So, friend, not in the city any longer, yesterday I cycled out to Two Bridges, with Wendy. A bit of a challenge to break through boundaries of what I believed I could do; a round trip of about forty strenuous miles. I arrived at Wendy’s at the agreed time of 8 o’clock to find her and Ruth searching in the garden for her hearing aids and it began to look as though our adventure was set to come to an end before it had begun. She thought that they had dropped off her tea tray on her journey from the hut where she had slept to the house when she bent down to pick up some apples. Ruth believed they were in the house or the hut, and so it turned out for Wendy discovered them under her pillow. Buoyed with this success we set off, Wendy speeding along the cycle path to Dartington and me peddling along behind and noticing the slight differences in her choice of route to the one I would use. For example she took a footpath through woods rather than use a new section of cycle path. Have you noticed that eco-warriors often seem not to like it when their campaigns bear fruit. Is it the habit of opposition? Soon we were on the lane from Hood Manor that winds up and down and wriggles whenever possible out to Buckfastleigh. Then it was through to Buckfast and in no time we had reached Hembury Woods and the long and steep ascent passing the earthworks of the castle.
Wendy sailed along the flattish stretches – not that there’s many of those – but admitted that these days she gets off and walks up the hills so a pattern developed of me cycling up the hills and then waiting somewhere along the way for her to catch up.
It had been a bright morning, even patches of blue sky, but we could see the low cloud enveloping the higher moors – just where we were going. Up and up past Venford Reservoir and on to Combestone Tor, a switchback down and up, and then down again to the Forester’s Arms at Hexworthy where they kindly gave us coffee in spite of not being ‘open’ at that time. The golds, yellows, reds and browns of Autumn were at their most vibrant as we dropped down further to the West Dart and then a fairly gentle ascent along the exposed moor westwards into the wind to Two Bridges. About four hours including the stop at Hexworthy, exactly as Wendy had anticipated. It’s a ride she knows because her sister and brother-in-law live out there in a fairly isolated cottage which is where we headed for a cup of tea and sitting in front of a log fire and chatting and then, a surprise to me, we were given some lovely home-made soup and bread and more chatting and for me getting to know them before we felt we had better hit the road once more if we were to stand a chance of getting back in the light.
Outside the mist had come down, soaking everything and off we sailed, putting on lights, with the wind now behind us and not only that, but the return journey is obviously mostly downhill, altogether a drop of about 400 metres. Though there are still quite a few demanding climbs to attack, there are many more delicious descents to hurtle down – courage and conditions permitting.
How glorious it is to cycle over the moors, in the world and making friends with the world and sad to see the cars as coffins with their occupants trapped inside a glassy stare.