at least most of the route would be pretty flat.

It was a surprisingly good run (other than the dogs that kept running out in front of me!) and as I was back on the flat I wasn't struggling at all. There were a couple of hills going up into and through Exminster, but they weren't too bad, just as Debbie had promised (I'm more inclined to believe Debbie's opinion more than Kirby's on this matter!) We waved goodbye to Debbie as we went our separate ways and headed off towards the canal path. This again was a fairly easy stretch and we stopped by the canal to take a break and have some snacks in the sunshine before heading home.

On the way back, Kirby spotted that the swing bridge was open and a big boat was coming through. We cycled up fast to try and join the crowds and watch. Sadly by the time I'd caught up and got the camera out the boat had already passed through, but I did photograph the bridge. Kirby suggested we cycled on up to the road to try and get across before everyone else as quite a crowd had built up and no-one could get through the barriers. Unfortunately in my haste to get the camera away again, I dropped my bike on my leg which was rather painful and meant we didn't quite get through the crowds as planned! Getting back across the road and onto the cycle path again was quite tricky as there were loads of people trying to go across the bridge in both directions - it was certainly an experience! The path was then busy all the way back as people were all bunched up, but I was quite happy to pootle along on familiar (and flat!) territory until we got back.

Kirby gave us his verdict on the mileage and declared we'd done 34 miles - our longest ride yet! I didn't even feel like I was particularly hurting anywhere or that I couldn't possibly carry on. That was definitely a real boost after last week! Surprisingly my legs still feel ok and I'm not even suffering from being saddle sore, so we must be making progress!

Perhaps there is a slight chance that our coast to coast ride might be manageable after all...I hope those aren't famous last words....!