In praise of cyclists who live in South Devon

[mudsticks]

It's a lovely road, one of my favourites. A friend & I have a circuit using that road, and loop via Bovey and return. It makes a nicely challenging fixed-wheel route.

We may have passed each other...

And given cheery* greetings

*if that is your wont

 

[ColinJ]

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

Those Devon unclassified lanes are a nightmare; steep descents and no idea what's round the corner

I'm just back from my first trip to my sister's new home in south/central Devon. I cycled about 320 km while I was there, much on the narrow lanes.

A 1:50,000 map is your friend. Any road which is shown as a narrow yellow is likely to have this issue in a downhill direction. 'Devon Banks' kill the sight lines and the roads are quite often that narrow that you can't rely on squeezing past a vehicle coming up. I tend to stay off them. The roads shown as wide yellow are fine: you can be confident that there'll be space to pass.

I had forgotten much of what had been said on this thread when rushing to finish planning my routes. I did a lot of the 'narrow yellow' lanes and sure enough, they were a bit dodgy in places. I like lanes but having hedges hemming me in and towering over me got a bit much after a while. It was quite frustrating knowing that splendid views would have been available if only I could see over the damn hedge!

I wouldn't avoid the narrower lanes altogether since sometimes they are needed between wider lanes to avoid busy roads or ridiculous detours.

You are lucky up North..

You have no idea how spoilt you are

I have actually come back with a new appreciation for slightly wider roads and open views! I loved Devon and hope to have many more cycling holidays down there, but I will be more careful in future to avoid some of the downright crazy stuff that I encountered this time.

much in the way of gravel? Worries my more than anything on windy descents.

I did encounter quite a lot of gravel on many of the smaller roads.

This one had a bit of everything and finally defeated me... 10% becoming 15% becoming 20% and maybe even 25%; potholes; gravel; rotting vegetation; so hemmed in by hedges and overhanging trees that with my sunglasses on I couldn't even see where I was going! My heart was starting to struggle and then my rear wheel slipped and almost had me off the bike. Discretion is the better part of valour, so I jumped off before I fell off, and used my 24 inch gear to finish my ascent!

The fact that the Street View car hadn't been able to make it up or down there should have been a clue!

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

I found that too. Patient, cooperative, and friendly. Just one idiot in 11 days, coming way too fast round a blind bend towards me in a very narrow lane which had the standard high hedges. The driver just managed to stop about 1 metre from me...

 

[mudsticks]

I'm just back from my first trip to my sister's new home in south/central Devon. I cycled about 320 km while I was there, much on the narrow lanes.


I had forgotten much of what had been said on this thread when rushing to finish planning my routes. I did a lot of the 'narrow yellow' lanes and sure enough, they were a bit dodgy in places. I like lanes but having hedges hemming me in and towering over me got a bit much after a while. It was quite frustrating knowing that splendid views would have been available if only I could see over the damn hedge!

I wouldn't avoid the narrower lanes altogether since sometimes they are needed between wider lanes to avoid busy roads or ridiculous detours.


I have actually come back with a new appreciation for slightly wider roads and open views! I loved Devon and hope to have many more cycling holidays down there, but I will be more careful in future to avoid some of the downright crazy stuff that I encountered this time.


I did encounter quite a lot of gravel on many of the smaller roads.

This one had a bit of everything and finally defeated me... 10% becoming 15% becoming 20% and maybe even 25%; potholes; gravel; rotting vegetation; so hemmed in by hedges and overhanging trees that with my sunglasses on I couldn't even see where I was going! My heart was starting to struggle and then my rear wheel slipped and almost had me off the bike. Discretion is the better part of valour, so I jumped off before I fell off, and used my 24 inch gear to finish my ascent!

View attachment 597664

The fact that the Street View car hadn't been able to make it up or down there should have been a clue!


I found that too. Patient, cooperative, and friendly. Just one idiot in 11 days, coming way too fast round a blind bend towards me in a very narrow lane which had the standard high hedges. The driver just managed to stop about 1 metre from me...

Glad you had a mostly nice time..

Now it's rained really hard and made all the vegetation collapse down off of the hedgebanks it's even more 'fun'.

I know what you mean about the slightly claustrophobic lanes.

One of many reasons I have to escape all that 'greenery' to somewhere a little more austere and rocky now and then..

Talk about 'first world problems eh ??

 

[ColinJ]

Are the roads a bit wider in the northern half of Devon, and west Somerset? I rode from Tiverton to Minehead and back over Exmoor when I was in Devon 4 or 5 years ago. I don't remember doing a lot of very narrow roads. Perhaps I was a bit more careful checking that route!

