In praise of cyclists who live in South Devon

[ColinJ]

I am busy revisiting the routes that I had been planning for my Devon cycling holiday(s) next year!

It's a pity because a lot of those tiny lanes look very tempting but I'll avoid any that look iffy on SV.

 

[Lovacott]

I found the same around North Devon.Some brutal climbs but it's the fact the hedges obscure your view making the descents a bit nervy.

Nine miles of my ten mile commute is on single track North Devon roads. My first proper climb is about five minutes in and is 260 feet over 1.4 miles. I commute from one river valley to another over the hills in between. The first five miles would be doable on a road bike but the second half of the ride is mud ridden and potholed. I commute on an MTB. The biggest danger is the mud mounds which form down the centres of the lanes. If you hit them, you lose the ability to steer so I have to stick to the sides which is where the brambles protrude and the potholes are worst.

The plus side is that I encounter very little traffic (maybe one or two vehicles in the morning and half a dozen or so on the way home).

 

[mudsticks]

Nine miles of my ten mile commute is on single track North Devon roads. My first proper climb is about five minutes in and is 260 feet over 1.4 miles. I commute from one river valley to another over the hills in between. The first five miles would be doable on a road bike but the second half of the ride is mud ridden and potholed. I commute on an MTB. The biggest danger is the mud mounds which form down the centres of the lanes. If you hit them, you lose the ability to steer so I have to stick to the sides which is where the brambles protrude and the potholes are worst.

The plus side is that I encounter very little traffic (maybe one or two vehicles in the morning and half a dozen or so on the way home.

Eee luxury - mud int' middle of road ???

Down our way in South Devon, its heaped manure, mixed with blackthorn prunings ...

And if you can get through it without a snorkel, t'isn't really a pothole of any note

I am busy revisiting the routes that I had been planning for my Devon cycling holiday(s) next year!

It's a pity because a lot of those tiny lanes look very tempting but I'll avoid any that look iffy on SV.

Oh, You'll be fine - don't be a No guts Northerner - its all very character building stuff

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, You'll be fine - don't be a No guts Northerner - its all very character building stuff

I don't mind standing on a verge with my bike to let a vehicle pass but I don't fancy head-on collisions with nutty tractor drivers on muddy, gravelly, blind downhill bends!

 

[mudsticks]

I don't mind standing on a verge with my bike to let a vehicle pass but I don't fancy head-on collisions with nutty tractor drivers on muddy, gravelly, blind downhill bends!

Me neither - but at least i know - if i'm out on my bike - I'm not going to meet myself coming the other way

 

[Blue Hills]

I don't mind standing on a verge with my bike to let a vehicle pass but I don't fancy head-on collisions with nutty tractor drivers on muddy, gravelly, blind downhill bends!

You must have cycled some narrow lanes round pendle colin? And there's the gravel on the bend as you drop into barley. I also seem to remember a muck spreader on one of our rides. Couldn't have been predicted on SV. I think I'll ride anything, just take it carefully, don't let the bike run away.

 

[matticus]

That will be helpful for my Devon explorations in the future. I usually 'Street view' new routes these days before riding them. I'll test your advice...

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Q.E.D.!!

Oh wow. Thankyou (and @Ajax Bay ) - I hadn't realised there was an official difference to the two different styles! And I've been a regular user for 40 years.

(I assume it's nationwide not just Devon :P )

 

[Windhover]

I live in the Peak District. It is hard cycling, much harder than most of you have on a day to day.

But fair play to those who live in South Devon. We've just come back from Brixham and I did a few rides from there last week. Off the main roads it's even hillier than the Peak District (we usually average 100ft/mile climbing, 120-130ft/mile is more normal there). But the killer is the descents. They're narrow, steep, terrible sight lines, mud from farm vehicles. So you have to scrub off the speed all the way down, hitting the inevitable next climb with no speed

Lovely area around Dartmouth, Totnes, Slapton etc, but not what you'd call relaxing holiday cycling

I live in Totnes and cycle South Devon every week, 1300 miles so far this year. Yes the lanes are narrow and enclosed by hedgebanks with few verges; yes there are steep hills; yes there is a surprising lot of traffic. I consider 35 miles to be a decent ride along these lanes at an average speed of 8mph but I am 69 years old and ride vintage bikes. You need low gear capability because you never seem to be riding on the level for long before there is another decent and climb up again. The lanes are a short cut for delivery vans, mums on the school run and, of course, they are the roads used by farmers for their work so there is plenty of mud and gravel/grass in the middle. They are single track with passing places. Avoid the A roads because even A roads are narrow and winding compared with other parts of the country and enclosed by hedgebanks which give you fewer pull ins. Use them and you will soon be leading a procession of frustrated drivers which is not fair and not what they are designed for. Sunday is the exception.
But the lanes are safe enough if you listen for traffic, read the road ahead and proceed very carefully where you can't see and be prepared to squeeze into the hedge when a van or tractor passes. Locals know the roads and I have found them considerate to cyclists.
If anyone is thinking of visiting I will be happy to suggest some rides to consider.

 

[itboffin]

Not Devon but not far away I discovered https://www.strava.com/segments/6665334 this year 🤢🤮

 

[Lovacott]

Eee luxury - mud int' middle of road ???
Down our way in South Devon, its heaped manure, mixed with blackthorn prunings ...
And if you can get through it without a snorkel, t'isn't really a pothole of any note

When I say mud, I actually mean a mixture of cow and horse shite with a bit of loose road gravel chucked in. Had loads of punctures the last couple of months after the hedges were trimmed. Sometimes the lanes are more like streams when it rains and water pours out of the fields adding to the mess.

