I Made It!

A lovely day today with a frosty start. After breakfast, when the day had a chance to warm up I decided I would make an attempt to get up to Dartmoor on the bike. I had seen Gilesey's lovely Dartmoor blip and was longing to see the moor again. 

My route took me up the Hestow road to Kingsteignton, up through the claypits to Knighton Heath and into Bovey Tracey. From there it was just the small matter of the 3.7 miles up the Category 1 climb to Haytor. Category 1 is the second hardest climb in the cycling world and this one was the finish of the 2016 Tour of Britain. They didn't permit e-bikes but then those folks are a lot younger and fitter than me. Haytor isn't deep Dartmoor (it's the bit we give to the visitors so we can keep the good stuff for ourselves) but it did the job for me.

I took a different route down through Haytor Vale, Ilsington and Liverton. The bonus is that you can freewheel most of 4.5 miles down to Heathfield where after a few back doubles I picked up my outward route and was soon home. 

It was an enjoyable ride of 2 hours 22 minutes and 28 miles. 787 metres elevation gain which must be the total of my climbs because the elevation of the road below Haytor is 330 metres. It was pleasantly sunny all the way with a bit of breeze.

It looks like a lovely weekend down here, I hope it is for you too!