A mini adventure...
Best laid plans and all that!
I set off from a lovely B and B in Minehead... ok the sun wasn't shining. My aim... to cycle the West Country Way Bikepacking route. I had a total of 4 days.
The route was around 116 miles. Given that I had managed that mileage in Canada in 1 day... I figured 2 days out and 2 back wasn't unreasonable.
I packed as if I was going on a 4 week challenge... more of that later... but my kit this time included a tent... 1kg of extra kit with the purpose of evaluating its presence for next September and Ecuador. The rest of my kit had been tried and tested on the Tour Divide so I was pretty happy with it.
The initial downhill to the start of the route was certainly a good way to ease in to a ride and then I was greeted with a view of the Bristol channel ... rays of sunshine beaming down from ominously grey clouds... sparkling off the tops of the waves. I peddled along the flat concrete of the coastal path... delighting in being in the open space and fresh air again. Heaven embodied.
As the concrete gave way to gravel path... the flat gave way to a gentle uphill, reminding me that I was on a fully loaded bike. The route wound up with ever more delightful views. Then came the BUT...
An abrupt turn in the path up steps led to me carrying the bike... then followed a steep, stony forest path which led to me once again engaging in hike a bike fitness. At least the gate halfway up gave an excuse to stop and rest. Altitude was gained very quickly and soon I was standing on the top of the cliffs. A short rideable section followed by another hike a bike (H:B) to the very top where I was greeted by the sight of a group of wild Exmoor ponies.
It was windy but fortunately the rain was holding off and occasionally a ray of sunshine hit me and the surrounding ground, lighting up the vivid colours in the gorse and heather.
What followed was far from idyllic. The tracks that followed were either very steep uphill or steep downhill which combined with the rocks to make it precarious to say the least.
At one point, I was halfway up a particularly steep bit when I had to make way for a jeep safari...
I had just given Exmoor Wildlife Safaris and the occupants of the jeep a sighting of the reasonably rare CraZy cyclist!!
The route continued to follow bridleways which interconnected through open fields, usually containing cows. Now cows always make me wary. Curious creatures, they seem to dislike bikes in general and do not willingly move out of the way. As I made my way through some of these fields, the recent story of a farmer who was crushed to death by his own cows kept popping into my head!
I was getting frustrated with the slow progress. Most of these tracks would be reasonable with an unloaded bike, but add in kit, and they quickly became unrideable.
It was more a H:B exercise than a riding one. Not that I wasn't enjoying myself immensely... pretty much covered head to toe in mud, scratched and stung from pillar to post by the numerous thorns and stinging nettles, I was having fun. Just slow fun...
It was certainly a good fitness exercise... over the day I burned nearly 4000 calories!!
Even... tu... ally.. (thats eventually REALLY SLOWLY) I reached the top of something... marked with a stone or 2... woohooo... downhill... right? Well yes... but a sleep slippery overgrown downhill...
Yet another H:B followed by a traverse or 2 across pastures. Annoyingly... every 100 yards or so I had to stop ... shuffle forward... open the gate.. shuffle through... let the gate close behind me... shuffle backwards... lock the gate and continue onwards.
I understand the need to keep animals in fields... but soooo many gates!!
I got to Dunkery Beacon and found to my delight... a gravel track... not dissimilar to the Ridgeway... rideable and fun!! Yes there were ups but all good even fully loaded.
I flew (relatively speaking) across the moor, past the purple swathes of heather before coming to an abrupt end at the road. I was knackered...
All the H:B had left me feeling totally drained... and I wasn't on a charity challenge...
Still only 4pm I decided to stop at the next town ... I descended into the town of Exford having done a paltry 25 miles or so.
I wasn't particularly pleased ... mainly with my effort. I could not understand ... this ride was billed as 100% rideable but I had struggled to ride large sections of it. Was I that unfit?? Or was this route generally meant for a minimally loaded ride?
Whilst I was enjoying this, I also came here to ride my bike, not complete a hike a bike exercise.
Still I had camp to set up... ensconced by a picnic table at the YHA, I set up my extremely small tent, rolled out my sleeping bag and air mat and set up in about 10 mins. Easy!
Unfortunately I had forgotten that my air mat had busted early on the Tour Divide, but had forgotten to fix it... so my lovely air mat lost its comfy inflatableness (not sure if that's a word) in less than 2 mins, leaving me with the cold hard ground. Hey ho.
