hips don't lie: Falling for Dartmoor: a cycling holiday on an electric bike

By
Tim Lott

PUBLISHED:

05:15 EST, 20 January 2013

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UPDATED:

11:09 EST, 25 January 2013

What wicked sprite whispered in my ear that I should go cycling on Dartmoor as autumn faded into winter, I wondered, as the rain whipped down the night before I headed to Devon from London. You could die out there, I thought. I could die out there.

I wasn’t even getting kudos. My (borrowed) bike was electric – and if you want to watch the lip of a ‘real’ cyclist curl into a sneer, just mention the words ‘assisted cycling’. ‘Pathetic,’ spat one.

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No mean feat: Majestic Dartmoor can prove a bumpy ride for cyclists

The next morning, my younger brother Jack strapped our £2,000 cycles on to his car-rack. His bike was a Sparta RXS Light, a spiffy matt-black lightweight city machine; mine a heavier, Dutch sit-up-and-beg Koga E-Extension.

We spent the night in Exeter poring over maps. Our first shock the next day was how deceptive the distances shown on them were. As we drove from Exeter to Moretonhampstead – ‘the gateway to Dartmoor’ on the eastern flank of the national park – the map showed it was less than ten miles, but it seemed a lot further.

We decided that Dartmoor was bigger than we thought. Much bigger, in fact. We continued to the western edge of the moor, parked the car and set off on our bikes from Sourton for our first destination, the gastrohotel of Gidleigh Park, near Chagford.

According to my map, it was 16.7 miles.

We cycled along the Granite Way, a remote path along a disused railway, the bikes purring beautifully on the flat. With no traffic or pedestrians, there were only the rich colours of autumn to distract us.

With the electric bike effectively providing a giant hand at my back to push as I pedalled along the tricky bits (the motor doesn’t kick in until you pedal), we covered the first five miles in 20 minutes. At this rate we’d be in Chagford for afternoon tea. But as we left the cycle path and began navigating close-hedged, winding, falling and swooping country lanes, our progress became deadly slow. It was as if Dartmoor runs through a series of wrinkles in the space-time continuum. We simply couldn’t work out how long anything was going to take.

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Uneasy rider: Tim Lott and his electric bike

We eventually made it to Gidleigh Park at dusk. Cold and tired, I collapsed in front of a log fire in the wood-panelled lounge, while the manager brought tea and brandy.

Dinner was an exquisite eight-course tasting menu, which was even better for having been earned, and we woke up early the next day ready for a 20-mile ride.

Again, the roads pitched and rose, so much so that at several points the electric motors on the bikes were too weak to take us to the top of hills. We had to push the bikes – fully loaded and weighed down with heavy batteries – up steep inclines.

We arrived at a crossroads after 90 minutes of stop-start travel from Chagford. The sign read ‘Chagford 2 miles’. By the time we made it to the main road across the moor, our batteries were low and it was raining. The road was good, though, and we flew along, sometimes hitting more than 30mph. Jack had to go home at this point so we parted at the magnificent Gothic broodiness of Dartmoor Prison.

I cycled on alone until The Old School Guest House in Yelverton loomed into view just before dark.

The next day, girded for another circuitous 20-mile journey, I cycled for two hours before finding myself sitting uncomfortably on a dual carriageway.

There was a rough cycle track just off the road, so I tried to swing on to it but I fell off, tumbling into undergrowth and cutting my hand. Bloodied but unbowed, I climbed back on, unwittingly leaving a pannier behind.

After a night in the fashionable Agaric BB in Ashburton, I rode the eight miles to the station at Newton Abbot ready for my journey home.

I had enjoyed myself immensely, although next time I would build in a bit more time for sightseeing – this trip had been too much about getting to my destination before nightfall – and use a map that shows exactly where the hills are.

Follow Tim Lott on Twitter @timlottwriter

Travel facts

For more information on buying an electric bike, contact Justebikes (020 8960 9848, justebikes.co.uk). Gidleigh Park Hotel (01647 432367, gidleigh.com) offers rooms from £354 per night including breakfast. Rooms at The Old School Guest House (01822 852437, theoldschoolcottage.com) start at £64 including breakfast. Double rooms at Agaric (01364 654478, agaricrestaurant.co.uk) start at £120 per night including breakfast.