clairedavieswriter

Today was all about getting up and over Exmoor. That meant climbing from 0 to 500m above sea level over a distance of 30k, before descending again. The first 10k gave me a fairly good sense of what the next few hours had in store. In a particularly cruel topographical twist, having reached 300m at the 18k mark, I was then sent careening downhill again before what Sustrans described sparingly as ‘a significant climb’.

I was about to embark on it – a dead-straight, hedge-lined single-track road seemingly pointing at the sky – when a Brian Blessed lookalike appeared in an elderly Ford Fiesta. As he pulled level, he called out cheerfully from beneath a huge beard: “You’ve got an ‘aarrd taarrsk ahead o’ you moy luurrve.”

That task was made even harder by the shocking lack of coffee outlets on Exmoor. Someone could do a roaring trade in soya latte macchiatos up there.

Truth be told, I was rather poorly fuelled for crossing the moor. Distracted by the need to treat my bike chain to some much needed lube after yesterday’s punishment (thank you BikeShed Barnstaple), I completely omitted to look after my own needs. I had rather pinned my hopes on a nice café at 18k, but none appeared, and as it was already midday I took shelter from a chilly wind in the only place I could find, and ate the jam sandwich I’d brought with me as a snack.

Given the demands of the route, I was soon dipping further into my emergency rations:

But all my efforts were rewarded. Devon really put on a show to make up for yesterday.

To my left, Somerset didn’t look bad either:

And I’ve seldom come across a more scenic spot to recharge my phone:

But once again, it was good to know I’d nearly reached my destination…

Where I found the fuel I was looking for:

Before crossing into my third county, and my destination for the night: thank you Miranda and Will for putting me up.

And relax… day off the bike tomorrow – looking forward to it!