Went for a mini epic Dartmoor mish yesterday, incorporating a bit of exploring and a plan for some tentative night riding..
The exploration part went very smoothly..
After a nice piece of cake and a cuppa at The Hound Of The Basket Meals, I set off up over Hameldown for a look at the ridge across to Widecombe..
There were some nice sections along the route and it was lovely and dry and fast, but I wouldn’t fancy my chances if the farmer there took umbrage to my unofficial presence.. and the road back to Natsworthy looked like a steady flat mile or so on the map but was far from it and after a while the gradient got a bit depressing..
Back to the hound, and a quick stop to set up lights and put on armwarmers for the last leg.. (over Bowerman’s and down through the two valleys, before a cheeky bimble along the river back to town and a jaunt through the lanes to home..)
The best laid plans of mice and men and all that though, as my Magicshine had lost it’s sparkle, and the emergency ‘get you home’ Cnog lights were definitely for being seen and not for seeing..
With this in mind I decided against the technical challenges on offer in the valleys and nipped home along the road by the shortest route..
Bowerman’s on a rigid by twilight was great fun however, but I’m not comfortable with road riding at the best of times so the rest of the very dark journey home was spent squinting into the murky unknown, and clenching my butt cheeks very tightly..
30 miles.. 4000ft of climbing and lots of rocky moorland, I had sore legs but perhaps unsurprisingly didn’t feel too beaten up by the rigid Soul..
good times 😀