I woke to a beautiful sunny Bristol City this morning. I was so pleased. It made such a change from looking out and seeing a grey sky and water cascading down the window. I ate breakfast and talked to George about his plans for the B&B – although I’m not sure if he was just thinking aloud rather than having any real solid plans. I packed, put on the stereo and began the day with the stereophonics. Blinding. I hit the road and the rain hit me...
I am still completely amazed that there can be so much rain in one month. I
have been on the road for 18 days now and a quick calculation tells you that it’s rained – heavily – for 13 of those days. I’m soaked, my clothes are soaked, my boots are soaked (and never fully dry out even if I have a day without rain), hell everything in the world is soaked! I guess the most annoying thing to come from all the rain is that actually I can’t show anyone some of the wonderful places I’ve been, because there’s nothing to see but rain!
I rode round to Bridgwater to get another stamp on my card. I had a chance to have a brief chat with some of the guys/girls there and actually, they were pretty nice. I had a coffee and a look around. If nothing else it gave me time to relax for 5mins before getting on my bike for the long haul round to Bude, along the old A39. In the corner of the showroom (to the left of, and behind a set of stairs leading to the clothin
g dept) is a beautiful 1916 – model ‘J’, just sat there. I know that it might not be much to look at, but in actual fact when you think about the age, the styling and its history, it is a beautiful thing. I asked one of the guys about it and he proudly said, ‘It’s all original’. Then turned and went to sell a Ducati! I’m not a snob; I have ridden plenty of bikes of various makes, styles and sizes, but surely... I don’t know it just felt wrong. How can you do your best to sell one thing when you’re faced with another? Anyway, they were a nice bunch, I enjoyed my coffee and I left.
Sometimes I wonder why I said I wanted to avoid the motorways (wherever possible) and stick to the old A-roads. Two things about that, firstly, what a laugh I’ve had today tearing through the countryside (well tearing as best you can on a Harley Davidson). I rode from Bridgwater -to- Barnstable throug
h some of the most fantastic countryside I seen and the most amazing colours... and then I realised that it had actually stopped raining. There were greens, and reds, yellows and browns, just building the patchwork, so often quoted. I rode through Watchet, there was no real need, but as this where the kiddies used to go with Nan & Dan, I wanted to capture a tiny bit of the excitement they felt. I rode through the little town and along toward the harbour, before turning and coming back past the boat museum. It was a wonderful ride.
If you have never driven in this part of the country, all I can tell you is that you need to take a very small car, with a very large engine :0)
The roads are amazing. I rounded a corner as I left the moors behind me and then the road just ever so slowly began to drop away, it was a wonderful – nervous feeling, as you watch the ground far, far below you and realise that you have to navigate all the way down.
At Lynton there is a road which has a gradient of 25% as you head down the cliff face into the town, with emergency run-off areas at every corner – just in case you get it really wrong... As you make your way back up the other side the road inclines to 16% which makes the road far longer and far tighter as you navigate around the bends. And yes, it’s a valley basin which means that as you head down into the valley (and back up the other side) it rains making the road greasy and very slippery on two wheels. It was hairy, my heart rate did increase, but then if it didn’t have those moments, it wouldn’t be much of an adventure would it.
The final part of the journey took me out through Bideford and then down to Bude, and most appropriately along the Atlantic Highway. It’s a lovely piece of road and it provides some great scenery through which to ride as the sun glistens on the surface of the water. It was essentially a great way to end the day. The next stop was looming and I knew I needed a shower and a comfortable bed.
I am still completely amazed that there can be so much rain in one month. I
have been on the road for 18 days now and a quick calculation tells you that it’s rained – heavily – for 13 of those days. I’m soaked, my clothes are soaked, my boots are soaked (and never fully dry out even if I have a day without rain), hell everything in the world is soaked! I guess the most annoying thing to come from all the rain is that actually I can’t show anyone some of the wonderful places I’ve been, because there’s nothing to see but rain!I rode round to Bridgwater to get another stamp on my card. I had a chance to have a brief chat with some of the guys/girls there and actually, they were pretty nice. I had a coffee and a look around. If nothing else it gave me time to relax for 5mins before getting on my bike for the long haul round to Bude, along the old A39. In the corner of the showroom (to the left of, and behind a set of stairs leading to the clothin
g dept) is a beautiful 1916 – model ‘J’, just sat there. I know that it might not be much to look at, but in actual fact when you think about the age, the styling and its history, it is a beautiful thing. I asked one of the guys about it and he proudly said, ‘It’s all original’. Then turned and went to sell a Ducati! I’m not a snob; I have ridden plenty of bikes of various makes, styles and sizes, but surely... I don’t know it just felt wrong. How can you do your best to sell one thing when you’re faced with another? Anyway, they were a nice bunch, I enjoyed my coffee and I left.Sometimes I wonder why I said I wanted to avoid the motorways (wherever possible) and stick to the old A-roads. Two things about that, firstly, what a laugh I’ve had today tearing through the countryside (well tearing as best you can on a Harley Davidson). I rode from Bridgwater -to- Barnstable throug
h some of the most fantastic countryside I seen and the most amazing colours... and then I realised that it had actually stopped raining. There were greens, and reds, yellows and browns, just building the patchwork, so often quoted. I rode through Watchet, there was no real need, but as this where the kiddies used to go with Nan & Dan, I wanted to capture a tiny bit of the excitement they felt. I rode through the little town and along toward the harbour, before turning and coming back past the boat museum. It was a wonderful ride.If you have never driven in this part of the country, all I can tell you is that you need to take a very small car, with a very large engine :0)
The roads are amazing. I rounded a corner as I left the moors behind me and then the road just ever so slowly began to drop away, it was a wonderful – nervous feeling, as you watch the ground far, far below you and realise that you have to navigate all the way down.
At Lynton there is a road which has a gradient of 25% as you head down the cliff face into the town, with emergency run-off areas at every corner – just in case you get it really wrong... As you make your way back up the other side the road inclines to 16% which makes the road far longer and far tighter as you navigate around the bends. And yes, it’s a valley basin which means that as you head down into the valley (and back up the other side) it rains making the road greasy and very slippery on two wheels. It was hairy, my heart rate did increase, but then if it didn’t have those moments, it wouldn’t be much of an adventure would it.
The final part of the journey took me out through Bideford and then down to Bude, and most appropriately along the Atlantic Highway. It’s a lovely piece of road and it provides some great scenery through which to ride as the sun glistens on the surface of the water. It was essentially a great way to end the day. The next stop was looming and I knew I needed a shower and a comfortable bed.
So here I sit with a hundred thoughts and a thousand memories. As I left Bideford today and made my way onto the Atlantic Highw
ay the mile-o-meter finally hit 5,000mls. This one journey has taken me some 2,660mls thus far and I have just one more coast to go.
ay the mile-o-meter finally hit 5,000mls. This one journey has taken me some 2,660mls thus far and I have just one more coast to go.
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