Exeter to Street

If you ever catch me sounding like a day on this trip is going to be easy tell me to shut up. There are no easy days - let me just type that again... there are no easy days - but if you start off the day thInking it is going to be easy then your mindset is likely to be all wrong - that's what happened to me today. I'd convinced myself that all the hills were behind me :-)

It started well enough ... breakfast followed by a rgentle un thru Exeter and out on the road towards Honiton. I stopped at a bike shop to buy some 'cycling underwear' (my current pants are rubbing where they are not supposed to rub). The guy looked at me a bit funny and said that cyclists didn't normally wear any underwear under their cycling shorts! Oh well... live and learn. Anyway, I did buy a dayglow yellow cycling jersey, which will make my family much happier. - I think they are worried that I'm not visible enough.

Next stop Honiton, where I should have stopped and bought lunch but I didn't for some reason best known to myself. Then up the A30 briefly (horrible) and off onto back toads up the Otter Valley. Very pretty but hard work with lots of hills. i must admit that i found this section very hard work and demoralising.

Then back onto the A30 again, this time with a long climb involved. Finally stopped at a pub for lunch - well needed. Had the world's biggest baked potato with cheese and beans which didn't exactly set me up for this afternoon's ride though it did replace a few calories!

Can't remember much about the afternoon to be honest but it was generally quite flat and ran thru some very pretty country - oh, I did get lost at one point... but not too badly.

Finally got to the YHA in Street at about 5pm though I had it marked in the wrong place on the map which meant I had one extra hill to climb before getting here.

Interesting chalet-style building - shown here.

Street to Welsh Bicknor (near Monmouth) tomorrow which is a bit further I think:-(inking that it is going to be easy then your mindset is likely to be all wrong - that's what happened to me today. I'd convinced myself that all the hills were behind me :-)

It started well enough ... a gentle breakfast followed by a run thru Exeter and out on the road towards Honiton. I stopped at a bike shop to buy some 'cycling underwear' (my current pants are rubbing where they are not supposed to rub). The guy looked at me a bit funny and said that cyclists didn't normally wear any underwear under their cycling shorts! Oh well... live and learn. Anyway, I did buy a day-glow yellow cycling jersey, which will make my family much happier. - I think they are worried that I'm not visible enough.

Next stop Honiton, where I should have stopped and bought lunch but I didn't for some reason best known to myself. Then up the A30 briefly (horrible) and off onto back toads up the Otter Valley. Very pretty but hard work with lots of hills. i must admit that i found this section very hard work and demoralising.

Then back onto the A30 again, this time with a long climb involved. Finally stopped at a pub for lunch - well needed. Had the world's biggest baked potato with cheese and beans which didn't exactly set me up for this afternoon's ride though it did replace a few calories!

Can't remember much about the afternoon to be honest but it was generally quite flat and ran thru some very pretty country - oh, I did get lost at one point... but not too badly.

Finally got to the YHA in Street at about 5pm though I had it marked in the wrong place on the map which meant I had one extra hill to climb before getting here.

Interesting chalet-style building - shown here - built originally by the Clark family as a rest home for workers at the shoe factory.

Street to Welsh Bicknor (near Monmouth) tomorrow which is a bit further I think:-(