Hill no 14 - 6 Exmoor Forest, Devon

Having climbed up Porlock and hurt my legs in the process, I deserved a treat. And boy did I get it on the ride from Porlock to the start of Exmoor Forest. Just over 9 miles, I really should have cruised it gently, but - really - what is the fun in that?! Got my head down a bit and enjoyed some downhills: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82266933 .

Basically you cruise along the North coast, from Somerset into Devon with views of sandy beaches and glorious views across to South Wales. Amazing. You've just climbed up Porlock so down to Lynmouth you have all these amazing descents - so even if you stop for a quick photo or two, you get back up to speed sharpish.

Seriously, with weather like we've had over the past week, I cannot imagine a better place to be on holiday than the UK - Wales/Somerset/Devon - all the match of anywhere you could possibly hope to go. And no passport needed!

Exmoor Forest itself gains a mere 3/10, which after the efforts of Porlock and Dunkery was fine by me.

 Again, though, much like Rhigos, I was a bit "meh" about the climb initially - it was fairly gentle, kept the bike in the big ring and tried to power through the ride. It was pretty enough, but nothing to really rock the boat, sheltered and in the shade, it was nice enough. But then you came out to a harder middle section that made you work a bit more and then finally you came out onto the moor properly and it was lovely. The gradient went down a little bit  - as a reward for the effort you had put in and "meh" was replaced with "yeah!"

So that was it for me today - garmin data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82266930
Youtube data to go here:
Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100hillsforgeorge/sets/72157626955335632/ Went a bit crazy on nos here!

Weary legs back into the car for a couple of days R&R down in Cornwall (Challacombe was going to have to wait) - am pleased to have made a good start on my new project anyway. Think this one is genuinely going to be a tough one. The hills are hard and the logistics even harder.