From Archie Douglas
Hi my name is Archie Douglas, an U14 rider, in June I completed a 100-mile bike ride to raise money for the World Scout Jamboree in Poland which is a global celebration of Scouting where tens of thousands of young people from around the world come together. For this remarkable opportunity, me and 36 other lucky Scouts, chosen from Suffolk, have to raise £3,400 EACH!!! So, on the 27Th of June me and my dad travelled to Ilfracombe to begin my 100-mile (158 km) bike route.
We first had to climb out of the town and the on to the old railway line. We then reached the country roads with their long, steep, fast, twisting descents and spectacular views of Devon and Cornwall. We joined the Tarka Trail at Braunton, stopping for energy drinks along the way. After a couple hours of dodging; runners, walkers and dogs we were tired and worn out, we reached a small town filled with steep hills and closed roads. It felt like the hills were becoming steeper and our legs were becoming jelly (especially for dad), but we persisted. One road in particular had been experiencing a huge pipe leak. Water was spread across the road. We dismounted our bikes, something my dad was getting used to, and walked through the dirty water. With wet feet we continued through the ‘rolling hills’ of Devon. We reached a pothole filled road, I heard a large outburst of air, it was a puncture! After about 30 minutes of repairs, we were once again back on the road. We reached Okehampton, again navigating road closures we started the climb up to the railway station, this was one of the longest climbs of the day which proved too much for dad so we walked the last ½ mile, it was then back on another disused railway line, allowing us to make good progress. Despite this it was starting to get dark, with the horrid heat, road closures and delays we sadly and very reluctantly at mile 72 we had to call it a day.
After a good night’s rest, mum dropped us off at exactly the same spot we had climbed off the night before. We hadn’t cycled more than a couple of miles before we came to an offroad section our guidebook described as difficult it was in fact completely unrideable on our cross bikes, so we had to walk. After a few miles on country roads, we reached Tavistock and joined Drake’s trail, I really enjoyed this section with its long tunnels, bridges and viaducts. After another hilly section, we started the descent into Plymouth, with dad constantly shouting at me to slow down. In the blink of an eye we had reached Plymouth! Despite the diversions, mechanicals, poor terrain, heat and constant hills, we finished, knowing that I had mad a huge leap towards my goal of £3,400. Thank you for all the Rovers who kindly donated, your support really means a lot.
If you’re looking for a quiet, scenic century ride with plenty of hills, and long traffic-free sections I would really recommend the Devon Coast to Coast.