Brixham to Ashburton
Distance: 16.7 miles
Time (hours): 1:49
Average Speed: 9.14 mph
Ascent: 1,883 ft
Hefty Climb
Today’s ride made up for what it lacked in distance with a hefty amount of climb. An easy start took us back along the coast to Paignton. From here, there was a prolonged ascent, gaining nearly 500 feet in height. This was, however, steady and – though tough – quite manageable.
Intermittent Views
Then followed a pleasant trundle along country lanes, with intermittent views of Dartmoor, looming ahead. Which was only slightly marred by the fact that these tiny roads appear to be the main thoroughfare. Stopping for a sandwich break in a field, we practiced our local accents. Which – it turns out – neither of us can do. At the same time, we strove to avoid eye-contact with the cows we hadn’t noticed on climbing the gate.
Hairy Crossing
From here on, things became seriously uppy-downy. And – before we could reach the quaint town of Ashburton – we needed to negotiate a hairy crossing of a busy dual-carriageway. To do so, we had to cross two lanes, then take a muddy path between the central-reservation barriers. On which, Rob slipped and fell, landing heavily on the shoulder of his bowing arm.
Creative Hub
Ashburton is an amazing creative hub, set within an attractive little town on the southern end of Dartmoor. The Arts Centre is housed in a converted Methodist church. The performance space is compact yet flexible, so it can comfortably host larger events or those of a more intimate nature. Which is just as well. Without dwelling on numbers, I can safely say we were on first-name terms with the whole audience by the end of our show.
We invited centre manager Andy to join us on Saxophone for a couple of numbers. And he was more than happy to take centre stage. Unfortunately, in making space, Rob stepped on the lead from his violin, causing his pick-up to emit a gig-ending din. Fortunately, we were only one song short of the planned conclusion. But it had been a costly day for Rob, who had bravely performed through his shoulder pain and now faced having to have his equipment repaired.
Treasure-Trove of Stories
Afterwards, we repaired to our hosts Rick and Shelley’s house. And what a pair of characters they turned out to be. Rick is an actor and musician. He was one of the people responsible for introducing the Circus field to Glastonbury festival. And he has a treasure-trove of stories from his colourful career. Among which was how he became custodian of one of Keith Richards’ guitars.
Rick had come to know Keith’s son Marlon. MarIon had an old acoustic guitar, signed by his father, that had previously been played on the original recording of Blue Suede Shoes (or one of Elvis’ hits at any rate). His mother insisted Rick take the guitar, as it wasn’t being played. But Rick was terrified. He was now in possession of a priceless instrument he daren’t play and couldn’t even tell anyone about. After six months, he gave it back and was relieved so to have done.
