Post by Dave on Sept 23, 2014 20:33:41 GMT
Exeter Quay To The Turf Exe Estuary Cycle Ride
I love Torbay and would not really want to live anywhere else, the only move I might make for personal reasons is back to the town I was born in and grew up in ,Newton Abbot.
The only problem with the Bay is that it is built on seven hills, very nice for some spectacular sea view, but not much fun for a cyclist my age. I am pleased with the progress I’m making on the bike, gone are the days I walked up hills, but there are still some I do in stages.
I had looked at getting a cycle rack for my car, but found its quicker and earlier just to put the back seats down in the car, take off the front wheel of the bike and put it into the car. It has meant I can take the bike on rides I always wanted to do, the last big one being Topsham to Budleigh Saterton.
I decided to go back up to Exeter and this time ride from the Quay to Starcross, a ride completely traffic free. I set off around 9am and once in the area of Exeter Quay looked for the cheap car park I have used in the past. Either its no longer a cheap car park or simply I was unable to find it. I drove around a bit and found a back street that had some industrial units on it that had no parking restrictions.
Parked up I got the bike out of the back of the car, put the front wheel on and started to prepare for my ride. I reached into my pocket to get out my smart phone and panic set in. My phone was not in my pocket and I always use my phone to map my ride using a sports app. I checked the car and then my pockets again and while I thought the phone must be at home, the fact I could not find it partly ruined the day for me.
I did think about driving straight home but talked myself out of it and just got on the bike and started riding. Being still early for a Sunday morning there were not a great deal of other cyclists and walkers around, that changed as the day wore on.
The first part of the ride is right beside the river, it was good to see it in good use by canoeists and other small boat users. At the end of the main section is a pub very popular with cyclists and walkers, not being a pub sort of person I just admired
The view from that location
The so called Halford bike mechanics still after three attempts had not got the gearing set up correctly on my bike, I needed to do a few running repairs during the ride. I have since spent a few hours getting the gears spot on and am happy to say they are now as perfect as they can be.
Due to the gearing problems I decided to head back to the Quay and come back and do this ride another day but was rather gutted as I had wanted to cycle all the way to Starcross and back.
I made the return journey and then headed back to the Bay, I felt so much relief when I got back indoors and found my phone still plugged into the charger. I enjoyed this ride and will do it again soon, I think the people living in Exeter are so lucky to have such safe and enjoyable cycle routes to ride on.
