Out with five others on the malverns last night. Great fun between scoured hard trails and small powedery drifts that were fun on the downs and a challenge on the ups.  Fierce wind though that soon cooled you when we stopped.

I’m not sure I’d have gone out on my own. I pushed reasonably hard last night as it was grippy and I had company. Even riding within yourself and somewhere that is not that remote,you can always have an off on an unseen root etc and if you bang your head or break and ankle out of mobile signal it could escalate quite quickly at those temps.

@yunki Where did you end up pedaling?

I went out from town, along the seafront, up maer lane, up castle lane and then tried to make it to Woodbury castle. The snow and ice combo was so annoying and tiring gave up at Bystock Ponds and headed home.

I did see a guy on a brown cotic and another guy on a Marin rigid 29er both on Castle Lane. I was on my Spesh Enduro.

HA! 🙂 yeah that was me on the Cotic.. Was very tired and fed up by that point.

My plan was to ride from town up the Budleigh cycle track, and then up to the common via Dalditch farm. After pushing my way thru the snow/ice pretty much all the way from town, I’d decided that i wasn’t really enjoying it so I bailed at Castle Lane and cut across the golf course (the golf course was good times, if I hadn’t been quite so pissed off by the time I passed you I woulda recommended it) then I cut down the Littleham church footpath (also fun) and back onto Castle Lane and then stuck to the road back into town.

That icey crust was killer though ey?

I’m off to work now with the possibility of a 24h shift to look forward to 🙂

Yeah the icey crust was killer, going up the hill past Dalditch farm and across to that part of the common was killer, no vehicles had passed it so had to forge tracks in it!

The wind was very biting too, quite happy I wore my salopettes! God knows where to attempt to ride tomorrow!

I discovered that if you go fast enough downhill you can ride on top of the crust 🏂 made the handling interesting!

20km round east hill and sidmouth, probably 70/30% riding/walking.

29×3 tyres at 8psi worked very well 😁

29×3 tyres at 8psi worked very well

I did suspect at one point not running less PSI would have helped me today.

I wish we had found some downhills, I spent the entire ride pedaling up hill to then abort and end up speed down st johns road and withycombe village road!