Final link is a Gem!

The official opening of the Gem Bridge on the Drakes trail this week, is the final link in a route which links Ilfracombe with Brittany.
The £2m bridge was completed with funding from the EU as a mjor part of the Sustrans cycle network.

Cycle-West aims to promote cycling bewtween France and SW England using the Roscoff and Poole ferry links.
Cllr. Stuart Hughes nwas enthustiastic about the opening stating he wanted to make Devom "The" place to cycle, and hoped there would be up to 250,000 users on the trail next year.

Tony Avery at Burrington Coombe.

250 enjoy a moonlit run.
The 2012 Exmouth Exodus was a great success, and over 250 riders cycled from Clifton down to the Finish at Exmouth.
The weather at the start was appaling, - torrential rain in and around Bristol cause lot's of flooding, and many riders chose to wait in the pub untl the strorms had stopped.
The weather cleard and it was amild night with light winds, and a glrious moonlit run down the Cheddar Gorge.
The main food control at North Curry was busy, with helpers from CTC and AUK dishing out a veg curry, and tea and biscuits.
Shortly after dawn the rain began again, so many arrived soaked at Exmouth.

Reports and details about the run at www.exmouthexodus.co.uk

Paul riding the Torplex 200Km

Paul Goffron has passed away.

There is more sad news on the loss of another local cyclist - Paul Goffron.
Paul rode in many Devon CTC events, and regularly completed the Torplex 200Km ride.

Paul passed away last week in a local Hospice.

Newton Area Cycling Group.

Newton Area Cycling Group was formed in 2003, to liase with local cyclists,
Devon County Council and other authorities, to promote cycling interests in the area.
Following the setting up of Teignbridge Cycle Forum earlier in the year, it was decided to disband
the NACG and use the forum as the mechanism for supporting cycling in Teignbridge.

Jurassic Classic cancelled.

Tomorrows Jurassic Classic Cyclosportif has been cancelled. After weeks of poor generally wet weather, and 24 hours of heavy rain, many roads are waterlogged. Organiser Alistair Cope says he is gutted to have to cancel the ride, which had 1000 entries. News will follow in case the event is rescheduled.

Jurassic Classic in East Devon.

next weekend (15th July) is the Jurassic Rollercoaster Audax ride, organised by CS Dynamo.
Everyone is hoping for some weather improvements soon.



Flood scenes in East Devon - 7th Juy 2012

Devon Delight and Torplex 200 - Riders enjoy sunshine and showers.

Niki, Toby and Johnny Sharp, Simon Endicott.

Magnificent 7! -Torplex riders.

The weather held for the weekends Audax events.
It was a cool breezy day on Sunday, more like April than June, but pleasant for cycling.
84 riders signed up to the Devon Delight, but only 7 started on the Torplex.
There were a few sharp showers, and unfortunall Phil Burrows from Torquay fell on a corner in Dawlish, and injured his shoulder. Mike and Michele Radant had to abandon the ride after theri tandem bottom bracjet started to cause problems.
On the 200Km Torplex ride, the cyclists had a tough windy ride over Dartmoor, but all seven completed the ride within the time limit.
CTC's next Audax events are the "little bit of The Great Tour" on 29th July, and the Jurassic Rollercoaster is on 15th July.
PHOTOS ON PHOTOBOX:
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£600 fine and 9 points for driver who "charged" at Torbay cyclists.

A tanker driver who drove his vehicle at a group of cyclists in Devon lanes, after they had stopped to try and let him past, has been fined in court.
The incident happened near Littlehempston a few weeks ago. A group of riders met the tanker coming up a hill, and the road was too narrow to pass. After they stopped to turn around and let the lorry through, the driver suddenly drove at the riders, cursing and swearing, and some had to jump into the hedge to avoid being run over.
Following complaints to the Police, and witness statements, the driver from North Wales was found guilty in his absence of driving without due care and attention. He was fined £600 and given 9 penalty points.

Dartmoor Classic - succesful event depite crashes.

Niki and Toby Sharp

Chris and Jackie Whatley

There were several bad crashes on the weekends Dartmoor Classic Cyclosportive
caused in part by some poor weather conditions - however there has been some fanstastic feedback on one of the UK's top Sportif events.
England Rugby captain Michael Johnson was a celebrity rider who completed the 100 mile ride in good time.
The storms overnight brought a tree down at Holne Chase, so the event had to be diverted around the blocked road. There was some heavy rain in the first half of the ride which made cattle grids very slippery, with rider suffering a broken femur on a grid fall.
Several local CTC riders completed this years event.
The next South West Sportif is the Jurassic Classic on Sunday 8th July from Exmouth.

FORCE Charity ride from Topsham.

The FORCE cancer charity ride is also this coming weekend.
Around 1000 riders are expected to attempt the 100Km and 100mile routes.
The event starts from Topsham rugby club on Sunday 24th June..
The ride was originlly known as th "Nello" and the route takes the riders North onto Exmoor and back.

Dartmoor Classic Weekend looms.

