Having been well rested, fed and generally re-energised by my rest day (but more importantly the welcome received) at Sampford Peverell, I set off Westwards. Oh but the legs said 'hello' at the little bit of a slope coming out of my Mum and Dad's place. Felt decided mixed feelings at leaving Sampford - good to be back on the road now the end is so near but always a tough one to be leaving behind such lovely people. My family had kindly offered to drive my panniers down to my final destination just outside of Tavistock - not so sure about the offer to open the passenger door as they drove past me to give me a bit of a nudge. That or put the bull bar on front of the car to really give me a push in the right direction...
Onwards to Exeter. Buzzed through Halberton (sorry to the SP cyclists - I wasn't able to make the 20 MPH sign flash a warning at me as hard as I pedalled due to the uphill bit just before the village although of course I could not condone breaking the speed limit on a bicycle...) and around Tiverton on speedy patrol. Oh but amazing what my Mum's home cooking can do to help with the speediness.
Arrived early in Exeter - funnily enough when I know there is a specific time arranged for me to be in a place and I have been able to plan well in advance so I don't have to cover an extensive distance before I get there I will make it on time.
Met up with the Providence Court team - I had seen Providence Court and Cafe 55 on TV but have never actually been inside. The cafe was officially opened by Sense's patron HRH The Princess Royal which got lots of media interest. The TV presenter Judi Spiers also came for a visit as featured on TV. But they had never seen anything like the sweaty cyclist on a trusty silver bike turning up at the Cafe!! Hold the front page...
Huge thanks to Jane Tucker for making me...yep you guessed it...some banana sandwiches (but with a lovely side salad, crudites and dips so she gets bonus points). Had a good old chat with Shaun Gibbons and Lorna Mackie whilst enjoying my sandwich feast. Interesting to note that Cafe 55 has a number of volunteers who are prepared to help out so that the cafe can be open more often, but until the CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) checks can be completed for each individual they can't come to work at the Cafe. Let's hope there is some way of speeding up the process so that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect deafblind people but without the lengthy administrative delays that hold up the whole show. Cafe 55 is a really positive initiative for deafblind people as well as the wider community so I hope the necessary safeguarding checks can go through the CRB as quickly as possible so the cafe can really come alive.
Had a tour of the cafe kitchens, the day centre facilities and then the meeting room - if there is anyone in Exeter who needs a bright and airy meeting room together with delicious catering and an outside break area backing onto the Roman city wall then look no further than Providence Court. Jane Tucker is the lady to speak to. Thank you to all the team at Providence Court for making me feel so welcome and for showing me around what promises to be a buzzing venue.
I also have to say a huge thank you to the team at Hampton Resource Centre in Peterborough - on arrival at Providence Court there was a package waiting for me. Inside were two bundles: the first contained a variety of edible goodies including flapjack and millionaires shortbread and the second contained a selection of pampering goodies like shower gel and hand cream. It was so kind of the Hampton team to send these on for me together with all their best wishes - you are such a thoughtful team and, as you will read later, the flapjack really helped out with a difficult ride over Dartmoor.
Onwards from Providence Court and out onto the moor. Yep, never one to take the easy road I decided to go over the moor rather than round it. It was a glorious ride through the forest around Dunsford and although mostly uphill the gradient was never too bad in one go. There is a sharp little corner with a nasty uphill climb just before Moretonhampstead but luckily there wasn't any traffic behind me and I used the granny gears to good effect to pull up it (and thankfully it is short and sharp rather than a long drawn out death-rattle hill).
Stopped in Moretonhampstead for lunch (excellent chicken baguette at the town bakery). Chatted to two lovely people who had dropped in for a cream tea (and boy did it look tempting) about the cycle and deafblind issues in general. So kind of them to give me a contribution for the collecting tin - that went in when I got reunited with my panniers in the evening.
Onwards and onto the open moor. Now it had been a series of uphill climbs to get into the National Park and now my ankle was starting to mumble a bit. On one ascent my foot and leg below the calf went numb which was a bit of a suprise - got off the bike and must have looked a bit funny trying to push it with a deadleg! Mind you, wasn't laughing when the foot came back to life. Yowzer. Back on the bike and push on - suprisingly it was a bit windy on the moor (no, who would have thought it, windy on an exposed moorland bit) and rain threatened. Now the ankle was really starting to jibb and there was moderate to severe swearing as I went along.
