Welcome to Transition Town Exmouth, a group dedicated to tackling the dual crisis of Peak Oil and Climate Change. TTE is also a group of people dedicated to Exmouth, and to finding ways of rebuilding the local resilience of the town. You can find out more about TTE or read some of the key stories from our most recent newsletter below…

Pedal power! Xcycle members – plus friends – pictured after their Christmas bike ride from Exmouth to Topsham

ON YOUR
BIKES! XCYCLE’S FLYING
START TO 2012

TTE’s Paul Strange sheds some mince-pie pounds on Xcycle’s Christmas fun ride…

NEW YEAR resolutions? I made a key one late in 2011. I was determined not to get stuffed over Christmas, particularly having recently lost 2 stone on a diet. And, if I did overdo it on the mince pies and turkey, I’d ensure that I did some exercise over the festive break.
Predictably I ate and drank far more than I meant to, but fortunately Xcycle came to my rescue. They’d organized a fun cycle ride up the Exe estuary from Exmouth to Topsham the day after Boxing Day. Perfect! Riding my trusty ancient Raleigh (£12 from the Recycling Centre), I set off to shed those mince-pie pounds with Christmas visitor Dan, who’d been loaned a bike through Exmouth LETS.
Around 12 of us gathered at Exmouth’s swimming baths at 11.00am, with more joining us on the way. Xcycle’s Adrian Toole welcomed us, outlined the route, suggested three stopping places, and insisted that it wasn’t a race…And we were off! It wasn’t long before I realized what fun an Xcycle ride can be. There was comradeship, a chance to catch up with fellow TTE members and plenty to look at along the splendid cycle path. In addition, some of the sections – particularly the hill coming out of Lympstone and the diversion around Exton – required a reasonable amount of energy, especially on my three-speed bike. It certainly felt that it was doing me some good. The entire ride took nearly an hour, although celebratory drinks and a little bit of nosh at Topsham’s The Bridge Inn took considerably longer. Verdict? I’ll definitely give one of Xcycle’s outings another try later this year!

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