The classic 100km gold grimpeur audax
A scenic ride that criss-crosses Dartmoor, with big views, big hills and hailed byCycling Weekly as one of the top ten UK audaxes. Soup control at Chagford, café control at Princetown plus a cake checkpoint. There are 2 start to choose from - 8am and 9am.
Test yourself on one of the classic gold Grimpeur rides. Starting in Bovey Tracey, the ‘Gateway to Dartmoor’, and climbing onto the high moor via pretty villages, narrow lanes, steep hills and a soup stop. The Devil finishes back in Bovey Tracey after tackling the infamous Widecombe Hill.
This year's Devil returns to the Globe Inn in Chagford for the soup stop, with cake at Cross Furzes and a cafe control at Princetown.
As usual, there are two separate starts, at 8am and 9am, which have separate entries.
Enter on the Audax UK website here:
8am start: https://www.audax.uk/event-details/12587-the_dartmoor_devil__8
9am start: https://www.audax.uk/event-details/12586-the_dartmoor_devil__9
Congratulations to Richard Brain and Nigel Winter who completed their 18th Devils and to Matthew Atkinson, Paul Daly and Paul Martin who completed their 6th.
The weather for 2023's event was relatively kind, particularly for those of us spending it in the pub, with only occasional showers and a moderate southerly wind. The narrow steep descent to Clifford Bridge which was originally to be used on this route was found to have rather too little remaining tarmac for comfort, and what remained was slippery under the tree cover, so a late change to to the route was to add in the lovely descent from the top of Doccombe hill to Dunsford. Cattle grids seem to have been slippery this year too, causing a couple of riders to come off along with a pothole claiming another.
The Devil isn't a charity ride, but from donations for the cakes and the event's surplus, we were able to donate a little over £1,000 to Devon Air Ambulance, the Dartmoor National Park and Cycling UK's Cyclists' Defence Fund. Many thanks to the venues that hosted controls: The Dolphin Hotel in Bovey for the start and finish, Lavender House Hotel for the soup and the Fox Tor Cafe in Princetown for welcome get-me-home refreshments.
And many thanks to all of the helpers for making it happen and to all of the riders for putting themselves through it.
https://www.thedolphinbovey.co.uk/
http://www.lavenderhousehotel.com/
https://www.foxtorcafe.com/
Click here for photos of the day