21 days in July – the 2005 Douglas Bader Foundation E2E ride re-blogged

Ok, so I said the hills yesterday were tough, today we went over Dartmoor to Exeter to meet the local press and radio at the Exeter Disablement Centre. Well, needless to say we were late by about 2 hours and we didn’t leave there until about 4pm. In the afternoon we rode over the Blackdown Hills to Taunton arriving at the Hotel at 8:40 – 7h45m in the saddle, this must have been the toughest day.

Got lots of good pictures today. Here’s two of them opposite, both riders cresting Dartmoor after the 3 mile climb out of Tavistock. Dave on his “Stealth” Handcycle. And Steve, an above knee amputee from Canada. He’s originally from England and has come back to do half the E2E – as much as time permits.

Devon done. Tomorrow, Bristol via the Cheddar Gorge.

And the rest… Carol.

Jay.

Big Jim and Adrian.

Jim Bush and Albert.

Mark and Kiera.

And Richard.

Still smiling.

Once over Dartmoor, no mean feat, we had Exeter to contend with – a large city to navigate through with a large convoy of cyclists – just getting in and out of Exeter took a long time. Visiting limb centres along the route and publicising the ride to other amputees  through local news was all part of the plan, and although timing tended to be a problem and things could get complicated we always got there!

When we left the limb centre we still had about 40 miles to go and despite it being the middle of summer it got quite dark going over the Blackdown Hills. Like most rides it tended to split into fast and slow groups, but with the relentless hills I think it split into more, smaller groups. I think Nigel and I are waiting for one of them here.

Getting in so late, after 9pm once the bikes where put away and luggage and rooms sorted out,  raised the A-road B-road debate. More of that later though, we still had time to get a drink and they were still cooking at the Cornerhouse in Taunton, but not a lot of smiling going on in this pic.

And where as most of us struggle with the up hill sections, for an upper limb amputee like Rob, lots of descending on rough, sometimes loose surfaces, really takes it out of your arm and shoulders. No idea what time we got to bed, or when I found time to upload the day’s progress!

The Route: click on the map to enlarge, alternatively an interactive map with option to download gpx track available here.