Dawlish Vintage Cycle Ride makes a comeback this month

Cyclists dressed in vintage clothes and riding the kind of bikes many people remember from their schooldays will be taking to the road on Sunday, June 27.

The Dawlish Vintage Cycle Ride is back for 2021.

Numbers on the ride have to be restricted to 30 under the Covid restrictions for organised events, and all the places have been booked.

But there's a chance for local residents to come out and see the costumes and vintage bicycles when the riders gather on The Lawn from 10am to 10.30am, for registration and judging by the Mayor of Dawlish, Cllr Val Mawhood.

The cyclists will set off for Luscombe Castle, aiming to arrive around 11.00.

They will then be riding to the Manor House, arriving between 12 noon and 12.45pm, and that's followed by an optional ride to Powderham Castle and back, between 1pm and 4pm. The riders will be gathering at the Powderham Castle café for refreshments at 2pm.

Organiser Rob Porch has been leading the rides for Dawlish since 2015.

He said: "We like people to come in all sorts of attire really, anything from Edwardian attire up to about 1960.

"The idea is really that we have a very easy day, a good opportunity to have a conversation while cycling."

He said this year he will be dressed as 'a 1935 gentleman with a summer suit and a trilby hat', but he has plenty of other vintage costumes for similar events.

"My wife told me my 'play-school' wardrobe is bigger than hers," he said.

[I]Many thanks to Rob Porch for the gallery of photos of previous Vintage Cycle Rides.[.L]