As I rolled down the hill into two bridges I felt a sudden jar in the ankle and all I could do was hang on until I could brake to a standstill and get off the bike. Now if you have ever had to unclip your cycling shoe from a bike by pushing your ankle away from the pedal when your ankle is screaming at you then you will understand the yelp I gave at that point. Even worse than that, as I hung onto the fence trying to breathe through it all and not just burst into tears, my sister pulled up in the car behind me. Now you know you must have looked in a right state when your sister puts on her care profession voice and says 'now just come and sit down over here for a moment'. I would have given anything to have avoided her seeing me at that precise moment in time - I had got used to things like that happening on a daily basis but for Helen it must have been a shock. She suggested that we probably could fit Lightning into the car but I was having none of it. After a quick stretch at the roadside (as well as an internal monologue telling myself to sound breezy and carefree...) I suggested that I could try pushing the bike up the hill to see if I could walk off the ankle ache and that Helen could give me about a 10 minute head start before following me in the car. I started off and just told myself to keep going, keep going. That hill was a long one but I didn't dare stop walking. Onwards, Vonnie. Eventually it flattened out and I got back on the bike and set off. Push with the ball of the foot, not with the toes (this got shortened to BALL of the foot, BALL of the foot, BALL of the foot which then just got shortened to me shouting BALL, BALL, BALL as I cycled along just to try and keep stretching out that ankle). Recognised the sound of the Thomas-mobile behind me, checked to make sure there was plenty of ditch to avoid an opened passenger door (awwww, I knew you wouldn't really...I think) and then Helen was on down the road to find somewhere to pull in. Bless her, she parked up at the top of a hill so she could leap up and down shouting encouragement as I slogged along (well, I think it was encouragement, all I could hear was me inwardly shouting 'KEEP GOING').
Stopped somewhere for a cake break - this was where the Hampton goodies came into their own. If ever you are feeling tired, achey, jelly-like etc then a slice of millionaire's shortbread is surely the ticket. Sat in the car enjoying my treat and watching the sheep circle ominously (never knew a sheep could loom in such a menacing fashion but the Dartmoor sheep have got it down to a fine art). Onwards. Suddenly realised there was more downhill than up and gave a whoop-whoop to herald the descent from the moor towards Tavistock. Flew over the cattlegrid (trust me, they are best taken at speed!!!) and then onwards. Awkward junction coming into Tavistock and then got a bit confused as to which road I should take. Thankfully Helen came along at that point and started pointing so I knew which way to go. She then pulled up in a car park to check where we were headed and then set off on the final leg.
Onwards to Colcharton farm. Now I had compared notes with Helen as to where she thought it was and I wasn't too sure which of us was correct, but it turned out (thankfully) that I was heading in the right direction - I don't think any extra miles on hilly roads trying to find the B&B would have been popular with me or Lightning. I managed to get there first even though Helen set out before me (well I knew I was quick but overtaking a Fiesta...). Just as I was talking to the lovely lady who runs the B&B, Helen arrived and we retired to the conservatory for tiffin (that's a cup of tea and a biccie to be precise).
Now if you are looking for a lovely B&B then you will struggle to find many as good as Colcharton Farm. It was lovely - friendly, comfy, good tea and biccies (always gets my vote). I decided to take my intrepid pannier-carrier out for dinner at the local pub The Harvest Home. Oh but a good pint of beer, lovely food and fantastic pudding - what's not to like!! Then Helen dropped me back at the B&B and headed off back to Sampford. Sleep time for Vonnie - only a day and a half to go so sore ankle or no I am determined to get there (even if I have to get off and walk it!!).
Onwards to Exeter. Buzzed through Halberton (sorry to the SP cyclists - I wasn't able to make the 20 MPH sign flash a warning at me as hard as I pedalled due to the uphill bit just before the village although of course I could not condone breaking the speed limit on a bicycle...) and around Tiverton on speedy patrol. Oh but amazing what my Mum's home cooking can do to help with the speediness.
Arrived early in Exeter - funnily enough when I know there is a specific time arranged for me to be in a place and I have been able to plan well in advance so I don't have to cover an extensive distance before I get there I will make it on time.
Met up with the Providence Court team - I had seen Providence Court and Cafe 55 on TV but have never actually been inside. The cafe was officially opened by Sense's patron HRH The Princess Royal which got lots of media interest. The TV presenter Judi Spiers also came for a visit as featured on TV. But they had never seen anything like the sweaty cyclist on a trusty silver bike turning up at the Cafe!! Hold the front page...
Huge thanks to Jane Tucker for making me...yep you guessed it...some banana sandwiches (but with a lovely side salad, crudites and dips so she gets bonus points). Had a good old chat with Shaun Gibbons and Lorna Mackie whilst enjoying my sandwich feast. Interesting to note that Cafe 55 has a number of volunteers who are prepared to help out so that the cafe can be open more often, but until the CRB (Criminal Record Bureau) checks can be completed for each individual they can't come to work at the Cafe. Let's hope there is some way of speeding up the process so that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect deafblind people but without the lengthy administrative delays that hold up the whole show. Cafe 55 is a really positive initiative for deafblind people as well as the wider community so I hope the necessary safeguarding checks can go through the CRB as quickly as possible so the cafe can really come alive.
Had a tour of the cafe kitchens, the day centre facilities and then the meeting room - if there is anyone in Exeter who needs a bright and airy meeting room together with delicious catering and an outside break area backing onto the Roman city wall then look no further than Providence Court. Jane Tucker is the lady to speak to. Thank you to all the team at Providence Court for making me feel so welcome and for showing me around what promises to be a buzzing venue.
I also have to say a huge thank you to the team at Hampton Resource Centre in Peterborough - on arrival at Providence Court there was a package waiting for me. Inside were two bundles: the first contained a variety of edible goodies including flapjack and millionaires shortbread and the second contained a selection of pampering goodies like shower gel and hand cream. It was so kind of the Hampton team to send these on for me together with all their best wishes - you are such a thoughtful team and, as you will read later, the flapjack really helped out with a difficult ride over Dartmoor.
