Another shout out for this fantastic event.
HEAVEN OF THE SOUTH
It’s that time of year when the rats start floating to the top of the cider vats, ready to be skimmed off to make pasties to sell to the London types. It’s time for drinking, mountain biking, camping and smiling. If you like doing all of these things in one day, have a look here and enter now:
We convened on a misty Sunday morning at the Cheese and Grain, ready to make the hour-and-a-bit journey to “that car park” in Dunster. The drive was pretty uneventful, i was looking forward to seeing the views as we got closer to Dunster, but they were hidden under a blanket of foggy nothingness.
Mr Truelove met us there aboard his new steed, Penny. It was possibly the biggest bike i have ever seen, yet looked completely in proportion! The next 10 minutes contained faffing, fueling and flapjack which led to everyone being ready and raring to go.
After a short road section we were at the beginning of the trail, which was a steep narrow bridleway (which turned out to be the main ingredient of the ride). I was already struggling, as i was aboard a rigid/ Singlespeed 29er but it was too late to swap bikes now. We had only been riding for 2 minutes and Kev managed to snap his new chain due to his raw hill climbing power (or the fact it wasn’t fitted properly). This was a quick fix though and we struggled on, turning left at heaven and going up a little further.
The climbs were always repaid by exciting downhills, however, the first descent was something a little different. It must be the steepest gradient i have ever ridden, mixed with the loose dusty ground it was more a test of nerve rather than ability. All made it down in one piece and we made our way back up via another steep climb.
You needed serious legs to make each of the climbs, they were made to torture enthusiastic mountain bikers which meant many ended up pushing to reach the summit. But it was at the top that we found a selection of breath-taking singletrack. Fast, flowing, technical, rooty, rocky and steep (obviously) trails that left a lasting impression.
It was very much a case of rinse and repeat for the remainder of the ride, but with a little more road and fire track mixed in to gain some easy altitude. We made it back to the car park with 3 minutes to spare on the 4hr parking tickets, perfec’ timing. Everything got packed away into the cars, and we wondered into Dunster to grab a bite to eat. There was a quient Deli that sold pies and pasties, so we filled ourselves with some home made tastiness and ambled back to the cars.
All together a brilliant day was had by all, the mist eventually cleared to provide some amazing views and the trails were in surprisingly good condition considering the fact it’s March. There was only one injury, a rogue boulder jumped up and bit Chas, providing him with a “Shin Nose”, but he managed to soldier on after a plaster and some jelly snakes.
Thanks to Chas for leading and providing the route and thanks to everybody for good company. See you next month 🙂
XC Ride Away – Exmoor.
A few of you will have ridden most of this loop last summer.
We’re going to “The bit behind Dunster and Minehead.” It’s a nice little corner of Exmoor this, without driving too far or getting too remote and bleak. There’s a high density of trails, and they’re all very rideable at this time of year. It’s a bit like an even more compact Quantocks but with steeper sides. Loose and rocky in places. Great views, too. NB – There are some really steep bits. Downs and ups. Some pushing and/or walking will be required.
Bring enough food and drink for a 4 hour ride, and enough spares and tools to get you by in the event of mechanicals. Dunster is a massive tourist trap with a bazillion pubs, cafés and fudge shops should we feel the need for a food-stop before the drive home.
Leave Cheese & Grain car park 0800 Sunday morning, arriving in Dunster 0930. (A361 to Glastonbury, then A39 thru Bridgwater following signs for Minehead. At traffic lights on A39 before you get to Minehead, turn left onto A396 and drive thru Dunster. At edge of village, turn left at Foresters Arms pub down Park Street and land in the little pay-and-display carpark at the end. For those lazy and dimwitted enough to own and use a satnav, the postcode you need is TA24 6SR).
And before anyone asks what tyres they should use…..
!!!!!!!!!! ROUND ONES !!!!!!!!!!!
October in The Lakes, you expect it to be blustery, cool and decidedly damp. But no! Thanks to global warming 7 of us set off up to The Lakes in shorts and tees with the sun high in the sky. The plan was simple; head up to the farm Friday morning to arrive early evening time, then head out out for a couple of hours night ride before returning to drink beer and eat. We would the repeat this on Saturday but without the driving and with more riding. Finally, Sunday would be like Friday but in reverse and in day light.
The joys of the M6 meant we arrived a bit later than we’d have liked, but with the sun still out we arrived at the farm cottage above Hawkshead and poured bikes and gear from the cars. Mysteriously, whilst in transport, Chris Shep’s brake, err, broke, so we left him fiddling and headed out into the fading light. Paul (or ‘SatNav’ as he became known during the wekeend) had planned a nice out and back loop along tracks he knew, taking in some lovely rocky trails with short sharp climbs and fun fast descents. We only had one puncture, Mark, in the same place he did it last year. His first spare was punctured too, but no one minded the wait whilst it was warm and dry in a perfect late summer night. Arriving back at the farm we found Chris looking happy with himself, having fixed his brake and opened the cider. With Ade’s spag bol inhaled (very nice it was too!) and a few beers in us it was time to retire.
For Saturday SatNav had planned a short “35 miles” route, taking in the nice singletrack bits of Grizedale and a whole heap of tracks he’d ridden before or stolen from MBR. We popped down into town to book a table in the pub and then rode up the first climb of the day. A small climb, apparently, but one requiring a granny ring and a lot of oxygen. This boded well then… Into the first section of The North Face trail and SatNav found out the hard way that wet boardwalk (from dew, not rain, amazingly) is slippery as he went down and 6 people tried to stop on same said wet boardwalk behind him. With only pride dented we rode on along some fantastic stretches of trail down to the visitors center. Here we broke off the trail center track and walk (well, I walked) up a dry stream bed classed as a byway. A fun downhill section soon followed and via a few more climbs and decents we headed on round to the shores of a lake for a spot of lunch (Banana Malt Loaf all round I think).
After lunch we had a few “Challenge” sections (you can guess!) and even found some mud, just for good measure. Every ride should have some mud in it, if only to annoy Chas. With a couple of minor wrong terms behind us, we set off up Breasty Haw, a route suggested by MBR. Now, I’m all for steep rocky rails but this was silly. Even if we’d ben coming down I’m not sure I’d have made it such was the gradient and slipperiness. Still, I’d love to go back and have a good go 🙂 Onward (ever onward) and upward with some rewarding climbs and fun sections of trail, we explored the far reached of a steep muddy field, only to discover that SatNav had sent us the wrong way. This picture sums the moment up nicely .
Never mind though, back on track and up another dry riverbed pretending to be a byway we popped out on top of Grizedale Moor which can’t be far from home, surely. Truth be told it isn’t that far, but the trouble is there are lots of trail and many in parallel and, well, satellite navigation in a forest is, well… Once we’d convinced SatNav that a map might be a plan, Chris and Chas took a bearing, worked it out and we zoomed on down back to the farm. What is a ride with 7 blokes without a little navigational fun? Impossible, thats what. But its all good and even Ade and I (by now, flagging a little) didn’t mind.
Once we’d all bathed (one bath, no shower, 7 blokes…) we did our bit for helping rural economies by enjoying the food and drink in a local hostelry.