This weekend 23rd/24th June, sees up to 2800 cyclists registering at the start of the
Dartmoor Classic Cyclosportive.
There are some concerns about possible poor weather for this weekend.
The event was first run in 2007 with heavy rain for the first few hours.
Since then the weather has been mainly kind, with a couple of very warm events!
The event is based around Abbrook Park in Kinsteignton.
Good luck to all riding the 100Km and 100mile rides.

Pothole near Tedburn - June 2012

Devon Talk - Summer 2009

Devon County Council stashes £11million underspend, whilst roads fall apart.

Devon County Council hve just decided to stash an £11m underspend.

This at a time when many roads are still in a poor state of repair, and damage is being accelerated by continuing wet weather.
The move was critiscised by Labour and Lib Dem members.

Midnight sun in Norway

Okehampton Globetrotters in Norway..

Tim Bridgeman and Sharon Pitts and Sara from Okehampton have spent the last two weeks touring in 24 hour daylight in Norway.

Sharon is riding with a painfully swollen hand, believed to be an allergic reaction to a plant. They are mainly camping as they head South on a two year tour of the world.
See their blog for some stunning photos!
Tim and Sharon's website and blog: http://north2northcycletour.wordpress.com/

Ruth, Frances and Neil at Lands End.

JOGLE - 1000miles in 14 days.

Congratulations to Neill Crispin, Frances Crispin and Ruth who battled strong winds and rain for several days on their end to end ride.
They arrived at Lands End on Friday 15th June after 14 days on the road, and staying at B&B's and Youth Hostels.

<<CLICK HERE>> to donate to their charity.

CTC Map reading competition.

The CTC Devon Map Reading competition is this Sunday 17th June.
It starts at Escot House near Fairmile at 10am.
Entry fee is £3 and you will need an OS Map No: 192
(1:50,000).
Finish by 3pm for afternoon tea.

Dog follows cyclists 1000 miles.

A stray dog in China followed a team of cyclists for 1000 miles after being thrown a chicken leg!

The group came across the dog five days after leaving Chengdu, in the mountains around Yajiang, a Tibetan area of Sichuan.
Over the course of the journey, the dog climbed over 12 mountains that were higher than 13,000ft, and stuck with the group during heavy storms.
The dog named Xiao Sa, now has celebrity status in China.

Devon Delight - starts at Newton Abbot

Devon Delight 2012 - New route.

The 2012 Devon Delight has a new route for 2012 and also a new HQ for the start.
The Pro Cycle Centre is on Wharf Road, opposite the old HQ at the Recreational Trust, and there will be some parking available here, and the Osborne Road car park is FREE on Sunday. GPX files available.
The TORPLEX 200 also starts from here at 8am on 1st July.

Jurassic Classic in East Devon.

Jurassic coast to host Classic Sportif.

The Jurassic Classic Cyclosportif takes place on 8th July 2012.
100Km and 100mile routes are available, and the ride is in aid of the Prostate Cancer charity.
Riders who raise over £200 will receive a Prostate Cancer charity shirt.
<<CLICK HERE>> for details.

Neil and Frances on a soggy End to End.

JOGLE'rs getting a soaking.

Spare a thought for the many cyclists doing the End to End during the inclement weather.
Neil Fran and Ruth are at Clitheroe, halfway on the journey with 450 miles to go,

<<CLICK HERE>> to donate to their charity.

Mike Hall ( photo road.cc)

Around the world in 92 days.

Yorkshireman Mike Hall has sliced almost 2 weeks off the round-the-world cycling record by covering the 18,000 miles in 92 days, averaging almost 200 miles per day!
The 31-year-old from Harrogate took around 91 days, 18 hours to circle the world from west to east.
As well as crossing the finish line on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend.

Read more at road.cc

Halfords Tour Series - Torquay.

Halfords Tour Race finds a weather window.

Heavy rain and winds on Tuesday 5th June, forced CTC to abandon their publicity stand in Torquay. However teams did take part in the Big Community Races in the afternoon, and later in the evening the weather abated for a few hours, as the crowds gathered for the spectacle of the Halfords Tour Series races.
An exciting course with a climb and some tight corners made for an interesting race.
In the final runinto the finish, Bialoblocki was given a free run to the line, after Opie tried to dive through on the last corner, puting himself and Thwaites into the barriers.
Torbay Council and Mid Devon Cycling Club were instrumental in organising the days events.

Clare and Simn Clarey

Clare and Simons Eurocycle blog.

Clare and Simon Clarey are cycling around Europe on a 6 week trip which will see them end up in Vienna.
Their log details the trip with some fine photography as they cycle alongside the Danube.




http://clareyeurovelo.blogspot.co.uk/

Round the world on Thorn bikes.

Tim and Sharon set off around the globe.

Tim Bridgeman and Sharon Pitts from Okehampton are about to set off on a world tour.

They begin their touring in Norway this weekend, and will end up in Alaska in July 2014, after traversing Europe, The Middle East, Africa, The Americas, and the US and Canada.

They will be using trusty Thorn bikes for their epic tour, and have a blog set up for the ride. They also hope to raise some cash for the worldwide charity "Shelterbox" based in Helston in Cornwall.
Tim and Sharon's website and blog: http://north2northcycletour.wordpress.com/

More family rides planned
The Easter family rides at Totnes failed to attract any riders, so more are being planned.
The next rides are plannedfor Saturday 9th June.

