25 Sep: Day 2 Liskeard to Tiverton

Leaving at 8 am in gorgeous, autumn sunshine, with all the surrounding area shrouded in thick morning mist, we enjoyed the first few hours cycling through Cornwall, into Devon via Tavistock, Two Bridges and then to Postbridge on Dartmoor.

After lunch in the village hall, the weather deteriorated to be typical Dartmoor weather of low cloud followed by drizzle; it followed us off the tops and the last 4 hours of our ride were in increasingly persistent and driving rain. This was NOT forecast by BBC weather (we were not carrying all our wet weather gear but fortunately had the jackets) but we should have known by now just how unreliable UK weather forecasts can be! We arrived soaked to the skin - feet/shoes and gloves/ hands in particular and caked in road muck. Tonight's challenge is how to get it all dry.

Road kill spotted today included a badger and a wild boar (we think).
Other wildlife that we consorted with included Dartmoor ponies, highland cattle and white, fluffy sheep.

The sheep and the cattle seemed to like being on the road despite cars and the odd cyclist passing. Quite stoic and immovable.
Our challenge each day is to find a decent coffee.  Today we had to wait 50 miles before we enjoyed a very good coffee in the Cathedral grounds in Exeter, although Jo insisted on sitting outside in the rain as she feared she may never get on her bike again if we went inside.

Factoids for fellow bike geeks amongst you - 5 hours 25 mins in the saddle, 65.7 miles, 2000 metres of ascent, average speed of 12.1 mph. No heart rate records today!

Today's route over Dartmoor