Start today was Bovey Tracey cricket club car park & we had a total of 8 riders, Dave Newman text to say he was having trouble with his new car -Flat Battery- and hoped to join us later. We were over the limit for gatherings so had to adopt the social distancing rules. The riders were- Myself & wife Sue, Graham B, John O`Rourke, Dave Oatway, Les Prior, Larry, Yolande.
With no sign of Dave N. we set off riding through the park to join the old railway line & cycle path, had a call on my phone Dave had arrived, so leaving the others to wait I set off back to pick up Dave.
Now all together and now totaling 9 riders, we carried on heading for Lustleigh, coming to the end of cycle path to join the short section of road to the top end of Lustleigh. Here we joined the new cycle path to take us up towards Moretonhamstead, at the start of this we met 3 cyclist counting us through, are we going to be reported to Boris for breaking the 6 number rule ? Arriving at Moretonhamstead we skirted this to join the cycle route up to Chagford along some nice country lanes.
Coming into Chagford we were reminded that this was a market town, and had to wait while a herd of cattle was being driven down the main street. Looking around for a suitable cafe, they all looked to small to accommodate our group, so we retired to The Three Crowns pub instead. This had a nice area out the back so we picked our social distance tables to have coffee, well Les had a beer, and enjoyed the sunshine.
Up till now I had led the group into a false sense of security giving them nice flat terrain, now was wake up time. We rejoined the lanes for the long climb up to the reservoirs, mind they were nice lanes, & when we reached the high levels we were rewarded with some great views of the surrounding countryside. The first Reservoir we reached was the "Kennick" & two more followed, The "Tottiford" & the "Trenchford" we stopped for another break at the last one, for some to enjoy their cakes they had purchased at a roadside stall on the way up.
It was now on the homeward leg back down to Bovey Tracey, the last bit a steep downhill section, where Dave N. thought his rims were going to catch fire with all the braking. In Bovey we called in to the cycle cafe where a few of the riders had never been before, to be rewarded with all the cycling memorabilia from way back.
It had been a nice warm & sunny day & although we only covered 28mile, with an extra mile thrown in for me having to ride back to pick up Dave, it seemed longer due to the second section. But I think everyone enjoyed it, and good company.
Trevor
With no sign of Dave N. we set off riding through the park to join the old railway line & cycle path, had a call on my phone Dave had arrived, so leaving the others to wait I set off back to pick up Dave.
Now all together and now totaling 9 riders, we carried on heading for Lustleigh, coming to the end of cycle path to join the short section of road to the top end of Lustleigh. Here we joined the new cycle path to take us up towards Moretonhamstead, at the start of this we met 3 cyclist counting us through, are we going to be reported to Boris for breaking the 6 number rule ? Arriving at Moretonhamstead we skirted this to join the cycle route up to Chagford along some nice country lanes.
Coming into Chagford we were reminded that this was a market town, and had to wait while a herd of cattle was being driven down the main street. Looking around for a suitable cafe, they all looked to small to accommodate our group, so we retired to The Three Crowns pub instead. This had a nice area out the back so we picked our social distance tables to have coffee, well Les had a beer, and enjoyed the sunshine.
Up till now I had led the group into a false sense of security giving them nice flat terrain, now was wake up time. We rejoined the lanes for the long climb up to the reservoirs, mind they were nice lanes, & when we reached the high levels we were rewarded with some great views of the surrounding countryside. The first Reservoir we reached was the "Kennick" & two more followed, The "Tottiford" & the "Trenchford" we stopped for another break at the last one, for some to enjoy their cakes they had purchased at a roadside stall on the way up.
It was now on the homeward leg back down to Bovey Tracey, the last bit a steep downhill section, where Dave N. thought his rims were going to catch fire with all the braking. In Bovey we called in to the cycle cafe where a few of the riders had never been before, to be rewarded with all the cycling memorabilia from way back.
It had been a nice warm & sunny day & although we only covered 28mile, with an extra mile thrown in for me having to ride back to pick up Dave, it seemed longer due to the second section. But I think everyone enjoyed it, and good company.
Trevor
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