[Closed] STW Mendips ride ????

Count me out. But let me know a date so I can be busy doing something else....

DrP

All day breaky and final descent for beer and pub meal.

*puts hand up*

I'll come along depending on the date 😀

Mmmmm.... ice cream..... beer...... dusty Mendip trails....

....will be along if the date fits.

Ooooh, like the idea of an English breakfast 😀

Presumably in place of a picnic lunch?

To be followed by a cream tea mid-afternoon?

CG breakfast as in all day unless you want it at breakfast time ! Aleigh thought / hoped you would .Any more takers now i've started the ball rolling ? Guess some pics might help .Anybody ? Anna how about you ?

Not pics AB your company .

Love to come along and play.

smaller climbs please...............post some pics so I can get over excited again. Mendips have never really hit the spot before but Im willing to try again if the ususal gang turn up(they know who they are).

I aim to be but my weekends are booked up now until August (I get 2 weekends free a month in case you lot think I'm very popular!!)

aleigh you ARE v . popular with us !!!!

I'm in. How about someone just puts up a date and we can all start bickering.

July 19th or August 15th 🙂

knottie as it's not that big an area will have to get a bit more inventive .hoping science officer and buzz can help in that department .

My only experience of the Mendips was racing at Cheddar last year and I hated that, so I'll look forward to a positive experience instead.

How about the last weekend of this month? I was supposed to be going to see AC/DC but blown head gasket has altered those plans.

just thinking if we start in cheddar we could ride up the gorge (nothing like the road climb to dunkery btw )to charterhouse then head into the off road stuff ? but hey hang on a minute i shouldn't be bossing people around i had my turn at that yesterday !!!

Rich August will allow aleigh to come .but the 15th is a saturday so thats me out how about the 16th ? DOH THERE I GO AGAIN TAKING CHARGE !!!!! sorry i'll back off now .

Im liking RichPennys style.

Start at the Swan in Rowberrow then we can stop there for food and drink afterwards.

Keep the ideas coming .I thought this might appeal.....start in Cheddar nice ride up through the gorge for the scenery .To Charterhouse up to the mast , then right at the gate follow the trail through the 2 streams down into Rowberrow woods (essentially clic course ) then keep going through woods to the left turn by the exposed pipe ? Turn left follow stream then a bit of random playtime before heading to Lilypool for the all day breakfast.After that back up into the woods again before heading either up to the trig point and the blast into Rowberrow woods again or straight for the stock car track and the descent to Cheddar .Just a bit of an idea .Might not mean a lot to some people and as i said let's hear from some more locals.

Why not do the offroad climb up the gorge instead of the road?

He's taking into account of me going, so that means not to many hills..But TBH the thought of pedalling up through the gorge to chrterhouse does seems daunting..

Would rather start over in Burrington combe or Rowbarrow, that's only because i don't know the gorge side of riding, other than up in cheddar woods and around the quarry....can we fit in witches wood descent as i need to have words in there....strongs words from 2004...

Awwww fanks OF!

I can do the 8th or 9th August just to add to the mix!

Sticks hand up to join in - really enjoyed the big Quantocks gathering!

As Sharki said Burrington Combe is a good place to start - loads of free parking

Me me me me me pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze

I'd quite like to come along. Will only really know if I can make it nearer the time though so I.ll just see how things are nearer the time.

Polite request - can we have a date please?

Thank you so much!

Just thinking about it, rather than a cream tea, could we have (cheddar) cheese and crackers? You can't beat Somerset cheddar 😀

19th july is the air tattoo so cant make it but would be intrested otherwise

I'm in. I was thinking about this very topic [b]ALL[/b] yesterday evening. Hope I can make whatever dates you decide upon.

OF - I'm happy to assist you in planning, guiding and gate-holding as you see fit. All the suggestions so far sound good.

Anyways, here's a few more tips:

* Burrington Combe, the Inn and the now defunct garden centre has the largest free parking and is a good start-point.
* There is a wide bridle track for climbing over the back of Burrington Ham to reach the top of the combe avoiding the road. From there, the climb up to the summit if Black Down is reasonable and wide.
* We should definitely go to Cheddar, either down rocky Warrens Hill Road, or down the techy/scenic track atop Cheddar Gorge, although the latter can be difficult to access without a weensy bit of cheekyness. We can book up cream teas in Cheddar - yum
* Climbing "up" the Cheddar Gorge track top-track sounds a bit crazy to me 🙂 Climbing the road is easy enough and very scenic. Another doable off-road climb out of Cheddar starts at Bradley Cross, or climbing Warrens Hill Road isn't too bad if it's dry
* In Rowberrow Wood, it's got to be worth including the upper-parts of "Santa's Grotto" 🙂
* The funnest bridle path descent back toward Burrington is "Stony Lane" which is sandwiched between the hill fort and mendip lodge wood and ends at the Blagdon Water Gardens with a short road ride back to Burrington Inn.
* if you can squeeze the Limestone Link track from CLIC in, that's always fast/furious fun

I might have a word with the Mendip warden to see if we can get dispensation to cycle through Velvet Bottom, seeing as the ground is nice and hard and links Cheddar Gorge nicely with Black Down.

What do you think ScienceOfficer?

All good ideas from Buzz.

Gotta go to the Beacon at some point.

