Big Bike Ride - The Result!

17 Aug 2009

Well, we made it! 170 miles cycling from London to Devon. What a glorious ride: out through the Thames Valley, across Salisbury Plain, through beautiful Somerset and just across into Devon. 

3 days: no punctures, no falls, only a small amount of rain, lots of good pubs and afternoon teas and one great big 600 foot climb up the Blackdown Hills to finish.

 One of my co-riders insisted on shouting 'We're going to Devon' to every pedestrian and cyclist we passed. While this sounded quite impressive as we were leaving the environs of London, it was less so as we approached the Somerset/Devon border. 

 It only rained for a couple of hours, although as this was while we were heading into a strong headwind across Salisbury Plain (one army camp after another) this was probably the lowest moment.

Mind you, we weren't too impressed with the driver of the pink Cadillac who nearly forced us off the road near Sunningdale.  

Otherwise what a great way to get to know your own country, it's contours, its history, its smells, its back roads.

My thanks to fellow riders Ian Hunter and Alban Thurston for trusting my route planning and map reading. 

Now thinking about the next ride.

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