www.lifecycler.co.uk

Dear Blog followers, and general passers by.

I'm having a relaunch of my blog under it's own URL of http://www.lifecycler.co.uk/ . This won't just be cycling related, but will have posts on whatever tickles my fancy, from photography to fly fishing.

For those of you that are currently following my coast to coast blog, I have imported all the posts and comments from that over to Lifecycler and would like to invite you to follow this blog instead.

Regards

Stu

NCN 2 Totnes to Torcross

Some pictures of todays blast through the South Hams

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jalicat/sets/72157622243649888/

Sharphams Estate

Only a few miles down NCN route 2 but the views of the Dart from Sharphams Estate are outstanding.

My Totnes "local milled this, freshly produced that" breakfast should keep me going until Slapton.

Ground Hog Day

Ahh the 6.15 am from Exmouth....

What magical mystery tour will it take me on today?

Well with any luck Totnes station followed by a days jaunt around the South Hams via the National Cycle Network route 2.

If google earth is anything to go by it looks like a stunning route.

Just hoping this weather front will shift a bit sharpish and give me some sunshine.

A weather window?

According to the Met Offices long range forecast....

"Most parts are expected to become mainly dry, bright and warm around the middle of next week"

But BBQ summer comes to mind!

Flickr Pics

I've uploaded some pictures from my C2C escapades.

Click Here

My Route on Bikehike

Click the link to view the route I took.

http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=18454

Severe Weather Warning

"A band of heavy rain will move east later this morning and through the afternoon, giving 15 to 20 mm quite widely across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and up to 30 mm locally.


The public are advised to take extra care and refer to the Highways Agency for further advice regarding traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads."

Looks like I made the right decision, this morning I would have been cycling down the right hand side of that Met Office weather warning zone! I can't find yesterdays figures for the area, but I assume they were similar to today.

I'm aching bad today.

Coast To Coast.... done and dusted!!

Well what a day, my earlier posts hinted of dark clouds rolling in and thunder and lightning forecast. Little did I know that after my lazy lunch all hell was going to break loose.


About 5 miles from Okehampton high winds and heavy down pours started to come in from the west. Within 5 miles I was soaked through. My breathable jacket was earning it,s keep but the rain was hitting me and running down my neck finding any way it could to soak me.

The lady at the granite way cycle hire centre looked at me in disbelief as I stopped for a drink, I was drowned and she sheepishly informed me that the forecast for Wednesday was even worse!

I decided to get down off the high ground quickly and head for Peter Tavy as my brother had recommended a camp site there.

Hoping the rain would be less intense at lower altitude (where did i come up with that homemade science), I raced off down the rest of the granite way until i popped out on the main Okehampton to Tavistock road.

I should have consulted my C2C guide book for the approved rural route, but this was already looking like paper machee so instead I joined the busy main road and spent the next 10 miles being sprayed by trucks and cars as they skimmed past me.

I eventually got to the camp site but the field looked boggy and swamped from the days torrential rain.

I was starting to feel the cold and only pedalling was keeping me warm, knowing from experience I can do 100 miles in a day I quickly hatched another idea.

So at 4.30 still soaked and no sign of the rain stopping I initiated my master plan!

Cycle hell for leather to Plymouth train station to get the last train home, dry out my kit, wait for a weather window and head down to the South Hams for a more relaxing cycle.

I headed off in a general Plymouth direction fighting with the traffic through Tavistock and eventually got back on the sustrans route at Yelverton.

The sun poked it,s head through the clouds a few times as I reached the Plym Valley trail and this final descent down off the moor was a real gem.

I was starting to fade badly as I hit the edge of Plymouth, it had been a long ride hauling loads of wet gear into a raging head wind and every bit of me ached, but I had warmed up!

I got to the train station at 8.00 and with waits and one change at Exeter our trusty train service got me home 4 hours later!

I was on the road for 12 hours today and awake for 20.5, at least 7 of it in torrential rain, nonetheless it was a great ride that I highly recommend, the scenery was just stunning, I just don't recommend packing it into one day, it deserves time to explore. I'll  be back to give it another attempt in the spring.

Today also proved to be a great test for touring in extreme conditions with a heavy load, the bike and it's setup worked flawlessly and it only took a few hours for me to gain confidence in the bikes handling.

Time for a nice long kip..

I'll put some photos up tomorrow.

Sheepwash

A great mornings cycling and I,m way ahead of where I thought I,d be.
Apart from a nasty head wind the weather has behaived itself but dark clouds are rolling in.
Having finished the Tarka Trail i,m now in the country lanes heading towards Okehampton. I,ve just found a great pub in the village of Sheepwash and I,m treating myself to some well earned nosh.
I stopped and chatted to a guy a few miles back in the middle of know where who was on day 2 of a charity LEJOG. He had half the luggage i,m hauling and an altzeimers collection box strapped to his rack.
Made my C2C seem rather inferior!

All aboard....

What a gorgeous scene, dawn on the Exe from the relative comfort of my FGW carriage.