In the summer, grass grows in the cracks and the mud.

It's not a bad ride though once you get used to it. I know the dodgy bits and I have a map of every pot hole built up in my head.

The views on the way home in daylight are spectacular (out to Lundy Island and Hartland Point).

 

[Lovacott]

But the lanes are safe enough if you listen for traffic, read the road ahead and proceed very carefully where you can't see and be prepared to squeeze into the hedge when a van or tractor passes. Locals know the roads and I have found them considerate to cyclists.
If anyone is thinking of visiting I will be happy to suggest some rides to consider.

I have a small bar end mirror on my bike and if I see anything coming up from behind, I try and make it to the next passing place (farm gate usually) before waving on the vehicle. Otherwise I stop and lean into a bank and try to avoid the nettles.

Drivers usually honk or flash their lights in appreciation of the fact that I didn't make them crawl behind me for two miles.

 

[mudsticks]

When I say mud, I actually mean a mixture of cow and horse shite with a bit of loose road gravel chucked in. Had loads of punctures the last couple of months after the hedges were trimmed. Sometimes the lanes are more like streams when it rains and water pours out of the fields adding to the mess.

In the summer, grass grows in the cracks and the mud.

It's not a bad ride though once you get used to it. I know the dodgy bits and I have a map of every pot hole built up in my head.

The views on the way home in daylight are spectacular (out to Lundy Island and Hartland Point).

Lovely.

I used to work on a dairy farm on the edge of Exmoor, and go out biking for the hours between milkings.

Yes there's plenty of muck down here too, although since going tubeless last year I've managed to avoid any punctures..

So far - there's tempting fate.. The neighbours have just had their hedge flailed very severely, and it's about 80% thorn..

That'll be a good test of my super tough tyres

 

[nickyboy]

I live in Totnes and cycle South Devon every week, 1300 miles so far this year. Yes the lanes are narrow and enclosed by hedgebanks with few verges; yes there are steep hills; yes there is a surprising lot of traffic. I consider 35 miles to be a decent ride along these lanes at an average speed of 8mph but I am 69 years old and ride vintage bikes. You need low gear capability because you never seem to be riding on the level for long before there is another decent and climb up again. The lanes are a short cut for delivery vans, mums on the school run and, of course, they are the roads used by farmers for their work so there is plenty of mud and gravel/grass in the middle. They are single track with passing places. Avoid the A roads because even A roads are narrow and winding compared with other parts of the country and enclosed by hedgebanks which give you fewer pull ins. Use them and you will soon be leading a procession of frustrated drivers which is not fair and not what they are designed for. Sunday is the exception.
But the lanes are safe enough if you listen for traffic, read the road ahead and proceed very carefully where you can't see and be prepared to squeeze into the hedge when a van or tractor passes. Locals know the roads and I have found them considerate to cyclists.
If anyone is thinking of visiting I will be happy to suggest some rides to consider.

I have to say that I found the drivers last week to be, without exception, patient and polite regarding me cycling. Maybe it's because drivers have to be very patient in any case as overtaking and even passing is tricky

The only headache I had was going to Dittisham for the short ferry crossing, only to find it cancelled, meaning I had to climb back out of the village and ride to Dartmouth. That hurt.

 

[Lovacott]

Lovely.

I used to work on a dairy farm on the edge of Exmoor, and go out biking for the hours between milkings.

Yes there's plenty of muck down here too, although since going tubeless last year I've managed to avoid any punctures..

So far - there's tempting fate.. The neighbours have just had their hedge flailed very severely, and it's about 80% thorn..

That'll be a good test of my super tough tyres

I'm planning on a getting a decent road bike for weekend use soon and I want to do some of the Exmoor routes. I'm going to start by having a crack at Bideford to Combe Martin via Muddiford. If I can manage that, I will take it further into Exmoor proper by maybe doing the route from Brayford to Dunster.

On my MTB commute, I cycle past a milking parlour on my route and for about three hundred yards, the road is just a sea of cow dung. Just after that stretch, there is a stream which runs downhill towards me on the left hand side of the road. I run my wheels along it to clean off the crap from my tyres.

One major benefit of the hilly route is the improvement to my fitness and leg strength. I'd have to travel twice as far on the flat to get the same results.

 

[mudsticks]

I have to say that I found the drivers last week to be, without exception, patient and polite regarding me cycling. Maybe it's because drivers have to be very patient in any case as overtaking and even passing is tricky

The only headache I had was going to Dittisham for the short ferry crossing, only to find it cancelled, meaning I had to climb back out of the village and ride to Dartmouth. That hurt.

Need a pedalo conversion kit, for moments like that

We are very nice and polite drivers on the whole.

You'll know the true native by their skill at reversing fast using side mirrors only.

Cyclists dont p*ss me off much, I would never expect one to stop, or crowd in for me while hill climbing .

It's the folks in cars you meet who are only 20yds past a pull in, but who won't (or can't) reverse so you have to go back 300yds..

Oh well, these roads were never designed to carry this sort of traffic, so we just have to be patient..

If it was mostly just bicycles (like in the first lockdown) then it'd be glorious.