The rain started early evening and was still tipping down when I awoke the next day.
Nevertheless, I packed up and started to head out... only something on my bike did not seem right. My wheel seemed loose, so I tightened the wheel, hoping that my hub hadnt gone bust. Still loose I followed the sourse to a loose headset... easy fix... hooray! Tightened it up and away I went, hoping that todays track would be at least rideable.
Turning off the road, I was once again met with a steep track, litteres with rocks and hemmed in with brambles. The rain continued to pour, which I didnt really mind but the lack of sitting on my bike and peddling was beginning to frustrate. I may not be at my fittest but I would have expected to ride this. So as I continued the uphill struggle, I decided enough was enough. Sometimes in life, plans just don't work as you planned!
So I made a decision, get to road and make my way back to Minehead by way of the smaller roads, up and over the moor.
Not easy by any means but at least I could keep peddling!
Once decided, I took to the road and began to enjoy the ride. Rather than a hike a bike slog, I was now experiencing the countryside on two wheels instead of two legs pushing two wheels!
I passed up and over Dunkery Beacon again and made my way through the little villages.
Not a slog but still good exercise... another 3000 calories burnt!
Once back to my car, I pondered the possibility of driving further down the route to see if any of it was rideable for me with a loaded bike but decided to reset and try again another day.
So I made my way home via my friends house to ponder over this mini adventure that hadn't gone to plan....
Should I have stuck with tarp and bivvy to reduce weight... maybe? But I wanted to see the possibility of carrying my tent, which is reasonably lightweight, within this bikepacking set up.
Maybe I should have gone totally minimal given I was only going for a few days so not have taken complete kit for a solo self supported 4 week challenge... but I need to train with the kit...
In summary, I just think that it was the wrong route for what I was using it for, a training exercise for the future challenge of Ecuador.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed my 2 days on the open road, in the fresh air and every experience, good or bad adds to the information bank for the next time I ride.
As ever, at least I stepped out of the door and went for it, even if the end result wasn't what I expected!
Keep dreaming, Keep planning and most importantly, Keep doing!
Go With The CraZy!
I set off from a lovely B and B in Minehead... ok the sun wasn't shining. My aim... to cycle the West Country Way Bikepacking route. I had a total of 4 days.
The route was around 116 miles. Given that I had managed that mileage in Canada in 1 day... I figured 2 days out and 2 back wasn't unreasonable.
I packed as if I was going on a 4 week challenge... more of that later... but my kit this time included a tent... 1kg of extra kit with the purpose of evaluating its presence for next September and Ecuador. The rest of my kit had been tried and tested on the Tour Divide so I was pretty happy with it.
The initial downhill to the start of the route was certainly a good way to ease in to a ride and then I was greeted with a view of the Bristol channel ... rays of sunshine beaming down from ominously grey clouds... sparkling off the tops of the waves. I peddled along the flat concrete of the coastal path... delighting in being in the open space and fresh air again. Heaven embodied.
As the concrete gave way to gravel path... the flat gave way to a gentle uphill, reminding me that I was on a fully loaded bike. The route wound up with ever more delightful views. Then came the BUT...
An abrupt turn in the path up steps led to me carrying the bike... then followed a steep, stony forest path which led to me once again engaging in hike a bike fitness. At least the gate halfway up gave an excuse to stop and rest. Altitude was gained very quickly and soon I was standing on the top of the cliffs. A short rideable section followed by another hike a bike (H:B) to the very top where I was greeted by the sight of a group of wild Exmoor ponies.
It was windy but fortunately the rain was holding off and occasionally a ray of sunshine hit me and the surrounding ground, lighting up the vivid colours in the gorse and heather.
What followed was far from idyllic. The tracks that followed were either very steep uphill or steep downhill which combined with the rocks to make it precarious to say the least.
At one point, I was halfway up a particularly steep bit when I had to make way for a jeep safari...
I had just given Exmoor Wildlife Safaris and the occupants of the jeep a sighting of the reasonably rare CraZy cyclist!!
The route continued to follow bridleways which interconnected through open fields, usually containing cows. Now cows always make me wary. Curious creatures, they seem to dislike bikes in general and do not willingly move out of the way. As I made my way through some of these fields, the recent story of a farmer who was crushed to death by his own cows kept popping into my head!
