Day 20 Taunton to Okehampton

Grand Western Canal

I was awake at 6am and popped a pill straight away, hoping it would kick in by the time I'd left. With headlamp on and all lights blazing I biked in the dark through a fine drizzle to Nynehead, then joined the Grand Western Canal near Greenham Weir, still part of the NCN3. The towpath was perfect, the water crystal clear, and the rain stopped. What a great canal! Even the bridges were friendly; they had names, not numbers like all the previous ones: Whipcott, Fencer, Fussed, Ebear. My OS map suggested the NCN3 left the canal at Samford Peverell, but a couple of dog walkers said I  could bike all the way to Tiverton, a nice bonus. After Halburton there was an aqueduct over the railway that put the canal out of business, then a memorial to the crew of a  Canberra bomber that had crashed in the canal in 1961. The crash had been largely forgotten until dredging work in 2003 uncovered fuselage fragments and mud smelling of fuel.
I was sorry to reach Tiverton, the canal had been such a puncture-free delight. I had no hesitation in awarding it the Best Canal Oscar. I dropped down to Tiverton and had two flat whites, a panini and an almond twist which all hit the spot perfectly. 5km of B road took me out of Tiverton, then I turned off through Pennymoor, Paddington, Black Dog and Morchard Bishop, which sounded like a vegetarian variation on the 'More tea vicar?' phrase.

Aqueduct

Severe undulations led past a sign warning about kangaroos, through Bondleigh and on to Honeychurch where I stopped for a brew and some chocolate.
There was a big descent into Sampford Chapple, then across to Brightly and into Okehampton.
I decided to use the youth hostel. I hadn't been in one since my late teens, and thought it would be nice to have people to talk to. And I'd heard they did nice rooms these days, and had really 'upped their game'.
It was a steep hill up the YH, where I was offered a shared dorm for £18. I suspected my gear-spreading tricks might be more suited to a private room, so I asked if they had any. Yes, for £50. That sounded pretty expensive, but I was tired and thought it would be a nice hotel-style room, so I stabled Horse in the drying room, which wasn't heated, and took my bags up to the room. It was a tad disappointing: small, with two bunk beds, an attached shower room with paint flaking off the ceiling, mouldy sealant, and a hand towel. If I hadn't been so tired I'd have gone and found a B&B where I'd at least get breakfast thrown in. The room overlooked the railway terminus, which was blaring out Christmas carols over tinny loudspeakers. I made myself a cup of tea, and found the common room, where a cooking programme was on the TV, and a chap sat there with his laptop wearing those "Don't even think about talking to me" headphones. So much for company. I drank up, grabbed my wallet from Room 101 and fled into town for food and beer, where the London Inn filled both those requirements. The barman tried to tempt me with a dessert, but with an  ascent of Station Road  imminent I wisely passed. As turned onto the side road to the hostel I noticed two things. The hostel was on Klondike Road, and having just had £50 extruded through the nostrils, that came as no surprise. Secondly the carols were still going full belt at the station and it was gone 8pm. I crossed the bridge to the station and enquired when the carols would be turned off. "When the next train comes in, which is soon." I should have asked for a definition of 'soon'. Temporarily mollified I returned to my cell and phoned Fiona. "What's that noise?" "Oh, Once in Royal David's City." "It's very loud isn't it?" Eventually the last train came in, and it sat there engine turning over noisily. I kept telling myself it was just the purring of a large cat, and gradually the blood pressure dropped as I started to drift off to sleep. Then the engine was turned off, and "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" took over. I soaked tissues and shoved them in my ears, but there was no escape. It was like an acoustic torture they use to break people, and just as I was on the verge of cracking it all went quiet.

Not another wrong turn!

Back road bliss

Day stats 90km  1136 Metres of ascent
Off road 18km 
A road 2km 
B road  10km 
Unclassifed road 60km