For a poster with dtails and application form <<CLICK HERE>>


CTC FAMILY RIDES

David Bailey

London Edinburgh success for David.

David Bailey from Dawlish has successfully completed his ride from London to Edinburgh, which he had been planning and training for for several months.

He has raised almost £1600 pounds for Friends of The Earth.
To support his efforts you can visit his JustGiving pages at:

http://www.justgiving.com/David-Bailey6

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CTC Devon - WIKI fault,

There are some ongoing problems with the CTC Devon Wiki site.
Repairs to the server are under way, and much of the website has been restored via backups.
People who access the site are advised by Kirby not to make any changes to their pages for a few days until everything is sorted out.
The bikeweb.org news pages and ctcdevon.co.uk are unaffected, but all the editable part of the website are being restored.

UPDATE: 29th May - site now up and running.

Shred Classic - thrills arrive at Plymouth Hoe this weekend.

Action packed cycle racing returns to Plymouth Hoe this weekend.
The Sky Ride taked place in the city for most of the day on Sunday, and then a highlight is the Shred Classic race which takes place on the Hoe at 4pm.

The Hoe's tight circuit provides a great opportunity for spectators to view the race, and enjoy the fine views across Plymouth sound.

<<CLICK HERE>> for more details.

With the Bennetts at Polzeath.

Chris Bennett 300Km

On 29th April, five riders from CTC Torbay took part in the Chris Bennett 300Km Audax. Chris had been planning the event before he died on 1st April, so the ride was done in his memory.
Five riders set out from Newton Abbot on a cold wet morning. It rained all the way to Winkleigh, - the first control.
The ride then took the riders to Torrington, and then onto Bude and Widemouth Bay. At 4pm they arrived at Polzeath and were greeted by Chris's family, who plied them with cakes and flapjacks!
The ride home was hard, straight into a cold NE Headwind, via Altarnun, Launceston and Okehampton.
At Cheriton Bishop the rain started again, and the finishing leg down the Teign Valley was more reminiscent of the Dartmoor Devil, roads strewn with debris. The tired gang finished the ride at 01.40 in the morning. <<CLICK HERE>> for more.

Chris's Grand Plan.

Cyclists from CTC Torbay will be taking part in a 300Km Audax ride on Saturday 28th April.
The ride was devised by Chris Bennett who passed away on a club ride three weeks ago, and goes to Polzeath in Cornwall.
The ride will start from Newton Abbot, and go via Okehampton and Launceston to Polzeath where members of the Bennett family will be there to greet them.
The return leg is up the coast of Cornwall towards Bude, and then heading across to Okehampton for a finish down the Teign valley.
The ride will be a permanent event, and it's hoped to run it as a CTC Devon event in the future.

Sky Ride - Plymouth. 13th May.

Thousands of cyclists are expected to take part in the SkyRide in Plymouth on 13th May.
Sky rides are free events which people of all abilities are encouraged to ride, on routes using cycle routes and parks.
The joint intiative between British Cycling and Sky aims to get 1 million more people cycling regularly.

<<CLICK HERE>> for full details.

Climbing from Bovey Tracey.

10 year old Alastair Shapland

Devon Dirt attracts almost 400 riders

The 2012 Devon Dirt attracted almost 400 riders. The start at BigPeaks was busy as CTC Devon helpers checked everybody in.
The riders took to the muddy lanes, and after a hefty climb out of Bovey Tracey, there was a checkpoint with food at Trenchford Reservoir.
Next was a loop around through Bridford, back to Trenchford, and then some long climbs back to the finish at Ashburton.
The ride was a great success, with the only injury a fractured arm when a Plymouth rider fell following a puncture.
With 37 miles and 4700ft of climbing endured, riders were glad to get back to Bigpeaks where the coffee machine was working overtime.
Thanks are extended to the gang of CTC helpers and the staff at BigPeaks who made the event possible.

Website.

2012 Photos

South hams gets Hammered!

The first South Hams Sportif took place at the weekend, and saw riders taking in 150Km circuit, with over 800ft of climbing.
The route left Kingsbridge and took riders anti-clockwise on a route through Slapton, Dartmouth, Dittisham, on the edge of Dartmoor, and back to South Brent, then down to the South Devon coast along some hilly valleys to Salcombe and back to kingsbridge.
The event has been aptly named "The Hammer" and was held in support of Diabetes Aid.

Family Rides
CTC Torbay are organising some family cycle rides this Easter. It's a while since the family rides have been run, but on 7th April Michele Radant is leading some rides from Totnes.
Route is about 6.5 miles maximum.
Click on the Easter Egg basket picture fore more details.
CTC FAMILY RIDES

Successful soggy Brittany Tour

The Torbay Tour of Brittany was a great success. The weather wasn't up to the usual standard but 43 riders enjoyed a good day out on the roads of Finistere
The longer rider covered about 85miles and the shorter run about 75 miles.
In the evening all the riders met up for a meal in St.Pol De Leon before the final few miles back to the ferry terminal.


PHOTOS