Day 2 Launceston to Bridgwater. Saturday 25th June 2011

86 miles

6hrs 30 in the saddle

13.5mph average speed

A topnotch cooked breakfast to start the day! Bruce asked the receptionist if there was a bike shop handy. It turns out there were 3 within 100 yards! It seems a lot of cyclist pass through the 'Capital of Cornwall.'

Whilst in Launceston Cycles a very kind local donated £10 to our cause. While Bruce and Grum were in the shop Andris and I took a brisk morning stroll around the lovely walled village and saw the castle. Before we set off Bruce realised he had put his shorts on inside out with the padded part on the outside! A classic Bruce moment. To make things worse he had already slapped on the chamoix cream to the inside so that was now almost useless!

We were off to Okehampton on the dual carriageway. Whilst on this road a car pulled into the layby in front of us and two figures clapped and cheered us through. It turns out it was Andris's Godmother and her husband who just happened to be on holiday in Cornwall and passed us on their way home!

Myself and Bruce were half a mile ahead and took the junction for Okehampton. Unfortunately for Nick, Andris and Fraz they missed the turn off as Grum, who was leading the way, failed to notice the huge 20ft signs for Okehampton! They stopped and had to walk their bikes 200 yards back up the hard shoulder - much to the amusement of Bruce and myself who watched their escapade from the flyover.

Once off the dual carriageway the words "well that was worth it!" were uttered for the first time as we climbed and descended for mile after mile. Bruce was dressed in red today and attacked the hills like the preverbial matador!

We had our picnic lunch in Crediton and Grum had a trip to the Bike Shed as his front disk brake had been sticking all day. It was fixed for free and some local knowledge was thrown in for good measure to avoid a very big hill to Tiverton. At first we were unconvinced as climbed and climbed on some questionable roads in the hottest part of the day but once again "that was worth it" as we flew through picturesque country hamlets of thatched cottages, beautiful gardens, crossing small brooks and even the villagers were out playing cricket. How more English can you get? I have to say I really enjoyed this leg and Andris proudly claimed he was enjoying his cycling mainly due to the fact he "just loves being outside." A claim he would later come to regret.

Near Taunton we stopped at a camp site to refill our water bottles and have a chat with the proprietor. We had the idea to drop down to the canal and we flew along to rejoin the A38. A nice wee, flat shortcut we really appreciated.

Grum then expertly navigated us through Taunton on a Saturday evening where there were several stag and hen parties out for the night. Grum was carrying enough equipment to navigate us through the Amazon and this probably didn't help the fact he was cycling a bike that resembled the weight of a tank! Having said that we were all very grateful for him taking on the role of navigator through the town then along the country lanes to our accommodation at Carrington just outside of Bridgwater.

The Friendly Spirit Inn was a very nice country setting with excellent twin bedrooms which resembled a small cottage. We enjoyed a really good dinner and a pint of Somerset cider in the evening sun. 

It was a very hot day and we were expecting the same for the next few days. Bruce, Grum, Andris and myself were all suffering very badly from hayfever today. After failing to make our accommodation on the 1st day we were now back on track without a problem.

Today's banana count: 15