Almost one year since previous post!
Is the Blog still active?? Let’s find out!
So today Lindsay ……
Scene of early bath
Sad breakfast
The overnight rain and morning drizzle provided perfect conditions for some slippy slidey action today. An initial slog uphill on the lumpy bumpy Jubilee Trail out from Bere saw Pete. T off first – him trying to get too friendly with a rabbit hole. Then Pete. Mc took an early bath in rain soaked silage grass as a result of evil ruttage.
So, we got to Milborne via some interesting field edge bridleways, having travelled through a somewhat mesmeric atmosphere of low cloud and grey horizons a little damper than when we had started. More track and field bridleways to Dewlish and her beautiful yew tree lined parish church entrance. Stopped for a sad breakfast of crisps and orange made bearable by the great view on offer; from the perfect stone church yard bench a vista East towards Park Hill woods.
Some easy and pretty lanes now to the A354, turning off left on to Burlston Drove after 500m. Managed to do a bit of cyclo-abseilling, (after yours truly led us astray up a near vertical mountain), in order to re-aquaint ourselves with the Tollpuddle bound drove road.
Fifteen minutes later we were sharing a rather tasty Italian tart at cafe’ Bere!
17 miles.
Cyclo-Art
With Tom and Rick both injured, it fell to Pete x 2 to carry on the Sunday routine. It was pouring with rain at 0730 when Pete T arrived at Bere Regis, but the weather forecast said it wasn’t raining. We thought we must be imagining it and set off. By 0815, the weather obeyed the forecast and we soon dried out, (apart from feet x 4), as the temperature rose.
26 miles covered around Bere Woods and Wareham Forest , quite a lot of mud collected on the way.
Pete. T gave his bike a swimming lesson at Morden Decoy Pond but the technique was all wrong! – see photos.
Just relax
Bluebells looked and smelled fab, same could not be said for Petes.
Apr 15
This gallery contains 7 photos.
With the hour shift and a spring in the air, (but sadly missing from Pete T’s front derailieur), we set off from Cafe’ Bere up Black Hill with a vague plan to abandon a visit to the now infamous and elusive, (maybe not non-existent), Obelisk at Weatherby Castle. Duly not visited we continued to Tollpuddle […]
Tom and Pete were the only starters this week. A cold grey morning greeted us!
The route was from Poundbury through Martins town and Winterborne Abbas, up the hill towards Portisham , but turned right near the brow heading mostly down hill to eventually arrive at Litton Cheney. A devil of a hill up to the A35 beat us and we had to dismount!
We crossed the A35 and headed to the Roman road and back towards Dorchester. Turned left after the fast down hill section towards the A37 at Grimstone; from there , it was cycle path all the way to the Industrial estate at Dorchester and finally back to where we started. 25.5 miles. Good route with plenty of climbs that we did achieve!
We escaped from Blandford Tesco car park a little later than planned, and in the cold air and bright sunshine powered up Fair Mile Road. Nicely warmed we turned our attention to the need for finding a nice muddy track. Thus amply satisfied all the way as far as the junction with the Wessex Ridgeway atop Oakford Hill, we rewarded our sticky endeavours with a rapid descent down the steep hill to Oakford Fitzpaine and it’s pubs sunlit bench for an appointment with various breakfast items: a sausage roll disguised as Scotch eggs, yum yums that had morphed into Bakewell tarts and Maccy’s as advertised drop scones. All washed down with some grog, we then tackled part two of the mornings mud challenge which I must say Rik seemed to particularly enjoy. After passing Fidleford it was plain sailing along The Trailway all the way back to Blandford – three muddy and knackered boys.
We decided to start from Cattistock Church, went on an old tried and tested route via Rampisham, Corscombe and quick break in Petes Paddock in Halstock, the tough ride up Adams Green from Halstock, then Yetminster, and the road that tracks South to meet the A37 at Evershot. 200 M South down the A37 then right back onto quiet roads Frome St Quintin and finally Cattistock
26 miles , a great days riding, a good mixture of hills and flat, nothing too troubling
Pete M Rick and Pete T set off on a very cold morning ( 4 layers required) from Piddlehinton, with MTB’s. North to Buckland Newton and Dentist, Glanvilles Wootton and the the road through Boys Hill. We crossed the A352 and headed to Chetnole, from Chetnole it was due west and across the A37 ; this first 14 miles was on road, but things were about to change!
We headed on the Bridle way east past Melbury Osmond and followed it to Evershot. It was a pleasant trip except for a tough up hill pull on a loose gravel surface track towards the end. It was back on road then from Evershot to the top of Batcombe hill, and then onto the Wessex ridgeway- which was really muddy for the first half mile- Tom would have been in his element if he had been with us- we did reflect on this ( a couple of times!) . A 15 minute stop for a well earned snack and then we decided it was a pretty simple 6 mile trip back to Ricks house. Hear none of it, we headed off on the bridle way south and west towards Up Cerne, we lost a lot of altitude on the downhill section, and right at the bottom, Rick got a front wheel puncture!. My iPhone tells me we took 14 minutes to change inner tubes and we were off again. We hit the A352 for 200 yards and then uphill through Mintern Parva, then an unbelievable climb up the escarpment. It was tough, even pushing a bike. Pete M whilst pushing, ran over a flint that punctured his front tyre( see photo)!! So there we were, mid field, 25 degree slope, changing another inner tube.( here we thought of Tom again!) this change took 16 minutes!. After this it was onwards and upwards onto the B road along the ridge and down the track back to Ricks house.
A very tough 29 miles
so here we have it , best time for a puncture repair is now held by Rick at 14 minutes.
Cold morning, but Pete M Rick and Pete T braved the elements on hybrids. started in Poundbury and followed the road through Martins town and along to Winterbourne Abbas, then up the climb to the western approaches to Hardys monument, then down the exhilarating hill to Abbotsbury. From Abbotsbury we headed east along the coast road towards Rodden, and then right along a very Muddy road to Langton Herring. We diverted here and followed the coast guards road down to the shore overlooking Chesil Beach and had a breakfast of sausage roll, drop scone and kitkat, all washed down with an assortment of beverages!
Back up the gravelly track to Langton and the right to meet the B3157, left on that for half a mile and then right to Nottington and Upwey. We then picked up the Weymouth bypass bike track and at the top of the hill took the bridleway towards Hardys monument, then down the hill to Martins town and then Poundbury
26 miles.
We did notice Hardys monument throughout the whole trip was either directly inform of us or on our left shoulder at a steady distance of 3 or 4 miles, so it turned out the be a circuit of Hardys monument!!
Cycle Dorset and Wiltshire 