Friday 23 April 2010 Milton Abbot to Plymouth

Friday 23 April 2010 Milton Abbot to Plymouth 40km

Great night at the Woodovis Caravan Park

Today we find the route 27 which we know goes to Plymouth.  It's actually one route I would come back and do from start to finish as we rode a portion of it on the north coast and it was great.  We travelled some quiet back roads to Tavistock and saw the route 27 signs so no more navigation, just follow the signs.

As we left Tavistock things got hillier, how unusual :)  The roads got steeper and steeper but today we felt strong (Sandy did have a little walk).  Not long after Tavistock we met two ladies on their horses who we chatted to as the horses were a bit afraid of the bikes so we let them come up and have a sniff.  We got chatting (as you do in this country) and they said "You've got some hills up ahead"  I sighed and thought 'we've just ridden some beauties'  Anyway we left them and held the brakes down a very steep descent and at the bottom the sign pointed to the left and through a gate.

Whoa!!!  Where's the track go?!?!

Once through the gate we lost the nice bitumen but not long after that we see this......

That set of switch backs is at the bottom of the bloody (sorry for the expletive Mums) steep gully and it looked ferocious.   We immediately said "They're kidding arent they!!".  Once at the bottom and saw that they were indeed NOT kidding we decided we needed a chat, and ponder the situation as the thought of trying to push 45kg worth of touring bikes up that did not impress.  There was a man fishing in the river not far away and he approached us and told us of a path that follows the river that will get us to the main road and then back onto route 27.  "It's a bit rocky" he said "Rocky is OK, switch backs not so much" I replied. So off we headed.

Once of the best bike paths I've ridden on :)  Keeping your balance and your feet dry was tricky.

The track improved after we climbed out of the river bed.  We rode for a way on a nice forest path that flowed the river until we came to a car park.  We read some information signs and worked out that the local path should met with with the 27 via a track called Drakes Trail.  So off we went.

It was not long after that we met the biggest climb of the day to get back up to the rail line which is been converted to bike trail.  One section had us ferrying the bikes up one at a time as it was just too steep to push on our own.  After that we were back on normal route 27 and riding along beautiful paths and laneways all the way into Plymouth.  In all we walked the bikes for just over an hour today!!!

Work was currently underway to build a cycle bridge over that gully thus removing the need to descend into and then climb out of the river.  We must come back in about 6 months and do this again.

Once we were on the rail trail proper it was all easy until we got to Dartmoor National Park (or at least a corner of it).  The track then turned back into a mountain bikers dream and a touring cyclists nightmare but it was all fun.  After that rough part we then, again, got back on the rail trail for the descent into Plymouth.  huge fun just coasting for about 5km, all downhill.

Once in Plymouth I was pretty impressed....there are lots of boats in Plymouth ;)

It was so nice we had to have a beer to celebrate.

And checked out the sea baths.  There were two mad buggers swimming.  The water is so clear it is tempting to get in.................NOT!!!!!!!!!!!

We are now in our hostel and planning tomorrows shopping trip for maps of France and then booking the ferry to get to Roscoff.  Excited yet sad to be leaving England yet we still dont know our path through France and which countries we'd like to see beyond that, it's great having a plan :)