Day 3 done: Bridgestowe to Taunton

Before we get into the cycling from today, first mention to the evening entertainment. Yes, I know is is supposed to be about the cycling but we need to keep Dr Mawdsley interested.

So we start with the evening entertainment. What are the chances, we were wondering into Taunton to find dinner and maybe a pint of cider only to spot a 40 over game at the county ground in Taunton. What could we do but head in and watch a bit of cricket. Fortunately they were also serving Somerset pork sarnies and proper Hatchers cider (the flat stuff, not the fizzy). Obviously we had to get involved and despite the odd rain break were lucky enough to see a real cliff hanger with Chris Read bringing Notts home with one ball to spare. The notable cider of the evening was the Hatcher's sweet which was a vivid orange colour. We were confidently told this is "what we drink in Somerset!".

now to the serious stuff. The morning started well. John and Margaret's hospitality at Week Farm was finished off perfectly with a killer fully English. The sausages were enough to set you up for the day. We then headEd out to get past Okehampton as soon as possible and continue north. We had a great but tough morning meandering through the mid-Devon countryside. We met
a coupe of cyclist at Monkokehampton who suggested Ian's beard was nothing more than bum-fluff. South Molton was reached by about 12.30 and a suitable pub found for lunch. Proper Ian's mums doorstep rolls sorted us right out, along with the obligatory bitter shandy.

During lunch we learnt an important lesson (one we have all learnt before but never seem to heed). Never trust an opinion obtain by a stranger in a public house! Evidence of this was obvious when a casual Conversation with one of the locals about the best way to Taunton lead to us heading down the dual carriageway of the A361 in the driving rain. Not the best post-lunch start and we had a pretty tough 30 minutes or so trying to get ourselves back on track. Fortunately we soon hit the main road of the afternoon, the B3227.

That got our speed back up to the required velocity and we were soon in good spirits speeding down into Brampton. Spirits were raised further when we heard the Finn support team were steaming their way towards us. We passed Richard (father-in-law) and Victor (Amy's grandad) within yards of the Somerset border. Flapjacks and lukozade went down a treat and the obligatory photos by the county sign gave us the motivation we needed for the last 18 miles into Taunton. Local knowledge from Richard and Victor told us we had only one moderate climb ahead and we enjoyed our cruise down into Taunton. A very comfortable hotel and a refreshing drink with Carol and Richard was a very pleasing end to a tough but rewarding day!

So the usual end of blog stats:
- 78 miles done. Most so far in one day.
- 195 miles in total since LE
- zero falls
- zero sense of humour failures (surprisingly)
- one king of the mountains dismount - it was very steep!
- zero wrong turns taken (discounting the dodgy directions at the pub). Great work Ian!
- however, a disappointing day on the amusing towns with only a duplicate Splat
- ciders consumed - too many.

One final note for the Richard Finn Appreciation Trophy. Somerset's contenders were obviously all ciders.
- the Sheppy's was very good and a solid 7
- the fizzy Hatcher's was pretty good but just under at 6.5
- however, the proper stuff was inside the county ground with non-fizzy Hatcher's running away with it. Ian and I am split between whether we drake the medium or sweet forward however they both get a 8.5.

Majority rule means that the Jail Ale, brewed on Dartmoor, goes forward as the Devon champion ale.

Tomorrow we will be in Bristol. I am really hoping the view at the top of cheddar gorge is worth the climb.

TTFN