Where camping is fun for disabled and able-bodied together

"Great news today mate" said Tim this morning over breakfast. "Flat riding all the way up to Bristol, apart from a few hills between here and Exeter". Good news given the pounding our legs took yesterday and I was actually looking forward to getting some fast miles done on the flatter ground. We rolled out of camp at 10 and as usual agreed to take it steady until warmed up. Once again this planned was wrecked in the first 100 metres when we hit a hill that had me and Ben out of our seats. Needless to say, Tim stayed sat down as he did most of yesterday although he had the decency not to ride one handed whilst chatting to a journalist on the mobile with the other as he had yesterday whilst me and Ben slogged up the hill in front of him!

We were rewarded for the early climbing by a glorious decent towards Exeter where we flew down through a wooded valley on a winding road that kept us at a steady 30mph without pedalling. It must have been over 3 miles long but felt like longer and my body was stiff from being in a tuck by the time we crossed the river at the bottom.

Tim navigated us through Exter without a hitch although the idea of stopping to use the public loos was soon binned when the local population of druggies emerged. One woman had the nerve to comment on our appearance so I guess no-one had told her that ripped multicoloured fish nets and a crooked mohecan are so last year! Things looked up on the outskirts of town when Tims food radar kicked in and we screeched to a halt opposite a pie shop for light refreshments.

The road flattened out a little as we rode out of Devon and in to Somerset. We still had hills but they were more rolling and even the climbs were pleasant (ish). We passed through Cullompton and arrived in Wellington for our appointment with the local newspaper at 1.30 (dead on time!). After the obligatory photos we scoffed more pasties and cakes sitting on the wall of the churchyard with the hot sun in our faces. Whilst the cloudy days have been a blessing for cycling its still nice to catch some sun when we are stopped.

Time was ticking on and it was looking like a late finish if we didn't crack on. Fortunately the road really flattened out and we spent a couple of hours spinning along at 18 to 20 mph. The only slight detour was Tim's excellent route through Taunton which kept us out of the busy traffic by making use of a towpath bike track.

At 65 miles we met Mark again and his GPS told us we still had 22 miles to go to camp. All (allegedly) flat riding but still far enough away for us not to be able to relax. When we hit the second big hill, Ben suggested that we use the map with the contours marked on it to plan tomorrows route. I decided to keep my mouth shut (as I had been willing to leave them to the route planning and drink tea instead) and concentrate on getting to the top without being sick.

We finally rolled in to camp at 6pm after completing 88 miles from Dartmoor to just south of Bristol in 5 hours 42 minutes of riding time. Sarah and Julie (Ben and Tim's wives respectively) were there waiting with Mark our support driver. It was great to see different faces again and we all appreciated Sarah's cooking skills in preparing a lovely meal on a camp stove hidden from the wind by the support van!

Tomorrow we pass west of Bristol, cross the severn on the old bridge then wind our way up the Wye valley to hereford. More hills I'm sure but once again another change of scenery. Vix is joining us tomorrow evening so maybe it will be my turn to sit around being waited on eh Ben!!!

Craig