Bristol to Bodmin

It all started going wrong last Monday. Just three days into my ride. Leaving Dulverton for a 4 mile hill up to Winsford in Exmore I started feeling pain in my right shin and left foot. by the time I arrived at a site near Winsford I could barely walk. I managed to walk down into Winsford and had a nice pub dinner. But walking back in the pitch dark was a bit scary.





Tuesday was wet, foggy and dreary. A day of rain and hills as I made my way over Exmoor. I arrived At Bartleycott Barton? before heading into Barnstable and watching a film in the cinema.






In theory, Wednesday was an easy day. As such I decided to leave late (just before 11 am) and headed along the Tarka trail to Bideford. I decided to add 5 miles to my journey by popping into Westward Ho!. Which was when disaster hit. A puncture which should have been easy to deal with made impossible by a pump which didn't work. And yes, @shellsinclair had advised me to check the pump before I left.






So I had to walk back to Bideford, via a hardware shop in Westward Ho! which had just run out of pumps. But could get me one by next Thursday. I found a cycle hire shop in Bideford which overcharged me and saw me as a pain. I think I interrupted the manager's PS3 playing. But by the time I'd got to the cycle shop the brake had broken too (I have disk brakes which are built into the wheel).

It was 5pm and I headed off to try and get to Highampton before dark (with no front brake and plenty of hills). I managed it by 8.30.






Had I been able to find a station, I would have come home on Thursday morning (I was over 30 miles from the closest one). Giant hills and no front brake were made worse when the back break went too. I managed to get into Bude and a very helpful cycle shop managed to fix both brakes. And at least the pain in my shin/foot had gone.

That afternoon, against the advice of the cycle shop manager, I cycled along the coast from Bude. Probably the steepest hills I've ever been up/down (steeper than 1 in 3). But beautiful views of the coast so certainly worth it.






Friday morning and breaks and gears were playing up. I managed to get to Bodmin by early morning, and, fearing for my bike and missing my family, I decided to head back to London. I bought a new ticket but was told I couldn't reserve a place for my bike. For some reason you need to reserve a bike space 24 hours in advance. Clearly a bonkers rule in a world of real time information systems. As indeed is the fact that you can only book a bicycle reservation at a station or by phone. But, despite a couple of officious staff on the trains, I made it back to London by 5pm.







So I didn't make the final 10 miles to Padstow. But I got to spend the weekend with the family. Which was much more fun.






Would I do it again? Probably not alone/ without support. And I would be careful to choose a flatter route.