Did a big loop yesterday, and got totally lost 😉
Started off on some of the usual trails near Exeter, but decided to head off towards Dartmoor on some FC trails to see where it lead me. Ended up following some deer trails through the woods and sliding (at speed!) sideways down a 45 degree wooded slope.
Then I tried to find a track shown on the GPS and got told off – nicely mind – by a game-keeper on a quad. At this point I had to backtrack about a mile to find the footpath, even though it was only 100m past him.
Discovered a delightful, though very cheeky, piece of wooded and then steep sunken-pathed singletrack. Then found my bearings at the A38 and had a happy hour or so riding through the woods near Ashcombe and Mamhead – bloody steep hills on a single-speed though!
Finally, found some nice twisty singletrack through the aptly named ‘Big Wood’, and then down some of the Haldon cafe side DH trails and finished off with the marvellous St Andrew’s lane descent.
I was just back in time to get an ice cream at the lovely Orange Elephant Cafe near Kennford.
36 or so miles, and a cracking day out! 😀

Sometimes the best rides are the unplanned ones, especially if they end up with finding secret spots. I take it the gamekeeper was unconcerned with you causing trail erosion, telling you off while on his quad!

*like*

Win!

I love rides like that 😀

Amen, brother. 😀

Sometimes the best rides are the unplanned ones, especially if they end up with finding secret spots. I take it the gamekeeper was unconcerned with you causing trail erosion, telling you off while on his quad!

He was very nice about it…….I saw him and blithely asked, ‘Oh sorry, is this private land? I thought it was FC.’ We both knew that I knew it wasn’t 😆 he was picking up chestnuts and mushrooms, so not a gun toting type.

Like…until run out of food and water…then panic.

Keep meaning to explore that side of Haldon. Lots of chestnuts there on Friday,must go back with bigger pockets and pick some up. Sounds like a good adventure!

Sounds like a great ride 🙂

That sounds great. Usually get lost in FoD as I like to explore, but always find something new and fun to ride. Also got properly lost on Dartmoor a few weeks back, but didn’t find anything fun at all to ride, just a stupidly steep side-slope covered in gorse and sheepsh1t. You win some you lose some.

Also got properly lost on Dartmoor a few weeks back, but didn’t find anything fun at all to ride, just a stupidly steep side-slope covered in gorse and sheepsh1t. You win some you lose some.

Tis the way it has always been!
Back in the day – late 80’s/early 90’s – when I first started riding the only way we knew how do it was to get out the OS map, head out into the Berkshire Downs and get properly lost for an afternoon.
Sometimes you’d discover cycling nirvana, but more often than not you’d be grinding through chalky paste for miles and miles, and then end up at a deadend in a farmyard, and have to back-track.
Ah, halcyon days 😆