Onwards from Providence Court and out onto the moor. Yep, never one to take the easy road I decided to go over the moor rather than round it. It was a glorious ride through the forest around Dunsford and although mostly uphill the gradient was never too bad in one go. There is a sharp little corner with a nasty uphill climb just before Moretonhampstead but luckily there wasn't any traffic behind me and I used the granny gears to good effect to pull up it (and thankfully it is short and sharp rather than a long drawn out death-rattle hill).
Stopped in Moretonhampstead for lunch (excellent chicken baguette at the town bakery). Chatted to two lovely people who had dropped in for a cream tea (and boy did it look tempting) about the cycle and deafblind issues in general. So kind of them to give me a contribution for the collecting tin - that went in when I got reunited with my panniers in the evening.
Onwards and onto the open moor. Now it had been a series of uphill climbs to get into the National Park and now my ankle was starting to mumble a bit. On one ascent my foot and leg below the calf went numb which was a bit of a suprise - got off the bike and must have looked a bit funny trying to push it with a deadleg! Mind you, wasn't laughing when the foot came back to life. Yowzer. Back on the bike and push on - suprisingly it was a bit windy on the moor (no, who would have thought it, windy on an exposed moorland bit) and rain threatened. Now the ankle was really starting to jibb and there was moderate to severe swearing as I went along.
As I rolled down the hill into two bridges I felt a sudden jar in the ankle and all I could do was hang on until I could brake to a standstill and get off the bike. Now if you have ever had to unclip your cycling shoe from a bike by pushing your ankle away from the pedal when your ankle is screaming at you then you will understand the yelp I gave at that point. Even worse than that, as I hung onto the fence trying to breathe through it all and not just burst into tears, my sister pulled up in the car behind me. Now you know you must have looked in a right state when your sister puts on her care profession voice and says 'now just come and sit down over here for a moment'. I would have given anything to have avoided her seeing me at that precise moment in time - I had got used to things like that happening on a daily basis but for Helen it must have been a shock. She suggested that we probably could fit Lightning into the car but I was having none of it. After a quick stretch at the roadside (as well as an internal monologue telling myself to sound breezy and carefree...) I suggested that I could try pushing the bike up the hill to see if I could walk off the ankle ache and that Helen could give me about a 10 minute head start before following me in the car. I started off and just told myself to keep going, keep going. That hill was a long one but I didn't dare stop walking. Onwards, Vonnie. Eventually it flattened out and I got back on the bike and set off. Push with the ball of the foot, not with the toes (this got shortened to BALL of the foot, BALL of the foot, BALL of the foot which then just got shortened to me shouting BALL, BALL, BALL as I cycled along just to try and keep stretching out that ankle). Recognised the sound of the Thomas-mobile behind me, checked to make sure there was plenty of ditch to avoid an opened passenger door (awwww, I knew you wouldn't really...I think) and then Helen was on down the road to find somewhere to pull in. Bless her, she parked up at the top of a hill so she could leap up and down shouting encouragement as I slogged along (well, I think it was encouragement, all I could hear was me inwardly shouting 'KEEP GOING').
Stopped somewhere for a cake break - this was where the Hampton goodies came into their own. If ever you are feeling tired, achey, jelly-like etc then a slice of millionaire's shortbread is surely the ticket. Sat in the car enjoying my treat and watching the sheep circle ominously (never knew a sheep could loom in such a menacing fashion but the Dartmoor sheep have got it down to a fine art). Onwards. Suddenly realised there was more downhill than up and gave a whoop-whoop to herald the descent from the moor towards Tavistock. Flew over the cattlegrid (trust me, they are best taken at speed!!!) and then onwards. Awkward junction coming into Tavistock and then got a bit confused as to which road I should take. Thankfully Helen came along at that point and started pointing so I knew which way to go. She then pulled up in a car park to check where we were headed and then set off on the final leg.
Onwards to Colcharton farm. Now I had compared notes with Helen as to where she thought it was and I wasn't too sure which of us was correct, but it turned out (thankfully) that I was heading in the right direction - I don't think any extra miles on hilly roads trying to find the B&B would have been popular with me or Lightning. I managed to get there first even though Helen set out before me (well I knew I was quick but overtaking a Fiesta...). Just as I was talking to the lovely lady who runs the B&B, Helen arrived and we retired to the conservatory for tiffin (that's a cup of tea and a biccie to be precise).
Now if you are looking for a lovely B&B then you will struggle to find many as good as Colcharton Farm. It was lovely - friendly, comfy, good tea and biccies (always gets my vote). I decided to take my intrepid pannier-carrier out for dinner at the local pub The Harvest Home. Oh but a good pint of beer, lovely food and fantastic pudding - what's not to like!! Then Helen dropped me back at the B&B and headed off back to Sampford. Sleep time for Vonnie - only a day and a half to go so sore ankle or no I am determined to get there (even if I have to get off and walk it!!).
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