TM, the easier way out from smiths is to climb out to the right, which is a bugger, but a short push up at worse. Then instead of turning right, go straight ahead hugging the far north of the hills.
The trail undulates at a ridable rate rather than the immediate and long ascent back to BP.

There are a couple short steep sections to climb and the trail takes you back to Holford either past Alfoxton house, or climb back up to the top of the dog pound and either descend that or willybees, or take the scenic route back along longstone to BP.
Smiths is slightly overated, but to do at least once as a visitor if you’re about for a couple day. I only do it now if i’m heading to Kilve for drinks, visit friends or for a cream tea and the chantry.

should be cheez, but hope to somehow get to bath to watch a mtb film peek which will rule out Sunday morning and sat late pm.

haven’t ridden the tox in anger for over a month, in fact I’ve not ridden them at all in the time.

time I think to lay down some tyre marks.

Crisp fresh smelling air.
Frosty scenery.
Log fires.
The thought of another spring.
Writing in snow when i pee.

😆

Jambo, that was Raven tor descent we did.

This new line is kinda dull other than the features FR is freezing on.
I’ve only been down the once following Si and i can understand how arse twitching it could be if you look anywhere other than where you should be going. Try to stop looking at the lip of the roll in, and look further down the trail where the bike will go. The fact the front wheel is virtually on the lip whilst your lining yourself up won’t help as you making sure it doesn’t roll off before you’ve hoiked the rear around.

Next time only try it twice and not ten times, it’s too much pressure on yourself. imho.

Small but perfectly formed, smiles per miles, etc, etc.

Aye, it’s not a bad wee playground, even better fun when you’ve got the legs for a full days playing.

Ruscle.

Holly Willoughbys Cleavage is off of longstone hill south of the Memorial trees above Holford. It’s a rapid ascent, pretty damn straight with 3 rooty steps part way along. Comes out by the ford in hodders. Much better climb though to avoid dogpound 😉

it’ll be dry, I’m bringing the sun up with me.

I’ll be there. Hub that is.

idon[r ajd mt tpicj typong ism[t sp good eitger.

Humans will split, divide and sadly rejoin making a complex mixed species of being.

There will be the one’s that advance forward into an improved adaptation coping well with the changing world, fighting disease and climate change.

Others will devolve, taking a backwards step from where we are now, their high dependency on medicine and technology will make them more prone to disease, sickness and other ailments, And their bodies will weaken without the need for physical use, whilst their brains will lose the ability to problem solve and think for themselves.
These will become slaves to high society.

Sadly both will on occasions merge and mate, creating a species of the confused human, caught between a living and existing. Becoming power hungry business men, primed ready to rape and piledge all and everything.

Greed and poverty will play a large part in this divide.

Devolution will become more common place than the evolution of mankind.
Those advancing will live out improvised lives away from high society, which will appear to others as primitive compared to the devolved drones feeding and fueling the greed and corruption around them. Inter breeding will cause a very weak and unstable being, which will be kept alive to carry out it’s role in society well into it’s elder years.

This is all in the next 200 years, however, the greed and disease ridden inbreds, drones and such like, will fall into an abyss of death and extinction, an education to the next generation.

Those hiding out in safe improvised natural colonies have been learning, breeding and getting better. They are armored from the physical and mental disease of the now extinct species of sub human.

They grow their own food and make everything they need to live a life in a free and happy way, eating and exercising well. Healthy bodies and souls. Not dependable on the outside world. They’ve learnt from previous over population issues, but due to the elders not living beyond a useful age and the others that are injured, sick and otherwise, are humanly put to rest by request of themselves or family.

Religion as we know will become a a thing of the past, everyone will be equal.

mines got a picture of me on the seat tube, so it must be mine as are all inbreds.

I have not nailed it, i wouldn’t do that to an mates ex 😆

Even if i don’t ride i’m fortunate to be able to maintain a svelt athletic appearance, in fact i look better from not riding as i don’t burn of the cakage so i look less skinny so bulkier in a slim way.

I eat badly and like a beer or ten.
However, if i’m not riding i’m walking a far bit with is what i’ve been doing for the last month or so having not ridden in that time.

