Bideford to Oakhampton by Bike

We were up and out pretty early this morning and left Bideford via the Tarka Trail which follows the old railway out of town.

It was a very chilled 10km or so of flat riding through autumnal woodland and banked railway cuttings.

At Petrockstow we followed country roads through various villages and hamlets which took us up and down ‘rolling’ terrain. Which explains how we clocked up over 700m of ascent during the day!

Plenty of mud on the roads again with the source of the problem being clear to see!

I was feeling pretty low on energy by the time we came across our first cafe in the friendly village of Hathersleigh. An old chap showed us where we could lock our bikes, so we left them opposite the market street cafe and got an order in quickly. It was a bustling place filled with a great range of clientele which made for some interesting observations. Old ladies, workmen and builders were all in for lunch, but the best were some farmers who were dressed in moleskin ‘plus fours’ and long socks. (One of which was only about 14 years old).

I felt much better as we cycled away. We were well fed and now within striking distance of Oakhampton, where we were booked in for the night and also hoping to meet Lucy.

With Dartmoor clearly on the horizon, it felt like we were really getting somewhere and out of the old railways the views opened up. The sun almost came out as well!

We met our university friend Lucy, (along with new sidekicks Bodhi and Wren) at the park in Oakhampton and had a good natter together until the light started to fade a bit. She headed home while we checked into our new pad, which is extremely nice!

The final bonus of the day, was when we got a text from our friend Matt to say that he’d pop over for a brew as he was nearby, so we got a second social before sourcing a huge amount of food from the nearby Waitrose and re-fuelling for the night in our luxurious abode.