 

[mudsticks]

Are the roads a bit wider in the northern half of Devon, and west Somerset? I rode from Tiverton to Minehead and back over Exmoor when I was in Devon 4 or 5 years ago. I don't remember doing a lot of very narrow roads. Perhaps I was a bit more careful checking that route!

Exmoor is a bit better for wider roads, and clearer views.

Thinner soils makes for less lush vegetation up there I guess, a bit like Dartmoor.

But then narrow Dartmoor lanes with stone walls can be unnerving too

At least verdant hedges will catch you a bit more gently..

 

[Ajax Bay]

Are the roads a bit wider in the northern half of Devon, and west Somerset?

Again, a 50 thou' map is your friend and assistant to answer your question. Think quite a challenge to get sufficient data to provide a useful answer (which wouldn't be much use, of course).
The length of road per square mile on open Exmoor is pretty low and the average width will be dragged down by all the narrow lanes in the valleys all around.

 

[ColinJ]

Again, a 50 thou' map is your friend and assistant to answer your question.

I was being lazy!

I intend to scour the OS map for the entire area west of a line roughly between Bristol and Southampton. It would be great to catch the first train in the morning to a remote starting point and then cycle back.

 

[Ajax Bay]

My way to address the wide road / narrow road issue is to take a 4 miles to the inch road atlas and highlight all the white roads shown as 'wide' which reveals likely connectivity (with added B and A roads as necessary). Important to mark that atlas on the front with highlighters to avoid ripping out pages to take on long rides DAMHIKT.
A route thus generated still needs checking with a 50 thou' map: I use bikehike for that (or paper).

 

[Pale Rider]

I was born in Totnes, spent my early years in South Hams, and have returned many times since to visit relations.

The lanes were never much of a bother for driving, some reversing required, but it's surprising how two cars can squeeze by each other on a narrow road.

However, cars have become much bigger since the 80s, so I reckon driving would be much harder now.

Presumably, this will play into cycling because the chances of being able to avoid an oncoming car have been reduced by the car's likely extra width.

What struck me during my last visit a few years ago is there's now a lot more white paint, road humps, and general speed restrictions - there used to be next to none.

Bad news for impatient drivers, but of some assistance to cyclists.

All of which is a great deal different from the experience of my mother, who used to clop around the area on her pony.

During the war, that included some interesting encounters with American servicemen, who all but took over the area around Slapton, to the extent of running checkpoints on some roads.

They were trigger happy, then as now, so if the GI said 'no go', you didn't go.

 

[Lovacott]

I'm just back from my first trip to my sister's new home in south/central Devon. I cycled about 320 km while I was there, much on the narrow lanes.
I had forgotten much of what had been said on this thread when rushing to finish planning my routes. I did a lot of the 'narrow yellow' lanes and sure enough, they were a bit dodgy in places. I like lanes but having hedges hemming me in and towering over me got a bit much after a while. It was quite frustrating knowing that splendid views would have been available if only I could see over the damn hedge!
I wouldn't avoid the narrower lanes altogether since sometimes they are needed between wider lanes to avoid busy roads or ridiculous detours.

My commute looks pretty much like that and I would never attempt it on my road bike.

A flat bar hybrid with plenty of gear choices (3 x 9) would see you stay in the saddle quite comfortably up the hills and give you enough head height to see over the Devon banks (though nobody can see over the top of a Devon bank in mid summer once the growth spurt kicks in).

If you want to do a Devon cycling holiday again, come down in April or early May before the banks start growing and blocking both the roads and the views.

I have nettle rash on my left forearm where some sections of lane have been reduced down to only a few feet wide.

Avoid late summer when the banks get their annual haircut. You'll spend most of your holiday mending punctures.

 

[ColinJ]

My commute looks pretty much like that and I would never attempt it on my road bike.

A flat bar hybrid with plenty of gear choices (3 x 9) would see you stay in the saddle quite comfortably up the hills and give you enough head height to see over the Devon banks (though nobody can see over the top of a Devon bank in mid summer once the growth spurt kicks in).

That bike is a 1x11 with a pretty low bottom ratio - 42/42 - so I wasn't really lacking gears; more lacking fitness, grip, and daylight! Once I have lost 8 or 9 kg of blubber the hills will be easier. It would also be easier to climb if I didn't have dark sunglasses on when riding in a very shadowy lane - I could barely see where the gravel, ruts and potholes were. The dodgy surface meant that I had to remain seated when I would prefer to have stood on the pedals. Ultimately though, my heart doesn't like 25% gradients much these days...

