Day Twelve – Glastonbury to MoretonHampstead

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and ready to put the previous day behind me. It was a brand new day and I was focussed on making it to my destination before dark.

When researching the trip I came across a tip to help nullify chafing. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to using them but I’m afraid it did. I used pantyliners. I stuck pantyliners to my thighs and I’m not ashamed, not even a little bit. If anything I’m grateful for the free waxing that I received when removing them. I just hope the B&B owner doesn’t check the bin tomorrow or he’ll be somewhat confused!

Every day of this trip has been unique in its own right and today was no different. That’s the beauty of cycling, you never know what is round the corner. After yesterday all I wanted was flat roads and that is exactly what I got…until the last ten miles.

Today’s ride was a 70 miler taking me from Glastonbury through Taunton and Exeter to Moretonhampstead. The first 60 miles were a real treat and I felt the strongest I had felt since I started. My knee was the best it has been since day two and as a result I felt on top of the world. I was determined to get to my base in good time after what happened yesterday so I kept my breaks to a minimum and pounded away at the pedals.

My first 20 miles to Taunton were done before I knew it and I was chuffed at the quick progress made. The sun was shining, my singing voice was angelic as always and I had a maltesers bunny in my pocket that I had forgotten about, bliss!

I stopped briefly in Taunton to charge my iPhone for mapping purposes and have a quick sandwich. After that I was back on the road and it wasn’t long before I was at Exeter. It is such a great feeling having flat roads to swallow up the miles, also the exertion is minimal compared to the dastardly hills.

I sent a couple of texts at Exeter to boast about how good my progress was, how I should be on the Tour De France etc so it was probably deserved that I received a nasty surprise a few miles further south. Moretonhampstead is about five miles in to Dartmoor national park, it should be renamed Dartmoor mountain range.

It is absolutely beautiful and after the luck I got for the most part of today I’m going to remain positive and refrain from whinging. The scenery was breathtaking. At one point a family of deer scampered across the road as I approached and I could hear the steady, calming trickle of water flowing down the rock faces.

The incline was exhausting after 60 miles in the legs and I was pleased to reach my B&B. It’s a lovely place and after a hot bath I felt ready for some more pub grub! I went for the healthy option as I thought I better set the right example for the younger readers of the blog and show that salad is cool too. I definitely didn’t have KFC for lunch, definitely not. That would be awful, especially if it was a large meal with an extra piece of chicken.

Tomorrow I’m riding 60 miles through Dartmoor Mountain Range to Golant. Barry (B&B owner) has warned me that the next two days are the most brutal of the whole trip. As you can imagine, hearing that was hardly music to my ears so i’m going to get up at the crack of dawn and get going as early as possible. Bazza has kindly offered to make me a packed lunch so my breaks will be as short as possible. I’ve had a brief five mile taste of Dartmoor and have over 20 miles of it to go until I’m back on the A roads to Golant. Those 5 miles took me over an hour as the hills were ridiculous so I’m anticipating a long day. Nearly there!