Day 10 - Axbridge to Crediton - Into Devon at last!

Ready for the off - Day 10

Day 10 we were four again with Steve King, another friend of Alans. He joined us yesterday and will ride down as far as Wadebridge with us. Today started off quite bright with a forecast of sunshine & showers as we headed off down the A38 towards Tiverton. The first 20 odd miles were flat over the Somerset Levels and a bit uninspiring with overcast skies and a head wind. Our average over those miles was kicking on 15mph but we did slow down a little later on as we hit the Devonshire hills.

After lunch of Burger King & Costa Coffee we got onto some smaller, nicer roads still towards Tiverton & Credition. Unfortunately as it was getting hilly I had a gear malfunction.... my front shifter failed after a dodgy gear change & I was stuck on the hardest 9 of 18 gears. Luckily we were only 5 miles short of Tiverton where I hoped we'd find a bike shop to help me out. We did and after a bit of a play about the gears were fixed, albeit temporarily. They also found I had a slight wobble on the rear wheel so straightened that up for me.

Off we went again, gears working well - we were now in the heart of Devon, the red soil of Devon on the roads, cycling down very small country lanes & through picturesque thatched villages and some very tempting pubs. We didn't stop though because our destination was The Lamb at Sandford near Crediton and we were only 15 miles off!

As we arrived at Sandford my shifter failed again...... looks like it has a weakness now and might continue to fail if the gear changes aren't smooth - could cause some problems over the Devon & Cornwall hills! One good point of this afternoon was that we managed to dodge all the showers that were about. It seemed it chucked it down ahead and to our sides but never down on us! Someone was smiling on us from that point of view. Anyway, the gear changes are tomorrows problem and I will very soon be in the snug with a bevvie!

Stats for the day..... 67 miles, at an average of 14mph, time in the saddle just under 5 hours. Pretty easy day in cycling terms. Tomorrow is another 65 miler but many more hills and looks like it might be a bit wet on the forecast. The last day we have another hilly day but at only 56 miles we aren't too worried! At over 830 miles in the bag, the real hard work is done - time to enjoy now!