Arriving 45 minutes early to ensure my bike got on the train, I decided to treat myself to a pre dawn circuit of Exmouth.

What a site to behold, post bank holiday detritus, squeeling seagulls and over flowing bins. Beautiful!

It looks like thunder and lightning is on the cards for later.... Eeeekkk

Next stop Barnstaple...

Cat Suicide Attempt

My cat has threatened to throw himself in front of my bike if nice treats and tuna chunks aren't forthcoming before my departure!

NO CATS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS BLOG!

Weight loss Trangia mod

In a mission to cut down the weight of my touring kit some drastic action was required!

Rather than go without cooking kit I decided to use the burner from my Trangia and adapt an Ikea cutlery pot to create a new base. The lot packs together nicely and is far lighter than the full Trangia rig.




This is the ideal size for cooking up a brew or a can of beans and it works great. The small trangia pot sits on top of the cut down Ikea pot.

You can just make out the flame in this shot;

Test pack 1

A self supporting ride at the cool end of summer does require a fare bit of luggage, but I feel a bit over loaded.

Just trying to work out what can be ditched, maybe i,ll leave the cooking gear behind and have pub grub. Shouldn,t be to far from a pub or cafe, but what about a morning brew? Decisions decisions....

Devon C2C Flickr pics

A few nice Devon C2C shots by Niquinho on this Flickr set especially like this one. I just need to imagine it with grey clouds and rain!!!

Route re think...!

Assuming I survived the Devon C2C my plan was then to head on down into the South Hams in a Yealmpton, Modbury, Kingsbridge direction.

Scouring the trusty Bikehike site I spotted their OSMCycle overlay button, wazat do then, sprung to mind!

A click revealed a map showing all the Sustrans routes. I spotted  route 2 that heads east from Plymouth to Ivybridge and the on to Dartington, Totnes and due south to Slapton; before finishing up in Dartmouth (and a cooked breakfast at Al Fresco's) if it still exists!

So that is now the revised plan, yes a bit convoluted but it looks like a great route, no doubt following lay lines through Totnes.

Now how do I attach dowsing rods to my bike!!

Worst Fate Western

Fearing a jobsworth train conductor (is conductor a bus only term or cross transport applicable?), I thought I'd check the First Great Western web site to see what their policy on bicycles was.

This is what they had to say on their FAQ's page.......

Can I take my bicycle on your trains and can I reserve a space?


It is possible to take your cycle on our trains, however there are some restrictions to services arriving and departing from London Paddington. Please contact Customer Services on 08457 000125, option 4, with you travel plans and they will be happy to advice you of any restrictions. You can also book a space for your bicycle at any manned station. This must be done at least 2 hours before the train will leave its origin station.

I popped into Exmouth station this morning to pick up a time table for the Tarka Line. In passing I thought I'd double check with the cheery ticket lady regarding booking my bike on a train next week. 
 
She informed me, "We don't take bookings for bikes on this line, it's first come first serve with a maximum of two bikes per train". I of course referred her to FGW's FAQ's page, she referred me to her booking system screen with no tick box for booking a bicycle. 
 
Mmmm, Arse \ Elbow... Piss Up \ Brewery comes to mind! 
 
My plan now is to get the 6.15 am train to Barnstaple, but rather than get on at Lympstone, my nearest station, I will cycle to Exmouth and get there 30 minutes before departure in a vain hope that there will not be two cyclists waiting at the station to scupper my holiday plans.
 
It amazes me in our modern green thinking society that trying to get on a train with a bike could be such a nightmare. It seems the only guaranteed way to get your bike on a train track is to shut down the operating company remove the trains and turn it into a cycle path. It looks like Dr Beeching and Sustrans are far more cycle friendly than First Great Western.
 
And the government wonder why the roads are jammed and we don't regularly use public transport.... I rest my case!

Othe C2Cer's write ups.

Just reading articles about other peoples Coast to Coast antics:

BBC Devon

The Guardian

Looks like First Great Western can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to letting bikes on trains.... that could put a dampner on things!! Don't really fancy cycling to Barnstaple to start the C2C.

Elevation Consternation !

Just created an elevation graph using the wonderful http://www.bikehike.co.uk/ . I can see the climb up onto the west of Dartmoor is a killer, better pack some leg straps and deep heat!

But check out the free wheel into Plymouth......

Weather forecast isn't great!

Devon Coast To Coast

I'm shortly off on a trans Devon jaunt following the Devon Coast to Coast Sustrans route. I then plan to head off down into the South Hams, this will depend on the weather, my legs and my bike holding out!

This will be my first bike tour in 20 years and I'll be cycling on my trusty Specialized Tricross Sport 08. Probably not the most ideal touring bike, but I commute 80+ miles a week on it and it's all I've got!!!

The trip will start with a train journey from Exmouth to Barnstaple, assuming I can take my bike on board!

I'll be camping most nights but maybe I'll treat myself to a mid trip B&B.

I'll be blogging via my Nokia E71, so sign up and find out how I get on.

Stu