The Tour of Britain came through South Devon on 6 September. I have never seen Ivybridge so energised. People came out visibly excited and a great roar went up as a cavalcade of outriders appeared. There was tooting of horns, cheering and waving. Then the lead group appeared and went through as quick as a flash. But the expectation increased and the news was that the pelaton was 6 minutes behind. We all knew that this would be thrilling and so it was. Ivybridge has never seen more than 100 cyclists race up Fore Street at astonishing speeds. If there was a moment to savour, this was it.
I have never watched a bike race live before but now I was hooked. It was on ITV4 and I watched the highlights of every day. I recorded the Devon section live and watched every minute. I have cycled many of these roads often and had encounters with sheep exactly as the race.
Congratulations should be given to Devon County Council for bringing the race to our county. Watching the scenery on the TV reminded me how wonderful our county is. Congratulations should be given to Ivybridge Town Council too. They helped to make it a day to remember. They organized the day around children and started with a story teller in the library. She told stories about cycling. At 11am the roads were handed over to children and they made their special creations in chalk art on the tarmac. Sustrans are helping our area considerably and today the volunteers manned a marquee giving out badges, stickers and flags to all the children together with information on walking and cycling in Plymouth and South Devon
Many of the shops and pubs put bikes in their windows and decorated them with a prize for the winner. Lastly there was a family bike ride organized by Sustrans which I led. There were 24 cyclists and the average age of children was 6. When we returned, the mayor was there to greet us and she presented medals to everyone who took part.
If this is what cycling does for a community, I am proud to have been there
