Devon Coast to Coast Day 4

After a cold and misty start the sun came out and we had a wonderful day's cycling, arriving back at Ilfracombe around 4 pm.

The excellent little cafe on the Tarka Trail at Yarde opened as we arrived at 11 am and provided delicious coffee and cake. The long ride along the Tarka trail was generally into the wind.
This trip has been excellent training for the MacJOGLE although we have not experienced any adverse weather.

Highlights were the weather, Raymont House B&B at Hatherleigh, Yarde cafe and Platters seafood restaurant in Plymouth.

Lowlights were the puncture on day 1 that almost ended the whole venture, the awful state of route 27 between Tavistock and Yelverton and the pubs in Plymouth that didn't seem to have heard of real ale!

We took the correct kit (mostly) although we forgot a cheque book which is necessary in many B&Bs.

Five weeks today we will have started the MacJOGLE!

Peter

Devon Coast to Coast Day 3

We ate far too much last night at a fantastic fish restaurant on The Barbican in Plymouth called Platters. We apparently narrowly missed sitting down next to John Prescott!

Today was a lovely day with sunshine but not too warm. As a result we made good time and are now back in Hatherleigh.

We stopped for coffee at Yelverton where a friendly couple gave us £10 for Macmillan. We decided to avoid the nasty section of the Sustrans route and took the A386 which was a good decision. We reached Tavistock very quickly and decided to continue on the A386 until we could rejoin the Granite way near Bridestowe. The long climb up to 1000 ft over Dartmoor gave us spectacular views.

Looking forward to the final leg back to Ilfracombe tomorrow.

Peter

Devon Coast to Coast Day 2

Once again it started so well. After an excellent breakfast we set off a little late. There was a chilly wind as far as Okehampton where we stopped for coffee.
From Okehampton the ride round Dartmoor on the Granite Way was delightful in warm sunshine. Stopped for lunch by the impressive Brentor church.


When we got to Tavistock the signs for the Sustrans route 27 disappeared and we wasted a lot of time looking for the correct road.
We wished we hadn't! The route took us to a very deep valley where the route (now called Drakes Way) had been diverted along the river then up an incredibly steep rocky scramble which would have been a challenge in walking boots but was almost impossible with fully laden touring bikes.
After this difficult section the route down into Plymouth was a very pleasant 15 mile descent.
After getting lost in Plymouth we finally arrived at our B&B rather late. Tomorrow is a rest day bfore the return leg on Sunday
Peter

Devon Coast to Coast day 1

What a day! It started off well when we left Ilfracombe in the sunshine (keeping an eye open for clouds of volcanic ash!)

After only 6 miles while going down a steep descent into Woolacombe there was a deafening bang from Peter's bike - like a gunshot. The front tyre had had a catastrophic failure leaving the inner tube in shreds and a 4cm long tear in the sidewall. It looked like "game over" but after replacing the inner tube, tucking the torn sidewall into the rim and not over-inflating it seemed to be rideable.

A passing cyclist told us it was 8 miles to the nearest bike shop in Braunton. We managed to limp there but being distracted Peter missed a turning with the result that we had an unexpected 25% hill to negotiate. The bike shop South Fork in Braunton was brilliant and soon had us on our way again.

The rest of the day was lovely with easy cycling along the Tarka Trail and some nasty hills in the last 5 miles before Hatherleigh where we are staying in a fantastic B&B (Raymont House)

Peter

Retirement and broken bikes

Only 6 weeks to go!  We finally got confirmation of the bike booking on the Inverness sleeper but are now worried about the possibility of industrial action.

Peter’s retirement on April 1st has coincided with an improvement in the weather so we have managed to get out and do a number of long training runs. Jane appreciates the fact that she gets taken out to lunch but not the fact that she has to cycle 25 miles to get there!

Lunch at Bourton On the Water

Peter has been practising with bricks in his panniers.  12.5Kg to be precise which should make the 6Kg we are expecting to carry on the actual ride seem easy.

Kit lists are getting finalised in readiness for this weeks Devon Coast to Coast which we start on Thursday. 

The only downside is that Peter’s Dawes Galaxy started making an ominous creaking noise this week.  Further investigation revealed that this was due to a failed bottom bracket bearing which is a bit surprising considering the fact that the bike is only 6 months old and has done 1500 miles.  In addition, one of the gear cables was frayed.  Still – it’s better failing now rather than in the middle of the Scottish Highlands.  Anyway it’s now fixed and both bikes are running smoothly.

 

Training & Planning

Its now only 10 weeks till we start the MacJOGLE.  Thankfully the improved weather has meant that we can get out and do some training at last.  We have managed to do two 50 milers a week for the past 3 weeks.  Over the next few weeks we will fit in some shorter rides in between.

At the end of April we have planned a “reality check” practise ride across Devon.  We are planning to do the Sustrans Devon Coast to Coast route which runs 100 miles from Ilfracombe to Plymouth.  We will do the 200 miles in 4 days with a rest day in Plymouth in the middle.  This will provide a useful extension of our training regime with the added benefit of checking just what we need to take with us on the MacJOGLE.

Many evenings have been spent planning the details of the route and booking accommodation.  The route is finalised and can be found here.  We have made a few changes from the original proposed route in The Lakes and The Midlands.

We have also booked our transport to John O’Groats.  We have managed to book £39 bargain berths on the London to Inverness Sleeper and “a man with a van” otherwise known as Highland Bicycle Transfers is taking us on to JOG where we will arrive in time for lunch and therefore allow us to get to Thurso on the same day. 

The only slight concern is that “the computer is down” at Scotrail and will not let us book our bikes yet.  Hopefully we can confirm the bike booking but if there is a problem we may have to send our bikes ahead by courier.  Fingers crossed!

Peter

Only 3 months to go!

The weather hasn’t been any kinder recently and it has been very difficult to get much training in.

Our route is now finalised and we have booked all our accommodation down as far as Herefordshire.  We had a slight problem with the Mull of Kintyre as it turns out that our arrival there coincides with a large yacht regatta but it is now sorted and we have somewhere to stay.   We are also planning a training ride at the end of April along the length of the Devon Coast to Coast which runs 100 miles from Ilfracombe to Plymouth

We are now going to start the sponsorship campaign so please get your cheque books out and sponsor us.  We are doing the MacJOGLE at the same time as Jon and Rob are doing Lands End to John O Groats and hope to meet along the route  (see http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk/index.php?view=details&id=3%3Arob-a-jons-lejog&option=com_eventlist&Itemid=109)

Several people have asked what MacJOGLE means.  JOGLE is a standard shorthand for John O Groats to Lands End.  Our ride is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support– hence MacJOGLE.