BIKE FRIDAY

The last time I met Andy, it was cycling with him though Norway, Sweden and into Denmark.  Since then, he has cycled across the mountains of Wales and on a 2,600 mile ride to the Black Sea.  He arrived in Plymouth last Wednesday on a Bike Friday.  It looks like a city bike but he says it has 30 gears, carries panniers and ideal for touring with day rides of 50 miles or more.

We left Plymouth's stunning waterfront by water taxi and I took him on a 50 mile journey through the beautiful South Hams countryside.  On Boxing Day, Bike Friday leaves the UK with Andy for 6 weeks in Thailand.  If he does a blog, I shall be his first follower.

Four days previously, I met my friend Jaana who also cycled 500 miles with me through Norway as well as Cuba on another trip.  We explored the lanes of Berkshire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

The weather was pleasantly warm for the time of year.  We wandered alongside the Kennet and Avon Canal, then onto quiet lanes, back to the canal, through tiny villages and small towns.  We started at Reading and pedalled onto Bradford on Avon.  Just before Bath, we turned left to cycle to Wells and Taunton.

We were amazed at the number of canal boats.  I especially liked those of residents where the roofs were covered in logs and bikes were strapped onto the sterns.  This was definately eco-living. 

I cycled 187 miles this week and First Great Western Trains secured 3 return tickets for ourselves and our bikes.

AUTUMN IN DEVON

Autumn can be a great time to be out on the bike but keeping motivated in Winter is more of a challenge.  It takes about 3 days at Xmas for me to put on 5kg and 6 weeks to lose it again!  I find January especially hard to keep motivated.

So what's new?

Autumn has brought some big rains.  Our green lanes in Devon often fill up because the drains are blocked with leaves.  I was caught out 3 years ago trying and failing to cycle this lane!  No, it is not a river.

I have lots of ideas for what's left of this year and 2012.  I shall shortly try a cycle route new to me from Reading to Taunton alongside the R. Kennett and through Wiltshire.  I am hoping for great scenery, wildlife and pubs with roaring log fires.

The avocets are coming!  These stunningly beautiful birds overwinter in South Devon and can be seen by bike.  Last winter, my friend, Libby and I pedalled alongside the River Exe to discover not just the avocets, but a kingfisher as well.  Another place is beside the River Tamar at Weir Quay, easy to cycle to from Bere Ferrers train station.  A great place to see wading birds in winter on a bike is the Tarka Trail in North Devon.  These are all accessible by families with young children.

I have just received an invitation to join a 127 one day charity ride through Snowdonia next July.  Ouch, that sound's fierce.  My favourite charity is Devon Wildlife Trust and I want to ride it.  Do I have any sponsors?

And, finally, why not follow me on twitter where I shall be giving my fun ideas for the winter.

ISLAY AND JURA

Sylvia and I have just completed our Hebridian journey with days on Islay and Jura.  These islands are homes to wildlife and whisky.  There are 9 distilleries here, or is it 10?  There is an abundance of wildlife here.

We ask where we can see a golden eagle and at the exact spot we find two, both of which are very close to us.  Further along, 15 choughs dance and sing around us.  To reach this point we have passed thousands of barnacle geese that have just arrived from Greenland.  We also pass over 20 hares in the fields and more deer than I have ever seen.  These are wild animals and they share the fields with sheep and cattle all with the approval of the landowners.  Earlier we saw an otter swimming and catching fish.  A landowner on Jura is building a new hydro plant to power the island so less fossil fuels will be used. 

I completed 160 miles on my bike.  We leave Islay tomorrow for our long journey back to Devon.

THE ROADS TO IONA

Yesterday, I completed my figure of eight cycle ride around the Hebridian Isle of Mull.  I started at the tiny village of Salen on the east coast.  The derelict pier is now home to shags who use the tops of the posts to rest while digesting their latest meal of fish.  Every post is used and as soon as one is vacant, another shag immediately takes its place.

MULL, LAND OF THE SEA EAGLE

The landscape and wildlife on the Hebridian island of Mull is as dramatic as anywhere in Scotland.  I am here with my wife for a few days on my third visit.  It is not long before I see white tailed eagles (called sea eagles locally), hen harriers and an otter.  It is deer rutting season and I hear the call of a stag over the moors.  My cycle ride is to be Mull's Figure of Eight, a loop around the coast that shows the best of this island.  It is October and the weather is closing in so it will be taken over two days.

 I leave Tobermoray knowing the forecast is squalls, 25mph winds and gusts up to 45 mph.  The road west to Dervaig and Calgory is remote.  In just 12 miles, there are lochs, high hills, sea water inlets and a wonderful machair beach.  I hit my first squall.  It smacks into me where there is no shelter.  The sky is black and the deluge is horizontal.  It is so cold that it feels like the skin is to be ripped off my face.  Yet my body is warm as I find my Goretex cycling gear can cope with this weather.  The squall vanishes and the wind drops.

I leave the land where yesterday my wife and I saw the white tailed eagles and as the coast turns south I realise that the wind is now behind me.  This is much better.  The sky has cleared and I can see the islands of Rum, Coll and Tiree on the horizon.  Staffa is there also and Ulva soon follows.  This coast has just a few islotated houses.  I pass a water spout shooting vast volumes of water into the sea.  This is spectacular scenery.

Looking out to sea, I see more squalls.  Another one hits me.  This time it is hail and even colder than before but it quickly passes.  Although one island, Mull is narrow in the middle with a short single track road.  This is the crossover of the Figure of Eight.  I pedal off to Salem on the east coast along this road.

GONE NORTH

It is less than 6 months and I am in the Lake District again.  This time, it is a fleeting visit on route to the Isle of Mull.  There was time for a ride out around Windermere with friends.  I just find the scenery here incredibly beautiful with Lakeland Fells all around, then lakes appearing in the distance.  It is good to see many out on their bikes, including a group of Japanese.



THE PUFFING BILLY

The secrets of the Puffing Billy trail, a redundant tramway into the heart of Dartmoor, will only unfold themselves in at least two trips.  It starts near Ivybridge and meanders to a former clay quarry about 6 miles north.  Few people visit this area of moorland.  It is inhabited by sheep, moorland cattle, birds and wildlife.  It is ideal for a mountain bike or on foot.

 

My favourite time is to arrive at Redlake Quarry, the end of the trail to see the sunset, then cycle back as fast as possible in the dusk.  My adrenylin accelerates on the return journey.

The secrets that this trail holds will be missed unless this ride is taken slow and easy.  Far below on the River Erme is Piles Copse, the remains of a forest 10,000 years old where oak trees cling for life between the rocks. There is a great swimming spot here and another trail sits on the other bank. 

The evidence of stone age man is seen close to the track with stone rows and ancient tin workings.  The views extend to Bodmin Moor, Plymouth Sound, South and East Devon.