But that is appearance only, my bike fitness will be lower than usual, which most that know me will state that it’ll still be at freakish levels.

Having said all that, if i attempt to run for much more of a distance than to chase the ladies, i weez and puff like the very unheathiest of 40 year olds.

Glad however to be able to look at most guys my age and think, yes, i am lucky to have the body and mind i have, even if that is a have,

If a mate had the chance to date an ex of mine, i’d like him to at least let me know so i can warn him of any head messing talents she may have, and of course if she was just the wrong one for me, then what a great girl she is and advise how to treat her to avoid perhaps mistakes i made.

Also to have a mate fancy an ex, reassures us that we weren’t with an unattractive one, that is a good thing. In the case of the most recent mates ex, thats a year old and as others have said, he’s moved on, but i think you should at least let him know you’ve become friends with her and would wish to she her some more.

Only you know how much of a mate he is, and whether you value your friendship with him enough to challenge his emotions, tell him, but don’t ask permission, it’s not like that. I’m quite sure he’ll be fine about it, maybe he’ll try to put you off if he thinks she’ll not be good for you, or tell you to enjoy her.

What may become an issue is if you were to get together and a chance of her and her ex(your mate) meeting again in a group(non sexual)way, how tense things could get between an ex and his present GF.

But to be fair, that’s not your problem, YOUR happiness is the most important factor here, so if he’s any kind of mate he will be happy for you.

Mark, put yourself first and do what you wish to make YOU happy and to have fun, if people see you happy, ultimately people who matter in your life most will also be happy.

Enjoy!

Sharki.

No probs, i was up there anyway so packed the tent and dealt with the tree before brekie 😉

I’m doing a rare mornings work tomorrow so doubt i’ll ride tomorrow at all. 🙁

The Plough may be closed whilst the lease holders attempt to get someone in there to run it, so might be a bad move to depend on it, the grub wagon should be open up the road in the layby, but even that’s gone to pot..

My suggestion would be to use bincombe as a descent to lunch in the rose in nether stowey, that or the Hood in kilve. The blue ball in Triscombe would be suggested but i can’t guarantee that will be open either.

If you do choose the rose, here’s how to get there.
When you get to the bottom of Bincombe, take the usual route up as if to climb back up to the gibbet(corner of the road) now! here’s the difficult part and fun for me to send you there 😉 as you climb and near the point where the trail pushes you over to the right(before it cuts under and through dense trees) look for a fairly obvious path on the right, which is now no doubt not at all obvious, lol. It drops gently down and finally ends up bringing you into a holly tree slalom section, you will get prickled. You’ll then come out on the bottom track again having missed out the slop, find the gate and go through it. Follow the path and at the junction, go straight on. After approx 100 yards watchout as the path turn left up some steps, stick left of the steps and you can ride up, carry your speed though and commit. follow all the way to the end, turning left at the road. Stay on the road all the way to the end, turn right at T and follow down the narrow street, The rose is next to the George on the left hand side, slip the bikes up the alley under the coach house doors.
To get back, follow the same route, but after the gate go straight on and endure the mud..

The hoods easier to get to, but at a premium price.

Sorted.
A lovely piece of solid seasoned oak that.
Took about 30mins of mutilation, followed by a bit of muscle to make the final break, which put me on my ass. lol
its been years since I’ve even looked at that run, my how its evolved…

trails are looking mint, condtions as dry as they get, with a good smattering of fallen leaves.

enjoy.

My chopper does a splendid controlled explosion thanks. 😆

Was certainly a wet one.

I’ll sort it either today or tomorrow for ya.

I prefer the gully run as it’s a bit daft, especially with tree debris and those rocks covered in leaves. lol

Is that the one to the right of the actual ditch itself, heading down towards Holford? or The concrete block trail? I’ll be heading up in a bit for the night and will see to it with my wee chopper.

I always carry my saw and think most riders should as i can never be sure someone else has cleared the trail for the next time. 😀

Will report in tomorrow, as i’m sleeping up there tonight.