I was getting frustrated with the slow progress. Most of these tracks would be reasonable with an unloaded bike, but add in kit, and they quickly became unrideable.
It was more a H:B exercise than a riding one. Not that I wasn't enjoying myself immensely... pretty much covered head to toe in mud, scratched and stung from pillar to post by the numerous thorns and stinging nettles, I was having fun. Just slow fun...
It was certainly a good fitness exercise... over the day I burned nearly 4000 calories!!
Even... tu... ally.. (thats eventually REALLY SLOWLY) I reached the top of something... marked with a stone or 2... woohooo... downhill... right? Well yes... but a sleep slippery overgrown downhill...
Yet another H:B followed by a traverse or 2 across pastures. Annoyingly... every 100 yards or so I had to stop ... shuffle forward... open the gate.. shuffle through... let the gate close behind me... shuffle backwards... lock the gate and continue onwards.
I understand the need to keep animals in fields... but soooo many gates!!
I got to Dunkery Beacon and found to my delight... a gravel track... not dissimilar to the Ridgeway... rideable and fun!! Yes there were ups but all good even fully loaded.
I flew (relatively speaking) across the moor, past the purple swathes of heather before coming to an abrupt end at the road. I was knackered...
All the H:B had left me feeling totally drained... and I wasn't on a charity challenge...
Still only 4pm I decided to stop at the next town ... I descended into the town of Exford having done a paltry 25 miles or so.
I wasn't particularly pleased ... mainly with my effort. I could not understand ... this ride was billed as 100% rideable but I had struggled to ride large sections of it. Was I that unfit?? Or was this route generally meant for a minimally loaded ride?
Whilst I was enjoying this, I also came here to ride my bike, not complete a hike a bike exercise.
Still I had camp to set up... ensconced by a picnic table at the YHA, I set up my extremely small tent, rolled out my sleeping bag and air mat and set up in about 10 mins. Easy!
Unfortunately I had forgotten that my air mat had busted early on the Tour Divide, but had forgotten to fix it... so my lovely air mat lost its comfy inflatableness (not sure if that's a word) in less than 2 mins, leaving me with the cold hard ground. Hey ho.
The rain started early evening and was still tipping down when I awoke the next day.
Nevertheless, I packed up and started to head out... only something on my bike did not seem right. My wheel seemed loose, so I tightened the wheel, hoping that my hub hadnt gone bust. Still loose I followed the sourse to a loose headset... easy fix... hooray! Tightened it up and away I went, hoping that todays track would be at least rideable.
Turning off the road, I was once again met with a steep track, litteres with rocks and hemmed in with brambles. The rain continued to pour, which I didnt really mind but the lack of sitting on my bike and peddling was beginning to frustrate. I may not be at my fittest but I would have expected to ride this. So as I continued the uphill struggle, I decided enough was enough. Sometimes in life, plans just don't work as you planned!
So I made a decision, get to road and make my way back to Minehead by way of the smaller roads, up and over the moor.
Not easy by any means but at least I could keep peddling!
Once decided, I took to the road and began to enjoy the ride. Rather than a hike a bike slog, I was now experiencing the countryside on two wheels instead of two legs pushing two wheels!
I passed up and over Dunkery Beacon again and made my way through the little villages.
Not a slog but still good exercise... another 3000 calories burnt!
Once back to my car, I pondered the possibility of driving further down the route to see if any of it was rideable for me with a loaded bike but decided to reset and try again another day.
So I made my way home via my friends house to ponder over this mini adventure that hadn't gone to plan....
Should I have stuck with tarp and bivvy to reduce weight... maybe? But I wanted to see the possibility of carrying my tent, which is reasonably lightweight, within this bikepacking set up.
Maybe I should have gone totally minimal given I was only going for a few days so not have taken complete kit for a solo self supported 4 week challenge... but I need to train with the kit...
In summary, I just think that it was the wrong route for what I was using it for, a training exercise for the future challenge of Ecuador.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed my 2 days on the open road, in the fresh air and every experience, good or bad adds to the information bank for the next time I ride.
As ever, at least I stepped out of the door and went for it, even if the end result wasn't what I expected!
Keep dreaming, Keep planning and most importantly, Keep doing!
Go With The CraZy!
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