Day 2: St Austell to Cheriton Bishop (East of Dartmoor)

Another epic day in the saddle. A hard day again, but much better than yesterday as my easiest gear was working… and boy did I use it a lot. Today was the hilliest day of the whole thing; 7,400ft of climbing in 73 miles according to Strava.

I think that ruthlessly throwing away about a quarter of my luggage last night also helped. I was a bit sad to see nice t-shirts, my hoodie, my second gas canister and various other bits go (I gave my spare big power bank to a lady at a petrol station!), but it did make a noticeable difference when riding. Had to be done.


Post Day 1 blues


I was shattered last night. Hugely dehydrated (according to the age-old test!), and I think I completely eat through my body’s sugar reserves on the ride (you have enough for about 90 minutes of hard exercise onboard… and I was climbing hills and under-eating all day). I hardly moved for a couple of hours last night, I think as a result. 


Getting food late on helped but I was still very worried about today. 


The day didn’t start well as the Travelodge breakfast was terrible but, once I got on the bike, I was ok after a few miles and feeling much better about things. What a difference a cog with a few extra teeth makes!


Fowey river crossing


This was about 7 miles away from the start. Had a lovely coffee and croissant at an Italian deli there. The nice Italian bloke commented on my Wales cycling jersey; he had lived in Cardiff for more than a decade and recently moved to Fowey with his wife. His shop looked lovely with nice Italian passatas and olive oil for sale. Great coffee as well. 


I then got on the river crossing platform (again operated by underwater chains - quite popular around here) and, in exchange for £2.80, I was soon across the river and ready for the main part of the ride. I was the only cyclist on the crossing this time. 


A nice chap and his wife took my picture for me. He was celebrating recovering from heart trouble by going on a 4 mile hilly hike with his wife with a pub lunch at the end. What a guy!


The Fat Frog Cafe


I had decided to make things a bit more leisurely today and it really helped. Had a few random stops at the side of the road - just milling about - and tried to eat and drink more during other stops. There were pockets of rain though, and some patches were very heavy. I was getting deja vu and not in a good way


When I got to a place called Liskeard it started raining again so I got Google Maps out and found… the Fat Frog Cafe. Great place. A latte, two pints of lime and soda (to get some water in) and a Tadpole Breakfast later I was good to go. It also didn’t rain again all day. Thank you mysterious powers of the Fat Frog!


Dartmoor… the easy way


I got to Dartmoor and was a bit apprehensive… ‘very steep’ according to Greenlees (he messaged this just as I got there… just before a big climb!). All was well though, due to a life hack. There is a (I reckon) 10 miles stretch of former railway line that has been tarmacked over by the council… and I had a healthy tailwind; going at pace was effortless. It skirted around the moor and it was beautiful, with several huge viaducts to ride over. I was also pleased that Lady Luck had made an appearance. Tailwinds and smooth tarmac 4 EVA.


Campsite and faux pas du jour


After a hard day I go to the campsite at 6:58pm, with reception supposed to be closing at 7pm. It was shut, with two phone numbers pinned to the door. I phoned both but nothing. I then messaged the bloke on his mobile and still nothing. Still haven’t heard. The toilet block has a code on and I don’t have it… so this will be an interesting night.


However, the major cock up this evening was arrangements for food. I had picked a campsite next to a pub without realising it was shut on Monday. I also hadn’t bargained for there being no shops and no place that would deliver food to the campsite. It’s not that far from Exeter and (somewhere called) Crediton, but is just far enough for places not to want to go five miles to deliver (for the latter). Quite the error. I’m currently eating cola bottles and coconut macaroons for dinner, accompanied by water. Not quite the steak pie and pint of San Miguel I had in mind :)


The Italian deli at Fowey. Great coffee.

The Fowey river crossing 

Taken by the nice bloke on a hike with his wife!

One of my many random stops.

A cool looking forest. 

Lighter and with gears that work!

Amazing Tadpole breakfast.

I wish this was close to my house!

See ya hilly Cornwall. Welcome very flat Devon :/

At the foot of a nasty climb.

From one of the viaducts. I looked down - it was massive (rivalled Conisbrough).

The other side of the same viaduct. Beautiful views of Dartmoor.

Pitched up… but with nothing nice to eat!


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