Not so bad as all that DJ, I regularly rode from the train station and took around the hour mark to get to Lydeard Hill car park, though i may press on a little keener then others, even with the trailer and panniers loaded was never more than 1hr 20. A journey of around 9 miles via Kingston st Mary.

Like most places a guide is preferable for day trips when you just want to be riding and not guessing where to go, though with good use of a OS and some key pointers of where to go, you should be able to work out a loop.

Be prepared for a tough ride, as the ride up there will certainly warm you up, the tox themselves are fairly uppy downy and you’ll need a little left in the tank for the ride back, it’s not all quite down hill..

Depending on what sort of riding you want, the trails to the north of he crowcombe to stowey road are heathland and woodland fun swoopy trails. Where as most stuff south of there specifically in the area of cockercombe and slades are more DH orientated fun, more technical than the northern hill, expect slick, steep off camber rooty chaos. 😀

This means if you’re not keen on DH style riding, the trail type riding is a little further on meaning off road miles will be around 18-20 miles with about 3500ft of climbing in that distance. That’s the bulk of your mountain biking during the day.
The 9 mile road commute there, can be made a bit more fun on the return leg with an off road BW descent, this is around a mile long piece of singletrack which takes you down to a place called Cushuish.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/v2Yb1I0JsCo

This is a scenic route taking a few of the trails Stert, weacombe, slaughterhouse, hill fort, holly bush and willoughby’s.

It doesn’t take the off road route back to town, instead retraces the route up there.

That’s a 4 hr ride time and at a steady to fast pace.

Looking through all my logged routes since April i realise now how few i’ve done suitable to share..

Have a butchers at that route and if you need a guide i’ll see where i am and what i’m doing, i’m happy to ride up from the station with you.

Oooops, 45 mins of trawling through my rides and a cuppa or two and it seems you’ve had some replies. 🙂

The very reason i come back time and time again to STW are threads like these.(i come here now less and less)

A mature approach to sharing ones opinion, open minded appreciation for other riders abilities no matter who, what how they ride.

This thread advertises the STW forum as a place to come for friendship, advice and to meet and greet penile munching under achievers, willy waving their weak minded thoughts for all to see and point fun at.

Hi my names Twonk and i have …… to say about trifle!

Get a grip.

bump!

Her her her.
me me me…

😉

Tazzy has it i think.
Most likely to be a yellow antler(staghorn) fungus.
Not too edible as can give you the squits.

The chicken flavoured one is the aptly named ‘chicken of the woods’
They will be found on the trunks of a damaged oak trees, they grow as brackets. I don’t think they taste too chicken like, but are a good fleshy addition that i like in an omelette.

Nope.
I was walking along Studland beach (clothed again) in shock at seeing an elderly gent with what appeared to be a roach pole reaching out across the English channel from his crotch. 😯

Last one is along Burghead to Findhorn beach, on the edge of i think Roseisle woods.

By chance if i went precisely north from the point i slept on saturday night, and travelled north to where i spent alot of the winter n Scotland, i’d arrive almost right where Roberta sits on that grassy dune over looking the sea.

Utter bliss Sue.

I had a few of them last year, well pretty much one every day through the spring and summer.

But i must say the Autumn sunsets and sunrises are much more special, richer in colour.

My last beach bivvi on Saturday night, was 80ft up on a cliff, 8ft from the edge, lovely starry sky turned to a very wet early morning wake up.

I know only too well, the therapy that such experiences give to us.
A few beach shots from last year to share.

Carbon is lighter so will float in water bettere.

So would suit you great. 😉

Couldn’t they just resurrect the old name for the national monument, ‘Scotlands Disgrace’ instead of creating a new Disgrace for the city?

The Yaris, so small and shit, you’ll need a boat.

iolo, a more detailed E-mail will be winding it’s way t you once i’ve constructed it in the most proactive way.Until then i’ll say all the wrong things here and now.

You’ll notice so much support on here, many have suffered and still do with those dark dark thoughts and feelings. You’re not alone, draw strength from that we’re all feeling it.

