Day 2 – Lanivet to Tiverton

Beginning a tough day’s cycling through Cornwall and Devon with the toughest and hilliest parkrun in the country, wasn’t the wisest choice in retrospect but I did it anyway. And if any more proof were needed that it was meant to be, on the occasion of my 100th parkrun, I managed to finish in 100th place.

 

The first 36 miles of riding was as hard as anything I encountered on day one, probably not helped by the running. I crossed the border into Devon over Horsebridge and the River Tamar and I’ve never been so glad to reach the spot where I’d arranged to meet Sue for lunch and discover that the ‘tea room’ marked on Google Maps was not only in an idyllic setting, but was a National Trust tea room. Lydford Gorge was bathed in the afternoon Devon sunlight and after waving Sue off towards home, I rode on towards Tiverton, never far from the next hill though they were kinder on the legs than the Cornish variety.

 

The Granite Way cycle path provided some rare sections of flat until it all went a bit gravelly (and bouldery in places) and the bike had to pushed while I worked out where on earth I was. When I finally rejoined the real Granite Way, I flew all the way to Oakhampton, again on the flat with the wind at my back.

The remaining 30 miles passed without incident and a Tesco Superstore provided an evening meal en route to the B&B.

Tomorrow should see a few more rest stops with a timely start, less miles (and definitely fewer hills) and a warm welcome awaiting from an old friends in Bristol.