Four of us made an appearance at the station car park, on this bright sunny day but with a cold ENE wind blowing. Riders, Myself, Graham B, Andy & Dave O.
We set off towards Wrangaton into the easterly & turning off to join the lanes down to Avonwick then to Diptford with the steep climb, to be continued up to the Moreleigh road. Passing through the village of Moreleigh & onwards to cross the Kingsbridge road, joining the lanes to Blackawton. With a nice climb into Blackawton itself, passed the pub to swing a right & head for Hillfield & Bugford Cross. Here we turned left on Batchmore Lane which took us up to Hemborough Post & the main Dartmouth road. Taking a left and on to Gardentime garden centre & our first refreshment stop. We decided to sit outside as the cafe is in a greenhouse & was a bit warm, this was a mistake as it was blowing a hooley through the outside seating, but we persevered. A good job Dave Newman wasn't with us, as he would have had a good moan.
On the road again & up to the Sportsman pub to take a sharp left for Higher Tideford. After a couple of miles, Andy came alongside me & said there is no sign of Graham, yes!!! He had got himself lost again. My phone rang, Graham asking where we were. He had turned left instead of right coming out the garden centre, although I had informed everyone we were going up to the pub. He finally re-joined us about 20 mins later, plus two more phone calls to stop him disappearing into the bright blue yonder.
Forward again to skirt Cornworthy and follow the nice lanes to Tuckenhay & the Maltsters Arms Pub to grab a bench table by the river. The wind again was blowing a hooley up the river, but we managed to get a table behind a high sided van, which give us some protection, & to enjoy the wild life on the water. It was Beers & Ciders all round thanks to Graham, so we forgave him for the hold up.
Dragging ourselves away from the beers, it was on to Bow Bridge, then taking the lovely lane down to Harbertonford. From here it was the tried & tested route back to Avonwick & onwards to South Brent & then back to Ivybridge. Saying our goodbyes after 35 miles of up & down riding on a beautiful day, pity about the wind, but we managed to stay out of it most of the time.
Trevor
We set off towards Wrangaton into the easterly & turning off to join the lanes down to Avonwick then to Diptford with the steep climb, to be continued up to the Moreleigh road. Passing through the village of Moreleigh & onwards to cross the Kingsbridge road, joining the lanes to Blackawton. With a nice climb into Blackawton itself, passed the pub to swing a right & head for Hillfield & Bugford Cross. Here we turned left on Batchmore Lane which took us up to Hemborough Post & the main Dartmouth road. Taking a left and on to Gardentime garden centre & our first refreshment stop. We decided to sit outside as the cafe is in a greenhouse & was a bit warm, this was a mistake as it was blowing a hooley through the outside seating, but we persevered. A good job Dave Newman wasn't with us, as he would have had a good moan.
On the road again & up to the Sportsman pub to take a sharp left for Higher Tideford. After a couple of miles, Andy came alongside me & said there is no sign of Graham, yes!!! He had got himself lost again. My phone rang, Graham asking where we were. He had turned left instead of right coming out the garden centre, although I had informed everyone we were going up to the pub. He finally re-joined us about 20 mins later, plus two more phone calls to stop him disappearing into the bright blue yonder.
Forward again to skirt Cornworthy and follow the nice lanes to Tuckenhay & the Maltsters Arms Pub to grab a bench table by the river. The wind again was blowing a hooley up the river, but we managed to get a table behind a high sided van, which give us some protection, & to enjoy the wild life on the water. It was Beers & Ciders all round thanks to Graham, so we forgave him for the hold up.
Dragging ourselves away from the beers, it was on to Bow Bridge, then taking the lovely lane down to Harbertonford. From here it was the tried & tested route back to Avonwick & onwards to South Brent & then back to Ivybridge. Saying our goodbyes after 35 miles of up & down riding on a beautiful day, pity about the wind, but we managed to stay out of it most of the time.
Trevor
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