Big hills in North Devon

Day Twelve

From Cheddar To Lynton
Distance Travelled: 70 miles
Ave speed: 10.6 mph
Max speed: 36.1 mph
Weather: Hot and sunny
Cycling time: 6 hours 33 mins
Total Distance so far: 808 miles

Another fantastic morning, sunny with blue skys. We left the hostel in good spirits soon after 8.30am and had a good ride down to Bridgewater.

As we were passing through Bridgewater, we had a lucky escape. A screw connecting Shaun’s pannier to the frame worked itself loose, which had to be fixed to avoid any damage. Fortunately we were right outside a Focus DIY store. Although they could’nt help, we were pointed in the direction of the nearest Halfords –400m up the road, where we were served by a very helpful technician, who not only fixed the problem, but gave our bikes a quick look over.

Next onto Minehead – 20 miles of very busy rolling roads, doing our best to enjoy the stunning scenery. But it is difficult on narrow busy roads due to concentration! We decided to treat ourselves to some chips on Minehead seafront for lunch as we new what was coming in the afternoon. Shear pain!

As we got ready to head for Porlock Hill (which is a 1:4 long drag) you could tell both of us went quiet trying to prepare ourselves for the task ahead. But as we reached Porlock Hill we spotted a toll road which goes over the Hill but not 1:4. So we decided to take the toll road! It went up and up and up for 4.2 miles ...ouch! The scenery was again was fantastic looking back across Porlock Weir and the Bristol channel.

We then headed for Lynmouth and Lynton across the rolling countryside of Devon. What goes up must come down and it certainly did down to Lynmouth. Brakes on for most of the way, we could smell the burning rubber of our brakes and that of the cars. When in Lynmouth we then had to decide whether to climb the half a mile up the 25% gradient hill to Lynton or take the scenic route around. ..We took the scenic route which after 65 miles seemed a long way and was very painful! But we have now hit the 800 mile mark.

The youth hostel was at the end of an long uphill drag which as you can imagin we really enjoyed! We ate at The Bridge Inn and both went to bed by 9am exhausted. 2 days to go!