It was a cold start to the day, with a very fine mist in the air as I escaped Bristols maze of smooth cycle paths.
Shortly after leaving the city, I started climbing gradually towards the top of Cheddar Gorge. This climb becsme very steep, on one of the roads that Tom has warned me about; it was incredibly steep! But after the pain came a wonderful fast descent through the very idyllic Cheddar Gorge, dodging tourists along the way.
I stopped for lunch in small village called Mark as Cheddar was swamped with tourists (even on a Tuesday!). The sun had come out and it warmed up nicely for the afternoon. A quick sandwich later and I was back on the road.
The route became a big flatter for a while after Cheddar, but as I neared Exmoor the hills started to grow again. Eventually the hills became near mountains, very steep and very long. It was a tough slog up the side of Exmoor, but eventually they gave way to some very steep descents, where I regained some time.
The hills began to pick on me now, each one threatening to be the last but it wasn't for quite a while till I could see the coast. During one of the last descents, an elderly lady flagged me down and asked if I was after sponsorship. She gave me £8 for Macmillan, saying she was a supporter and that she used to cycle too, very kind!
With about 8 miles to go I'd finally suffered through all the climbs and had a long run down into Barnstaple. The road was a bit bumpy, and it was a bit of a challenge to avoid the potholes at the speed I was going!
I made it to the Cresta guest house, my stay for the night, but nobody was in! After about 10 minutes the owner came round the corner, fish and chips in hand! After getting sorted in my room, I copied the owner and went to get my own fish and chips, I needed something filling!
In total I climbed nearly 7500ft today, up to a gradient of 20% in some places. Hopefully less tomorrow as I follow the coast round to Newquay
Miles today: 98.7
Total miles: 775
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