Day 2 - Sunday 23rd

Early start, 5.05, repaired punctures, packed and left at 6.20. Headed uphill out of Okehampton up to a service station for a sausage and mash breakfast before starting the main ride in the cool morning and made good time on the A30. Quickly covered the 30 miles into Exeter on the quiet Sunday roads. Took a detour from Exeter to Tiverton to get off the main road and get shelter from the sun under the tree's, again making good time, spurred on to meet the Taunton fire crew. Climbing the last hill on the way to Taunton got a shout from someone who knew my name. Jason from the station had rode out to lead me into Taunton, was good to have a wheel to follow, quickly covering the last 8 miles in. Arrived at the station to find everyone had gone out on a shout but nice all the same to get a drink of tea, a choccy biscuit and shade from the red hot sun.

Thanks to Chris Snoop who has done a great job arranging my accommodation and this welcome stop at the half way point of the day. Setting off again into the heat with another 60 miles to cover in the day but with the support of the Taunton pump for the first 7 or 8 miles which gave me plenty of protection from the busy main road.

Long hot afternoon ahead, covered the miles quickly along the A38 towards Bristol until I hit the longest steepest hill at Redhill which seemed to go on and on with a number of false summits. Had to stop a number of times to clear the sweat from my eyes. Lost track of the A38 in Bristol city center which added time and a few miles extra to my journey. Arrived at Patchway at 7pm, pulled up outside to get ambushed by other family again, this time Craig and Lotte. Happened to be next to an off license so Craig dived in to get a few beers. These were most welcome as I'd ran out of water an hour before. This had made it very difficult to ride past pubs with the people outside, the temptation was there. Mess man made a lovely chicken curry with chocolate cake and ice cream. Washed, showered and bed.

Facts and Figures

Okehampton - Bristol (118.5miles) - 219.56 total
Saddle Time - 08:27:13
Total time - 16:16:10
Average Speed - 14mph
High Temp - 106F (at Bridgewater)


Highs- Support in and out of Taunton
            Having a couple of beers at the end of the day, cheers Craig and Lotte

Lows - Long climb to Redhill into Bristol
            Loosing the A38 in Bristol city center