Day 13 - Eastertown to Exeter - 70 miles
Let me start by saying we did not enjoy cycling in this part of the country, hence the lack of photos. It was just so busy, and on our way to Exeter it proved impossible to avoid the A38. The A38 was not nice to cycle on, partly because of the amount of money spent on signs reminding you how dangerous it actually is!
We started from the campsite, exciting about how close we were now. "Only 200 miles" is not something you would normally say. Then we set off down the country lanes and were immediately delayed. Not by a puncture, but because we had to wait for some cows. Then, as if the day wasn't surreal enough, it suddenly started to rain, and rain heavily. The roads began to flood and we took cover under a tree while it passed. Stopping at Sainsburys to continue our doughnut diet, we decided that we had to endure another 15 miles of the A38 before we could escape onto quieter roads.
In our efforts to avoid the A38 however, we realised that our map was useless, and didn't have nearly enough detail for the country lanes that we needed. So, in a moment of genius, we decided to buy a map. Looking back, it's worrying how excited we were about this map...
Many hours later, we finally found the B road that would take us the final 25 miles to Exeter. By this point the wind was behind us and the sun was out, so our spirits had picked up again. We easily found our way through Exeter, which is a great city to cycle in, with cycle paths that are actually useable. Our luxury accommodation (relative to the now breaking tent) was Exeter Youth Hostel, where we had both a room and most of the hostel to ourselves until a coachload of German singers turned up...as I said, surreal.
Who we support
For JOGLE 2010, we raised money for:
In Memory of Charles Landells
1933-2009
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