How tickled I was to see such a generous crowd at the start of the ride at Tamar Bridge on this tattyfilarious day! Sun out, birds singing, bluebells in the hedges and luminescent green leaves boldly testing the temperature in this very late Spring.
There was Julie, Jean, George, Bryan, Phil, Grahams Black and Reed, myself and -somewhat later - Andy Easton, who arrived at the bridge at 9.45 am and caught us up at the Hatt roundabout. I swear he's got a tardis.
Apart from the approach to Morwellham, this was a classic route, which the Plymouth CTC has done many times. Having turned left at the Hatt roundabout, we made straight for the T-junction at the end the road and turned right to Amytree, along the busy main road and then right again toward Dupath Well, rejoining the Callington-Tavistock road and climbing left to the Engine House, which general consensus decided was an appropriate stop for elevenses.
Thence to Gunnislake and - wielding my tickling stick - up the steep hill after the River Tamar and our turn right along the wonderful track which I had reckied (blinking spell checker!) earlier this year. Lunch was at Morwellham. George and I were pleasantly entertained by a jolly, rotund gentleman in period costume, while others had less lucky encounters with a similarly attired but less sympathetic, skinny lady who seemed bent on chasing off any non-paid up guests . Talk about Jack Sprat and his wife! She even pursued them into the pub, where the price they had paid for tea - and whatever else they bought - was not sufficient to grant them the luxury of actually sitting down on a chair. This very unfriendly welcome is worth pointing out to the management, if they have any interest in attracting further visits from local punters such as us.
Knowing just how steep the hill out of Morwellham was, I made my own way up the hill with Graham Reed and waiting for the rest to join us near the top. We descended into Tavistock, where we had tea in Morrisons and then made our way to the Drake Trail. Graham Black and I accompanied Bryan back to the Tamar Bridge and I showed them my usual way of reaching the bridge, which involves a short - in my view "safe" - stretch of the A38 with a cycle lane on the left hand side. All of us braved the A386 to Roborough from the Clearbrook junction. Traffic was very heavy - probably because of the very pleasant weather. I have often thought the A386 should be out of bounds for cyclists for the safety of all concerned. That does raise the question of the long-overdue cycle track which commuting cyclists badly need to get to work from Plymouth and Tavistock. If anyone knows of near misses on this road, I'd really like to hear.
There was Julie, Jean, George, Bryan, Phil, Grahams Black and Reed, myself and -somewhat later - Andy Easton, who arrived at the bridge at 9.45 am and caught us up at the Hatt roundabout. I swear he's got a tardis.
Apart from the approach to Morwellham, this was a classic route, which the Plymouth CTC has done many times. Having turned left at the Hatt roundabout, we made straight for the T-junction at the end the road and turned right to Amytree, along the busy main road and then right again toward Dupath Well, rejoining the Callington-Tavistock road and climbing left to the Engine House, which general consensus decided was an appropriate stop for elevenses.
Thence to Gunnislake and - wielding my tickling stick - up the steep hill after the River Tamar and our turn right along the wonderful track which I had reckied (blinking spell checker!) earlier this year. Lunch was at Morwellham. George and I were pleasantly entertained by a jolly, rotund gentleman in period costume, while others had less lucky encounters with a similarly attired but less sympathetic, skinny lady who seemed bent on chasing off any non-paid up guests . Talk about Jack Sprat and his wife! She even pursued them into the pub, where the price they had paid for tea - and whatever else they bought - was not sufficient to grant them the luxury of actually sitting down on a chair. This very unfriendly welcome is worth pointing out to the management, if they have any interest in attracting further visits from local punters such as us.
Knowing just how steep the hill out of Morwellham was, I made my own way up the hill with Graham Reed and waiting for the rest to join us near the top. We descended into Tavistock, where we had tea in Morrisons and then made our way to the Drake Trail. Graham Black and I accompanied Bryan back to the Tamar Bridge and I showed them my usual way of reaching the bridge, which involves a short - in my view "safe" - stretch of the A38 with a cycle lane on the left hand side. All of us braved the A386 to Roborough from the Clearbrook junction. Traffic was very heavy - probably because of the very pleasant weather. I have often thought the A386 should be out of bounds for cyclists for the safety of all concerned. That does raise the question of the long-overdue cycle track which commuting cyclists badly need to get to work from Plymouth and Tavistock. If anyone knows of near misses on this road, I'd really like to hear.
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