Recently Julian and Mike took a pair of students to Devon to ride the 102 from Ilfracombe to Plymouth Coast to Coast route. Whilst down there Steve who has previously worked at Wolf Mountain joined them on there 2 day ride.With all the Devon countryside as inspiration and lots of fresh air a verse was born:
COAST TO COAST
In a land of folk lore and fairytales Begins an adventure in a Bay of sails Adventurers down from the smoke Joined by Glastonburys’ scary bloke Bellies full of cereals and toast
Set off on a journey, Coast to Coast.
Twas not long before they were tested
And it was in Braunton that they rested
The uphill 3 mile start was grueling
The 5 man team needed refueling
An ancient map printed front and back
Guided them along the Tarka Track
The weather fine and sea at the shore
The folk of Bideford watched in awe
For 60 mile the men pushed on
Ending the first day in Oakhampton
But disaster had struck at Hatherleigh
And what were 5 turned into 3!
62 miles now completed
Would the men of ‘the smoke’ be defeated?
Even though the group was now depleted
The 2nd day saw 4 men seated
Sleeping compartments taken down
The group set off from the middle of town
Facing forest foliage and moorland heather
But more foreboding; a change in the weather!
When it rains locals’ talk of Gods’ Fountain
And this is was hit the brave men of Wolf Mountain
It pounded them for hours on end
Definitely more foe than friend
Finally at 2 o’clock
The sodden men reached Tavistock
Soaked to the bone by the precipitation
What they needed was some inspiration
Then Scary Man said “This is how,
If were going to go it has to be now!”
With new hope and spirits raised
The men remounted bikes, unfazed
But 1 couldn’t recover sufficiently
So the group of 4 was once more 3.
The rain now stopped, the order given to go
On the final leg to Plymouth Hoe
What lay ahead was un-chartered and new
Those left behind bid farewell to the few
3 brave men into the distance rode
Not taking the easy route but going off-road
20 mile of hills and dales
Through the land of folklore and fairytales
If they survived intact and not flea bitten
Another fairytale would be written
And so it came to be that, still alive
They arrived in Plymouth at just turned 5
So raise your glasses, here’s the toast
To those who completed the ‘Coast to Coast’
At the foot of the Lighthouse gathered the team
Their pride and satisfaction on their faces did beam
But one person was thinking, ‘mmm maybe we can’
NO!! we all pleaded, but Jules had a plan.
Twas not long before they were tested
And it was in Braunton that they rested
The uphill 3 mile start was grueling
The 5 man team needed refueling
An ancient map printed front and back
Guided them along the Tarka Track
The weather fine and sea at the shore
The folk of Bideford watched in awe
For 60 mile the men pushed on
Ending the first day in Oakhampton
But disaster had struck at Hatherleigh
And what were 5 turned into 3!
62 miles now completed
Would the men of ‘the smoke’ be defeated?
Even though the group was now depleted
The 2nd day saw 4 men seated
Sleeping compartments taken down
The group set off from the middle of town
Facing forest foliage and moorland heather
But more foreboding; a change in the weather!
When it rains locals’ talk of Gods’ Fountain
And this is was hit the brave men of Wolf Mountain
It pounded them for hours on end
Definitely more foe than friend
Finally at 2 o’clock
The sodden men reached Tavistock
Soaked to the bone by the precipitation
What they needed was some inspiration
Then Scary Man said “This is how,
If were going to go it has to be now!”
With new hope and spirits raised
The men remounted bikes, unfazed
But 1 couldn’t recover sufficiently
So the group of 4 was once more 3.
The rain now stopped, the order given to go
On the final leg to Plymouth Hoe
What lay ahead was un-chartered and new
Those left behind bid farewell to the few
3 brave men into the distance rode
Not taking the easy route but going off-road
20 mile of hills and dales
Through the land of folklore and fairytales
If they survived intact and not flea bitten
Another fairytale would be written
And so it came to be that, still alive
They arrived in Plymouth at just turned 5
So raise your glasses, here’s the toast
To those who completed the ‘Coast to Coast’
At the foot of the Lighthouse gathered the team
Their pride and satisfaction on their faces did beam
But one person was thinking, ‘mmm maybe we can’
NO!! we all pleaded, but Jules had a plan.
Anon..
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