Feeling let down by the so called experts is a common reaction i think, they are trying, even if it feels not much.
Speak to the samaritains, they will do so much to help you, advice you, reassure you, be there for you, 24/7 without fail. Call them, it will will most likely be the best phone call you’ve ever made.

As many on here sadly found out, last year during my darkest of days i disappeared and went on a self help mission to find the light, a light that would banish the darkness to it own shadowy hole.

Seek out in you, those things that bring you happiness or once did, maybe as a child, a teen or a young man. Expose yourself to that experience as much as you can or need.

That could be anything, for me it was the freedom of the outdoors and nature. As mentioned, exercise is one of the most important things to expose yourself whilst feeling low, it raises you heart rate and gets the endorphins coursing through your body, giving you that ‘feel good feeling’ No need to push yourself, just sucking in loads of fresh air can do so much.

Go ride that bike,as badly as you can if that’s the case. It’s obviously a big part of who you are, so be that you.

Reading Bullhearts long old thread is uplifting and inspiring stuff, when life sucks, suck it back.

I’m not sure whether reading the beginnings of my own story would be of any benefit at this stage. But some have drawn strength from it, some were even prompted to call the Samaritans after reading it.
You clearly want to be better, so need to go down every possible avenue to find YOUR most suited way along your path to happiness. My path ended up being about 650miles long. It was long, it was painful, it was worth it.
Try not to block out friends and family, do keep those closest, close.
Avoid moaners and generally negative people. Watch feel good films and TV, no soaps or trash telly, reality garbage.

If you’re feeling low about anything, go out for a walk, a ride, remove yourself for some time from the situation that’s getting you down. Use friends to make this possible. Knowing the situation, they will understand.

Waffle over. Speak soon!

I’ll probably bivvi on the quantocks Friday night before guiding on sat, might bivvi afterwards too.

Absolutely fine!

Good to know you all got back ok, especially after the consumption of the weekends remaining beverage supplies.

I cannot echo this enough. The Cambell room really is the best option for groups visiting the Quantocks for outdoors events. You will not find cheaper self catering accommodation in the area.
This is really beneficial if the main aim of the weekend is to get dirty riding, then chill out with YOUR choice of music/food/entertainment/drink/company.

Guys, it was a pleasure showing you around even if you did know most of the trails we rode, thanks for all the fuel and company.
BTW, i ended up staying in the village again Sunday night, i was spotted and offered a bath, stew and the company of a full house of late teen girls and wine. A great way to finish a very wet and dirty weekend.

Left to right: cheddar valley, captain morgan and a bit of remy.

See ya’ll again sometime, either here of over in the new forest.
Sharki.

If there’s only a few areas that would warrant tougher tyres and that lighter tyres would on the whole be quicker, would it not be better to ride intelligently on the sections that may cause punctures and make up the time on the smoother sections.

Not easier i know, when all you’ll ever want to do is give it gnarr on all the course.

what he said up there.

I use a Tubus, but at a price(new) more than the frame, there might be cheaper options.

What are you carrying on your commute? There could be an alternative option aside from Panniers.

That’ll be great for Sat night cheers.

Cheddar Valley stuff?

I’ve just book a room with a local milf in the village for Friday night, expect me to be a little tired.

It’s as dry as a really dry thing up there right now. Bring a bikini as it’s sunny too.

See you on Saturday morn in the Cambel rooms, two sugars with milk please 😉

Last week(i think)i did a 131 mile route from near Taunton, out around then over the Quantocks, then to the Brendons, then Exmoor, pretty much Following the Coleridge way(a walking route) Either side of the main route was a random combination of road, bridleways and crazy hike a bike up a cliff face, and other associated daft route selection.
See it here.
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/u3P5EFqCoeU

I’ll look over some maps and see if i can find an alternative route linking Exmoor with the tox, mainly of road.

My next big bivvi trip will be a QED one, with a bit of B to get me into Kernow.

Still looking over maps for that one.

I’ll pop back here with a proposed route for you.

Enjoy your new build Pricey.

Is that all the parts off the Marin?

BTW, welcome to the strange world of STW and many of it’s over opinionated users.

Most mean well, but they do suffer from a bit of penis envy now and again.