Anyone been over the mendips in last few days? Mud fest or not too bad? Might head over there tomorrow
A few crisp frosty days should have helped , let me know how you get on I'm planning on headed up there Tuesday .
Frozen solid this afternoon 😀
[url= http://tracksterman.tumblr.com/post/156162922455/beaconbatchsunrise ]This morning[/url]...
depends which bits?
unless frozen mendips, especially the man made trails are muddy unless it's mid summer, [i]and[/i] been hot for 2 weeks. I live between the mendips and quantocks, and drive the extra little bit to the quantocks.
the rest ain't so bad, but there are some rocky bits, so look out on those.
Well it was interesting. The ride up from the road was great. They've done track improvements which had largely washed away making a nice rocky trail. Up the top was a mix of frozen and not so much. Made it a gamble crossing any boggy bits. They were either hard and bumpy or gooey with no way of knowing until you committed. Good fun. The track around the edge on the east and north with the stream crossings was awful. Deep, sloppy, sticky mud. A challenge on the downs but near impossible on the ups and flats. Avoid this bit unless it's frosty.
I'm heading to the Quantocks regularly instead of riding up there at the moment. Even when we're on the dips were picking our battles at moment
So best avoid Tuesday then ?
Burrington Ham was lovely yesterday with the frost, was wishing I was out on the bike but there was enough soggy stuff up there on the open for me to know the other side (black down etc) will be a mud bog and be no fun and just cause more damage.
only been up that side once but i like that bit up north of burrington
i did the q's yest.. started at 8, temp was -3... anything we found that had been chewed up by bikes that then froze was err 'fun'
oldfart: depends what you know? members of the group i ride with a bit up there are still out regular, but i can see from strava even they are steering clear of certain bits. i dont know it super well sadly 🙁
Well, it's been reasonably dry, and then frozen. The open stuff will be dryish by now, but the interesting stuff under tree cover will only just beginning to dry now and it'll be another week of dry weather before it starts to be reasonable. Riding Mendips in the winter is always about picking your battles.
There's no rain forecast between now and Tuesday, so it's likely to be 'OK' on Tuesday night, which is when we head out.
Also - Canopy what do you mean by man-made trails? There are none!
+the interesting stuff under tree cover
Also - Canopy what do you mean by man-made trails? There are none!
Now is that tongue in cheek? 🙂 I know the area is sensitive, I won't out anything online, but you already gave a hint..
btw The local group I ride with sometimes is PORCA. But I mostly ride the Qs, and I'm sort of their official Qs guide because of that! 🙂
Oh, I see what you mean. I thought you meant like trail centre type stuff.
Just me being dense.
Porca? Never heard of them!
🙂
because they don't wear a club jersey? pedalling off-road club axbridge.. a casual, not taking itself to seriously group based out of axbridge, they ride every thurs night and sun mornings. have done for about 7 years at least. rides mostly end up at the crown inn in axbridge after finishing with trail-x/star wars/badgers. must be 20+ loosely affil'd people split over the various sub-groups, i'd gues a a lot probably who don't know, or care that there is a even a group name
p.s. i [i]hate [/i]the climb up through cheddar woods
Funny, having ridden 17 years up there on a Thursday and Sunday morning!
That said, we base ourselves from the Swan generally and start earlier than most on a sunday and finish later than most on a Thursday. I also have a pathological dislike of large groups. I expect I've encounter man of them over the years. We're all a bit disorganised over Mendip way, but I like it like that.
Cheddar Woods - do you mean the back of yoghurt or the old Cheddar challenge descent by the quarry road? Neither are easy!
🙂
I expect you all cross paths a lot. I've been told Thurs night is like a party atmosphere up at rowberrow. I wouldn't expect the group to be huge. Probably smaller than Shipham mtb? Smallest I've been out with was just three of us, and also when there are 6 or so. When I showed them around the Quantocks there were 8, and at least 3 I'd met before were missing.
The former cheddar challenge climb by the quarry road, its still the only climb to make me throw up a little, and I've done so on more than one occasion! :'( (on exactly the same tree stump, near the big rocks not far from the top!)
I know they start around 1030 on a Sunday, and just after 7 on a Thurs (not sure when their cut-off for food at the pub is, but I've heard it mentioned, so I know there is one).