MCTA Charity Cycle Ride John o' Groats to Lands End

Wed 19 Sep 07. A restful night at Beer (and not full of Beer) prepared the team well for the day’s excursions. What a shock, when immediately after leaving the Hostel we were confronted by a 1:8 killer hill to get to the main road! This unfortunately set the scene for the rest of the day!

Onwards and upwards via Sidford to Exeter and after negotiating the ring road and horrendous traffic we were ready for the long push up to Dartmoor. Tim noted that this leg was the most westerly we had done to date, and that we were closing on Lands End faster than any other leg.

If we thought the hill at Beer was bad the hill up to Dunsford was our worst nightmare!! But we all made it and a Pub Lunch awaited in the Royal Oak; a great place to eat if you are in the area but whatever you do make sure you drive there!! A big thanks to the Barman and drinkers who added to the charity pot.

And so to DARTMOOR…..when Plymouth is only 40 miles away and the A38 is beckoning then NEVER go across the top of Dartmoor just because you can!!! It was horrendous…the steep gradients continued with a vengeance and this combined with driving rain and a mega headwind made the going very slow. And so the determined cyclists battled through the elements with a welcoming committee of sheep to greet us after every turn.

Finally the weary riders reached the Prison at Princetown and despite asking numerous times they refused to lock us up for the night and so the journey continued onwards and now nearly downwards to Yelverton.

A final Tea stop at a fish and chip mobile catering wagon gave Marty and Mark a chance to draw breath and get ready for the final push into Plymouth…we also met up with a lovely couple who donated £20 after hearing about us on Pirate FM…Oooh Ahhh fame at last!!!

As so to Plymouth and HMS DRAKE was a welcome sight after a very hard day. A long soak in the bath, some top tucker and a bit of football soon raised the spirits particularly as Man Utd and Arsenal won…oh yes Rangers also managed a lucky 2-1 victory….come on you Gers!

The penultimate day awaits tomorrow and with Cornwall beckoning it will once again be a very hilly experience! Onwards to Perranporth with Lands End almost within touching distance.