JOGLE Day 9 – Crediton to Newquay

I woke up at 4am as per usual today so crept out of the dorm I was sharing with 5 others and had an early breakfast. I then headed off into the woods behind the Youth Hostel to do a geocache that I knew was nearby. I was feeling quite fresh and relaxed so decided to head off for a short run up onto Dartmoor as the sun rose. It was lovely up there on my own, even if the run was very slow thanks to it being straight up and straight back down again. I also stopped for a few photos along the way. It was nice to be doing something other than cycling though and nice to be on my own for a while too.

Once back at the hostel which was in an old railway building, we all sat down for a fried breakfast before getting ready to head off on our bikes once again. We first had to drive back to Crediton though and to the same car park that we had stopped in last night. The road from Okehampton to Crediton was quite hilly so a few of the crew weren’t really looking forward to it. I did some quick repairs to my bike as the bottom bracket was loose, we had the obligatory pre-ride photo and then we were off, back towards Okehampton for our first stop.

The sun was shining, we were in Devon, the roads were good and we soon had our first stop in Okehampton. I requested a cream tea for the next stop seeing as we were in Devon so once we left the car park and set off getting ever closer to Cornwall and our final destination of Lands End, the support crew went off in search of Scones and Cream! It was now a lovely day as we continued on our way along some undulating roads south of the A30. Inevitably though we had to join the A30 for a few short stretches and it was horrible. I didn’t mind it too much, but I guess being at the front of the train of riders feels a little less scary than at the back of them as trucks, cars and caravans hurtle past at 70 mph. We tried to stay together as much as possible for the sake of safety, but as most of the stretch was uphill that had us plodding along trying to keep to the pace of the slower riders.

We stopped in a layby as planned at a place called Tregadillert – The map said there was a picnic spot here, but all we could find was a layby full of gravel, but it was quiet, off the main road and a suitable place for lunch. The support crew had sourced Scones, Jam and Cream so we got our Cream Tea as well, even if we were now in Cornwall, not Devon.

Over lunch it was decided to take a bit of a detour off the A30 and up onto and across Bodmin Moor instead. It would add a few miles to the ride and some climbing but it looked much nicer. It certainly suited me as I love being out in the hills and quiet country lanes. We still had a few bits of A30 to contend with though, so by the time we turned off and onto the quieter roads I think everyone was glad of it, even if it they were suffering a little now and it did mean more miles and more climbing.

The ride past Colliford Lake and up onto Bodmin was indeed stunning as we weaved our way across the moor and then down into valleys along little country lanes with high sided hedges. We followed the signposts rather than any map and soon came off the moor exactly where planned just East of Bodmin. We then rode around the top of Bodmin and stopped for an afternoon water top up with the support teams at Lanivet.

After the pit stop we headed off along a little road that cut off the corner of the main A30 and emerged at the top of the hill where we once again crossed the A30. Somehow, Ian and I managed to lose the others here. We stopped and waited for them at the top of the hill. Once we had all re-grouped we headed off just ahead of them and then waited for them after negotiating a couple of large roundabouts. They didn’t turn up so we waited some more. Still they didn’t show so we went back to look for them but couldn’t see them. We thought that maybe they had re-joined the A30 by mistake and were now riding along it. We therefore pressed on at a decent pace along the minor road as planned hoping to see them as it crossed the A30. There was no sign of them so with Ian at the front doing most of the work (well, he is a professional cyclist) the pair of us cycled fast towards Newquay and our stop for the night.

It turns out that Mike’s tyre had exploded and they were fixing that while we were waiting for them and we somehow didn’t see them when we went back. Needless to say by the time they arrived in Newquay and our accommodation for the night, Ian and I were showered, dressed and all settled in having had a really good ride for the last 15 miles or so into Newquay. It was the fastest bit of the ride so far for us and nice to actually be putting in some effort. If anything though going at this speed was actually easier than the plodding along we had been doing for the rest of the ride.

Once everyone was ready we headed off into Newquay for dinner, but once again got split up here too. Some went for fish and chips on the beach, Anna, Morgan and I headed to Pizza Express with Brad, Eloise, Kev and Ian and had a lovely dinner here first on the terrace overlooking Tolcarne and Lusty Glaze Beaches and then inside looking out once it got a little chilly.

The hostel in Newquay was better than we were expecting even if we were in a 12 bed dorm so after dinner in town we all headed off to bed ready for the final day tomorrow,

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Tags: JOGLE