Mt. Biking - Dartmoor

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Forces-of-Nature » Personal Diaries » Mt. Biking - Dartmoor

May so far in the Forces-of-Nature Diaries
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Owner: MartinF
Member

Worst Wipeout Award 2003

Member#: 72
Location:
Registered: 28-10-2002
Diary Entries: 184

Mood: needing time out

16th April 2005
Mt. Biking: Dartmoor
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Distance Covered: 26 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise)

Nigel drove myself & Paul down with bikes & trailer - Nigel having borrowed a very fancy Santa Cruz full susser for the weekend - arriving at the Forest Inn, Hexworthy (http://www.theforestinn.co.uk/), our "home" for the weekend, about 10:30 on Sat. There we met up with Paul 2 from Swindon; Liz, Roger (both from Helston), & Geoff from Falmouth.

Saturday's ride was going to be the "Route 6" shown at http://www.eclipse.co.uk/pbuckley/Dartmoor%20Dozen.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat reader). Getting to the start of Route 6, however, involved doing a large part of Route 1 and involved stepping stones over two rivers (interesting). Lunch was at a pub at the nominal 1/2 way point, washed down with a couple of pints of excellent East Dart Ale. Suitably fortified, the notion of adding an additional loop to our trail was floated, noted & agreed. Big mistake. What the Explorer map showed as bridleways, actually failed to exist on the ground. Consequently, losing our way at the outset resulted in a group of seven cyclists, out on their own in the bleakness of Dartmoor, wading across a fast-flowing river, trying to cycle over impossible terrain consisting alternately of tussocks, bog, long grass, across rock circles, cut straw and gorse. Fortunately, two of our number had GPS so we were never "lost" as such. Eventually, we decided anough was enough & a push up an impossibly steep, gorse-covered hill onto a road seemed like the best option. 26 miles in 7 1/4 hrs - much of that distance was pushing the bikes. Sore bums all round. My forks had lost their travel by this time.

An excellent dinner at at the Forest Inn, followed by Trivial Pursuits followed by bed in the bunkhouse.

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