If you want to do a Devon cycling holiday again, come down in April or early May before the banks start growing and blocking both the roads and the views.

I will be doing about 4 of these trips a year, if all goes according to plan. I probably won't want to come down from mid-November to mid-February. Maybe late Feb, early May, a summer trip, and early Nov. The Feb and Nov trips would be to escape depressing weather up here, and the other two to enjoy the sunshine down there.

Avoid late summer when the banks get their annual haircut. You'll spend most of your holiday mending punctures.

That is worth knowing - I really would NOT like that! When is 'late summer' pruning? If there was a particular month to miss, I would do that. If pruning is spread over, say, 10+ weeks then that might not be quite so easy.

 

[Lovacott]

That is worth knowing - I really would NOT like that! When is 'late summer' pruning? If there was a particular month to miss, I would do that. If pruning is spread over, say, 10+ weeks then that might not be quite so easy.

To be honest, once the hedges have been trimmed, the lanes are littered with thorns until they either rot down or wash away with the rain so the puncture season can last for a good few months. Busier lanes tend to clear more quickly due to the traffic. My route started getting trimmed in early September. Of course, I was commuting in the dark so thorny bits were not that easy to avoid but if you are riding in daylight, you should be able to dodge them. I put slime in my MTB tyres and also installed tyre liners which pretty much solved the problem.

The banks have grown at a mad pace this year due to a combination of plenty of rain and sunshine. I'd say that they are currently as overgrown as they were by mid August last year. I'm taking a pruning snip with me on Monday to cut back half a dozen or so long thorn stems which hang out into the road at about head height. One is right on a bend on a downhill section and it nearly took my face off yesterday.

Devon is great because you can pretty much get from A to B anywhere without having to use a main road and many of the lanes are only used by farm traffic. I can go many miles without seeing a single car. Plenty of potholes though which is part of the reason cars tend to stay away.

 

[mudsticks]

To be honest, once the hedges have been trimmed, the lanes are littered with thorns until they either rot down or wash away with the rain so the puncture season can last for a good few months. Busier lanes tend to clear more quickly due to the traffic. My route started getting trimmed in early September. Of course, I was commuting in the dark so thorny bits were not that easy to avoid but if you are riding in daylight, you should be able to dodge them. I put slime in my MTB tyres and also installed tyre liners which pretty much solved the problem.

The banks have grown at a mad pace this year due to a combination of plenty of rain and sunshine. I'd say that they are currently as overgrown as they were by mid August last year. I'm taking a pruning snip with me on Monday to cut back half a dozen or so long thorn stems which hang out into the road at about head height. One is right on a bend on a downhill section and it nearly took my face off yesterday.

Devon is great because you can pretty much get from A to B anywhere without having to use a main road and many of the lanes are only used by farm traffic. I can go many miles without seeing a single car. Plenty of potholes though which is part of the reason cars tend to stay away.

I'd agree there's plenty of puncture material at any time of year, down here, although late summer / early autumn when the Blackthorn hedges get flailed is worst.

But I've not had a puncture now in over two years of tubeless riding .

Tubeless for the win, if you're cruising Devon lanes

 

[ColinJ]

I have new wheels with lightish 25c tyres on the Devon bike but I still have the original heavier wheels which I will take down on my next visit, after changing the bearings and tightening the spokes. There is clearance for much bigger tyres. I think I will put some really chunky puncture-resistant semi-slicks on the spare wheels.

 

[Lovacott]

I have new wheels with lightish 25c tyres on the Devon bike but I still have the original heavier wheels which I will take down on my next visit, after changing the bearings and tightening the spokes. There is clearance for much bigger tyres. I think I will put some really chunky puncture-resistant semi-slicks on the spare wheels.

I've found that the "Vee Rubber Speedster" 700x40c tyres on the Voodoo hybrid are actually perfect for messy Devon lanes. I was a bit concerned about the tyres when reading the Voodoo reviews where people complained about the lack of grip when braking. However, having now totted up nearly 1000 miles on the bike, I can see that the lack of grip issue is more about the effectiveness of the hydraulic discs than the tyres.

If you hit the brakes hard, your wheels lock up and you skid a bit but the bike does stop remarkably quickly. Once you get used to the Hydraulic discs though, you break with less ferocity and the bike comes to a quick and steady stop without the wheels locking.

On muddy or gravelly bends at speed, the narrower and slicker tyre actually grips much better than the knobbly and wide MTB tyre.

Plus, the narrower and slicker tyre does not kick a mountain of crap all over my drivetrain like the wider and knobbly MTB tyre does.