Today we were broken by the hills....
We thought the climbs in South Devon and Cornwall were pretty challenging as you may have read from our previous posts, but the reality was that they didn't even vaguely compare to the Exmoor coastal road we took today.
We woke at Epcris house B and B where we had been kindly put up for the night by Rob (one of the Ilfracombe RNLI crew) and his wife Nicky. We were looked after like kings and given an enormous breakfast before we set off at 8.30am. We had been warned about the infamous 'Porlock Hill', so to some extent had prepared ourselves for the worst.
Rad's prawn and spinach sag curry at the Ilfracombe tandoori the night before was having serious repercussions, not just rendering our bathroom entirely out of bounds before we left, but also making 'draughting' (positioning yourself directly behind another cyclist to improve aerodynamics) behind Rad during the day's cycling out of the question...
Outside Epcris House B&B with Rob
We were however blessed with good weather. The sun shone and we were soon making our way out of Ilfracombe. The first five miles were relatively flat, and we found ourselves being lured into a false sense of security about the ride ahead, which the locals in Ilfracombe had painted as something of a horror story.
Leaving Ilfracombe
Rad sporting his 'Headcam' - a great look!
The start of the hills....
What followed, I have difficulty putting into words. All I can say though is, imagine running up the stairs of the tallest building you know, briefly admiring the view at the top only to walk down again. This is then repeated continuously for 6 hours until one is forced to take a rest every 10 steps through tears of laughter or despair (quite often both!). Once you've managed this, you're informed that you completed half of the required distance! It's fair to say, the hill climbs were truly monumental, and on three occasions we were beaten by their severity, having to get off and push our fully laden bikes (c. 40kg) up these hills...
The only thing that stopped us from throwing a complete tantrum and sitting on the side of the road refusing to go on, was seeing views of Britain which we never thought existed. Views so stunning and landscapes so untouched that we only thought they existed in the National Parks of New Zealand. From the stunning coastline to views over Heather covered moors, this was one of the most beautiful parts of the British coastline we have seen so far on the trip, and we both vowed that we would return (albeit perhaps next time in a car!) Unfortunately the photos from the Blackbery don't do them justice but here's a few to give you the idea...
Coastal Road- about 20km in....
Coastal Road about 30km in....
Coastal Road about 40km in...
Just before our decent down the notorious 'Porlock Hill'
More hills.....
The hills continued through the early afternoon but eventually started to flatten out a little and we began making good progress again. Just west of Bridgewater, we pulled off the main road to head toward Clavelshay where we were due to stay for the night. Flat Somerset lanes soon turned to hills and again we found ourselves gasping our way up extremely steep country lanes. Rad's directions, which until this point had been virtually flawless, directed us off the main road and up a mud track into dense woodland. Rad was adamant that the map must be right, so we set off on foot pushing our bikes through deep mud, around fallen trees and up a steep incline. It was only when we heard a swarm of bees overhead that we both rapidly retreated to the road, and set about cycling around this 'obstacle' eventually arriving at our host's lovely cottage.
Rad's dubious directions....
Nick and Rachel (who Rad had contacted through Couch Surfer) were incredible hosts, and gave us a delicious dinner (with many of the ingredients grown in their own garden) topped off with home made sloe gin, and an extremely comfortable night's sleep, in preparation for the long ride the next day...
