Dawlish, Devon to Holsworthy, Devon
56.16 miles
The alarm went at 6.30am and 3 snoozes later, it became clear that I simply had to get up! Safe to say, my legs did not want to move, my body ached and the 3 ½ mile climb to begin the day did nothing to bring me to life! The rain set in after about 30 minutes and I felt immediately like it was just another day in the challenge that is Cycle England!
It’s a funny feeling when you are cycling up hill in the rain and you are passed by cars travelling on their way down the hill, with their drivers and passengers laughing at your exploits! This happened on numerous occasions and those incidents, coupled with the looks of pity that some people chose to show on their face made me think more than once: ‘what the hell am I doing here?’
Without doubt, Dartmoor was the hardest part of the challenge so far and I think the greatest shame is that I genuinely love the place – well, at all other times I loved the place and in the future I’m sure I will love it again, however, today, I didn’t. The roads were immense, the climbs unbelievable and the descents (as well as the rain) put pay to two break pads! I only got them a week ago!
I’d like to say something witty about today, something cutting maybe, something amusing and pun-filled! However, I think that would take away from the efforts that I put in simply to get through it. What I’d like to do is to simply say ‘phew’ – It’s done and I’m moving on. To Cornwall in fact!
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