Jurassic Classic

Saturday 18th July

After another mis-set alarm, I woke up 20 minutes after we were meant to get up, so we had rather a frantic start to the day. It was a gorgeous morning for cycling as we set off for the Jurassic Classic start line in Exmouth. We stopped at the entrace to the cycle track in Topsham to do a survey for a Sustrans lady and a bunch of cyclists whizzed by on their way to Exmouth. Luckily our late start worked out perfectly and after watching one group of cyclists set off, we were able to join the next group straight away. A quick prep talk and a wave from a dinosaur and we were on our way!

The start line

Ready to go

Loved this guy's style...a bar of Galaxy taped to his bike!

 As we rounded the first corner we were greeted by Don who seemed somewhat surprised to see us. We shouted hearty cheers and our spirits were lifted as we set off. The first section was all very familiar heading up the climb to Budleigh. It was great to have other cyclists around - although admittedly they were all huge groups of cyclists who overtook us and disappeared off into the distance! From Budleigh we were soon in Otterton and heading for the dreaded Peak Hill that would take us into Sidmouth. As we approached Ant and I discussed the fact that it must have been over 5 years ago since we attempted the hill, on our mountain bikes on our first full day out with the CTC! Needless to say, we hadn't got all the way up that day, so there was a lot of pressure on to see if we could tackle it now! At first I wondered what all the fuss what about as we climbed up relatively easily, but then I realised that was just a warm up and Peak Hill was still up ahead! The top section was a real struggle, but I could see Ant had made it up and there were lots of other cyclists huffing and puffing as they passed me offering encouragement, so I dug in and kept the pedals turning. At the top, all red faced and out of breath, we were greeted by a photographer. Very mean!

With the climb done, I knew we had a steep descent into Sidmouth, so I took a deep breath, grabbed on to my drops and went for it. I had a bit of a panic attack speeding down the hill feeling out of control, so pulled over to one side, getting in the way of several cyclists all speeding down past me. Ant stopped just ahead and I was torn between the frustration of walking down the hill and the fear of cycling down it! Eventually I got back on and went for it. It was terrifying and I was worried I wouldn't be able to stop at the bottom, but thankfully made it to the seafront and our first water stop. My hands were really sore, but I was glad I hadn't walked it. We were told it was only 12 miles to the food station, so set off merrily, not realising what a horrendous climb we would face up to Sidbury.

Sidmouth water stop

At what I thought was most of the way up the hill, we pulled into a grass verge so I could take my jersey off and re-fuel. I was really struggling and feeling tired and knew I needed to keep my energy levels up if I was going to make it through the day. I am so glad we did stop then, because the hill kept on going and going and every time we thought we could see the top, we turned another corner and up it went again! Once we did get to the top, there was a good fast section along the main road. The road was really busy, but it was just good to feel like I was moving again! As we headed for Gittisham I was dreading 'Gittisham Hill', but as we passed a couple of cyclists who said the food station was a couple of miles away, we rounded the corner to be greeted by the food stop at the bottom of the hill! Phew! There was bunting and music, bikes everywhere and a fabulous atmosphere at the village hall. We were greeted by M&S sandwiches, bananas, energy bars and energy drinks, such a fantastic spread. However, I was feeling a bit rough at this stage and only managed to eat half a sandwich and half an energy bar. I was worried I wasn't ready for such a long and challenging ride. The only thing we could do was push on and keep going.

Gittisham Food Station...yay!

Trying to smile, but feeling a bit rough

Thankfully Gittisham Hill didn't seem too bad! We made our way through Ottery to Talaton and although I'd been expecting a big climb to Talaton, we went a different route, which didn't seem as long or steep. From there we headed to Clyst Hydon and I was starting to tire again. A sign which said 2 miles to Plymtree and 4 miles to Cullompton lifted our spirits - Cullompton was the turning point for home! However, once we got to Plymtree, the sign said it was still 4 miles to Cullompton! Aaargggh! We stopped in Plymtree for a quick drink and I finished the other half of my energy bar. After climbing the hill, there was a junction with a turning to the right and a steep descent. I tried to attempt this, but seeing how steep the route got and not being able to see how far it went on round the corner, I got off and walked down. Ant had disappeared and when I found him at the bottom, he'd taken a low speed tumble. I wasn't too sympathetic as I was feeling so annoyed with myself for getting off and walking. Both feeling a bit cross, we got back on and kept going.

I was expecting a quick easy ride along the main road back into Broadclyst, but the road was so bumpy it was horrible! It seemed to go on forever and then it started raining, so I had to pull into a bus stop to put the covers on my bags. I had been hoping for ages to come across the bus stop by the Killerton turning...and after we set off again we found it was just around the corner! Phew...into Broadclyst and much more familiar territory out to Clyst Honiton and up to Aylesbeare for the next food station. I knew there was a long climb up to Aylesbeare and with tired legs, it seemed longer than ever! The speedy cyclists overtaking us were complaining of jelly legs and using their lowest gears for the slightest incline, so that made me feel a bit better! At the food station, we were greeted by Kirby photographing us! After some lovely coffee cake and a quick chat, we set off on our way again, keen to get to the end, only 10 miles away. We knew there was a big climb up on to Woodbury Common before descending into Exmouth. The climb did go on and on, but the views up on the Common were gorgeous and I was so worried about haivng to face another steep descent that the climbing didn't bother me much!

Luckily, the route followed the main road into Exmouth, so didn't get too steep. I did have a bit of a panic heading down the road by Kings Garden Centre as my hands were just too sore to keep braking, but Ant reassured me it flattened out around the corner. Then the sea was in sight and we just had to keep going until we found ourselves on the main road, past the train station and into the Recreation Ground. I was slightly taken aback to hear there was a loud speaker and someone congratulating us as we crossed the line, a group of people clapping and then someone rushing to give us our medals. A lovely finish to a ride! We cheered a few more people over the line - most of them had done the full 100 mile route, so deserved a bigger cheer and bigger medal than us! Then we headed off to collect our goodie bags and free pasties, which we'd been looking forward to all afternoon!

We decided we might as well finish the job properly and cycle back home again. We set off along the cycle path at a very gentle pace, enjoying the beautiful evening along the estuary. It wasn't long before we picked up our pace again though, keen to get home and get off our saddles! I had forgotten we were still wearing our medals, which attracted a bit of interest! One kid looked on in amazement as they went past and said 'wow, they've won medals' and another chap called out 'well done' as he went by! I'm glad to see there's still some Olympic Spirit lingering.

Back at Topsham, the amazing Sustrans lady was still doing surveys! I couldn't believe she was still there over 10 hours later. From Topsham onwards, my shoulder was extremely painful and although stopping for drinks on the Quay was tempting, I wanted to get home, up one last hill...

At the bottom of the hill there was a group of guys all wearing the same t-shirts and presumably on a stag-do. They joked at Ant as he went by first, in his 'treacle gear' and then commented 'I don't know how they do it. Mind you, I don't know how cyclists do it all. They are all in a world of their own'. It made me smile as we headed up the hill and gave me the extra determination not to give up and embarrass myself in front of an entire stag party! 

Congratulations to Alistair and everyone else involved in organising the ride. It all ran really smoothly, the route was really clearly signed and the food stops and finish arena were excellent. There was a great atmosphere all day and although most cyclists were clearly far more professional and faster cyclists than us, they were all very friendly and supportive out on the route. Our medals are now proudly hanging on the wall!

That's our last big ride now until the Olympic route...less than 2 weeks to go!