get yourself one of these & you'll be sorted 😉

You want to get yourself & the bike to Dartmoor

Dartmoor route

If you want a fun MTB ride then the route I would recommend is:

Start from the High Moorland visitors car park at Princetown – SX590734 or PL20 6QF. Go back to the mini roundabout & straight across between the two pubs. The trail takes you uphill through 2 x gates & onto the moor along a very nice & well defined bridleway. Go past South Hessary Tor on your left & just follow the trail which has a number of granite water bars to roll/crash/jump over.

After about a mile at the stone marker in the middle of the trail turn right & follow the trail down the hill, it’s rocky & it has a few water crossings. Keep bearing left after going past the trees when you get to a ‘Y’ junction & take another left a bit further down, this will take you to Nosworthy Bridge.

At Nosworthy bridge go left & follow the road, after about half a mile at the T junction turn left into Sheepstor village. Follow the road until you go across the cattle grid turn left towards Nattor. The tarmac road then goes into a small car park & onto loose gravel past the 'Scout hut' on your right keep going up the trail to Eylesbarrow mine ( nice long climbing bit) then follow the trail over the granite water bars & keep going all the way back to Princetown. Should be about 2 hours depending on your fitness.

Can I recommend that you buy the OS map OL28 which covers Dartmoor, that way if you get lost you should be able to navigate your way to safety.

HTH

I've got some Altura Attack waterproof 3/4 baggies & in the wet they are fantastic at keep my butt dry 🙂

To be honest I wouldn't want to wear them all the time, which is what I think you mean by everyday baggies. They are hot & sweaty when it gets warm & they don't have any vents like their dry brothers to air the nether regions 😉 If you want them for wet commutes only then I would recommend them.

This one's for 'Timmo' 😉

I hope they are gonna clean up the trail through Pecks farm cos the last time I went up there a few weeks back it was ankle deep in cow sh*t 😕

I'm also surprised that they are going down the Nutcracker – I think that can only end in tears for some riders 😥

I'm off on Sunday to do the Devon Dirt, let's hope it stays dry & sunny 8)

Here you go jobs a good un 😉

She apologised, pulled up her traccy bottoms and offered to sell me a Big Issue.

pure class, did you buy one then?

Another vote for the Hormann sectional up & over door. Typical piece of German quality engineering & it works a treat. I've had mine for over 10 years without any problems, just oil the roller guides every time I remember. It's not cheap but for me quality counts.

turnercraig – the pump is OK but being a mini pump it takes f*kin ages to get the tyre up to anything like a reasonable pressure – unless you have very strong wrists 😉

I tend to use the pump to just inflate the inner so I can put it & the tyre on, then I use the CO2 to fully inflate it in half a nano second. You won't want to go back once you've used CO2 🙂

The pump does both presta & schrader valves & it takes the normal threaded 16g carts i.e. not the non-threaded ones.

HTH

I've got 2 x Innovation Second Wind mini pumps & they have been fantastic with no problems.

They are small enough to fit into a saddle bag or back pocket. I get the 30 cartridges from Tyreinflators & jobs a good un 🙂

first picture of Xan's new bird………

ask her to send you her pic via your mobi so you can 'erm see what the damage is 😉

No worries mate come 'home' anytime.

The shot of Caradon Hill is taken from the top of Sharp Tor, the Cheesewrings are just out of shot on the right hand side.

The second shot above is also taken from the top of Sharp Tor & has the Cheesewrings dead ahead & Caradon Hill on the very top left hand corner.

Commonmoor, crikey you could ride onto Bodmin Moor from there easily 😆

If you do come over & you fancy a bimble email (in profile) me & I'll see what I can do.

Here are a few shots from Sunday's ride on Caradon Hill & Sharp Tor 😆

I thought that was Winter Hill for a minute which is about 300 miles North.

Lol – they do look very similar.

Some pictures from my Sunday ride on Bodmin Moor 8)

Lol – 😉

crispy.. you got a Liskeard exchange then ? *L*

Yep……… 01579 😕

Anyway, when you coming over for ride on Bodmin Moor then ??

my apologies to Mrs G & Yes things were a tad slow that day when my phone rang 😉

Thanks for the update Charlie. Glad to hear he's OK.

a few of my faves

Fantastic adventure with great pics & commentary. Keep up the riding & postings 😆

I had a skills day with Fully Sussed [/url] & it was great value for money.

They are based in Plymouth & the courses are held in South Dartmoor/Burrator. They do various courses from beginner to advanced.

Might be worth checking out if nothing closer to Exeter turns up.

Looks like a great day on the Q's & it was nice to see John had all his 'wheels' this time 😆

a few hours close to home in Cornwall riding my local trails in the 'DRY' – Woo Hoo !! 😆

Tomorrow walking part of the SW coast path with Mrs CB 🙂

Shane/Sharki if you read this mate you've got my number ring my mobi & I'll come pick you up from where ever you are.

Hey, it's good to talk mate 😆

Les

I have 2 of these Innovation Second Wind mini pumps, one for each bike.

It's the best of both worlds as it's a normal mini pump but it also uses CO2 for super fast inflation & it saves you getting cramp in your arm. They are only £13.99 & easily fit into a small saddle bag or back pocket.

I run 24/36/48T on my HT which doubles up as my commuter MTB as well as my off road bike. I also run a 11-34T cassette to help out on the climbs.

Yes, it is harder than having a 22T front ring for riding up hills but as a compromise off/on road bike it is great, you just have to get a bit more fitter which then comes in handy when I ride my other bike with the 22T front ring.

To answer your original question IMHO it depends whether you ride off road a lot on steep hills etc? if yes, then stick to the lower gearing 22/32/44 – if not & you ride on flatter terrain fast, then the higher gearing will help out. At the end of the day it's what suits you that counts.

Many Thanks to Oldfart & Knottie for sorting a great ride out & also Thanks for those who came along, it was great to catch up with everyone. It was wet, muddy & hard going but fantastic fun nonetheless.

Here a few pics from the day

If anyone wants any pics or a full set of the day my email is in my profile.

Just about to leave from Cornwall – see you guys & gals @ McD's at 9.30 😆

I'm the same as mtbtomo as I use one up front but with a tube in – can't be ar$ed with this tubeless malarkey. I find the large volume tyre footprint upfront gives me confidence & they are great in most conditions.

I have a brand new never been used Bonti Jones ACX 26 x 2.35 for sale £15 posted if anyone is interested email in profile.

Can I have a Cream coffee (don't drink T 😕 ) & I'll have mine served the proper Cornish way with Cream on top 😆

PS Can you ask Mrs Harding to get some Roddas Cornish Clotted Cream, none of that Devon muck 😉

get yourself one of these & you won't get bothered again by the JW's

Cheers guys for all your help.

I think I'll try the cheaper option first (well I am Cornish after all) & send the Mrs up the loft to tweak the aerial direction 😆

nice one Joe, I did wonder as I sat in my office today what the conditions were like up on the Moor 😆

Sounds like you had a top ride tho….

To be honest I'm not in my best shape at the mo………

Rode the route on Sunday & it is as per bagpuss says.

I went down the Widowmaker/Rocky Road which was awesome as usual & after Nosworthy Bridge I took the first BW to Deancombe/Sheepstor Common & Groundhog Day. It was very boggy on Sheepstor Common & with today's rain it ain't getting any drier. The Ringmoor cottage descent was a blast & is well worth a visit if you go down.

off to Dartmoor on Sunday to take a few Moor-newbies out for a bimble although that might turn out to be a dunk if the bad weather forecast turns up 😕