Another thought - the permissive bridleway from the top of Stony Lane around the north side of the fort to the main road at Dolebury Bottom - followed by a stop at the Crown 😀

Sounds like there are likely to be more pub stops than riding... just grand. Count me in.

Sounds reasonable to me Buzz. You have a better appreciation of whats doable with a group this large.

I think its going to be difficult to do Mendip justice from an MTB view and still keep it legal-ish.

elliptic, is the crown a little festering inn of tradition at the end of a wide bridleway, mid section is stoney flat out section then it turns to axle deep mush in the wet seasons, then through another gate to pick up the CP..

There's a hose and tap around the side to clean bikes off, which the Landlord permits IIRC.

As it'll be peak time and mid summer holidays, is it likely that any gorge trails are going to be crammed with Tourists?

Not that it matters to much, most fallen kids aren't much more than 130mm deep....

a little festering inn of tradition

You could call it that 🙂 It's off a back lane round the corner from Churchill lights, at the start of a gravelly farm track that goes up the hill and connects with the Sandford Batch bridleway - might be the trails you're thinking of.

The trail along the gorge top is indeed likely to be packed with grockles (though there'll be walkers everywhere if it's a nice day).

Ah, home.

Wish I could join ya. Sadly, I'll still be in exile.

[i]a little festering inn of tradition[/i]

😀 😀 😀

I'm not joining you, be too late a start. Normally out on trail by 7am

[i]any gorge trails are going to be crammed with Tourists[/i]

yeah it can be a problem, especially on a Sunday. If I'm doing it, I generally start early, but that's not going to happen - shame. Plenty of other good stuff though.

I was really impressed with OF's organisation last weekend on Exmoor. Having a couple of helper guides (armed with cameras) to go ahead is a must to mark important junctions + a sweeper to avoid losing people.

I can lend a hand on that front. Same problem on our group rides especially with summer foliage hiding trail entrances.

Bit of cheeky not a problem, surely?

With a large crowd of riders on a busy summer afternoon, best to keep it legit really.

If I have enough notice date wise I'd be well up for breaking STW group ride cherry - especially so close to where I grew up!

Also, Hopester can vouch for me having the amazing ability to be both skinny and slow - so I'll be great mocking fodder for everyone!

Any date in August, and I will join in. Cool.

"Bit of cheeky not a problem, surely?"

A "guided" group of 20 at the weekend is a bit different from you+mate on a weekday evening. 😀 A linky/cheeky bit here and there will be no problem. But e.g. Velvet Bottom is a bit sensitive (oooh er) esp. because it's adjacent to the mendip warden's house! I think it's currently classified as a bridal way but only for horses or some such nonsense. I'm enquiring with the AONB.

I hear what's been said about the gorge-top bridle way. It's super, and all legal, but I would not want to be involved in innocent grockles being squashed or tossed off the cliffs - not good for local cycling relations. Pity, because it's ace [the trail, not the grockles being killed]. If it was included, we would have to exercise some caution. It's not impossible. [thinks...]

Go over the back then, down to Bradley cross via the drove. Either climb up the Gorge road or go up the Bridleway - it'll be a good test climbing it...

All i remember of the Pub is an entrance, a choice of two bars both with central fireplaces and us sat around with our damp selves steaming against the heat, munching sarnies and supping beers...

Buzz, for the Quantocks ride , i worked with the AONB/rangers to make sure we maintained good relations with them, so yes it's worth while doing that.

I'm in - no excuses as it's on my doorstep!

How about the Hunters for lunch and Butcombe???? (Even though it would involve some road riding)

A pint of Butcombe would be lovely thank you...The Hunters' is a bit out of it IMO. If you want to hook up some time, I'm usually in there with the GF and mates on Fridays from 19:30 until 21:30 [not this Friday tho].

I'm working on some possible routes for examination by OF and ScienceOfficer. [in between too much work pressure and consequently being slightly ill]

Sounds good to me, have you decided on a date yet?

Yes, that's kind of what I meant Buzz. Most of the good bits that I know local to me are cheeky or are more easily linked by footpaths or unspecified paths. I don't know the Mendips at all though, so I guess it's different in all areas. Plus, we don't have rangers, lots of walkers or similar nonsense.....

Besides, it's not my route and not the area I have to regularly ride in after the STW lot have passed through, so please ignore me 😉 Wherever we go, it's going to be ace.

oldfart & ScienceOfficer.

I've been doing some route planning and have 3 variations in mind. Want to contact me for an off-line discussion?

My email is in my profile.

Might be an idea to have a back up plan for if the summer comes properly and the mendips take on it's usual guise of slick slippy fun, which for me is fun but for not so much for some of the others..

Lots of the rowbarrow stuff becomes an 'ok bike, we're going that way are we', as you hurtle out of control down a 15ft wide stump infested trail of hope and fear, however alot of this is indeed cheeky and may not be included.

But i guess they could be an alternative for those wishing too as they all end up at a linking forest trail which will enable rejoining the main troops.

So one route for the guaranteed dry conditions and one for the wet...these rides are great for advertising the area and it's riding so use the opportunity to promote the area well.

Which i have no doubt you'll do, i've had few amazing rides on the Dips, but have something special to compare them with IMHO 😉

I fancy this but very date dependant, has one been set yet?

Of all the cheek on the hill, Rowberrow is probably the most acceptable IMO.

15ft is pushing it - alot of it is proper singletrack, but the slimy-roulette-of death bike control technique you talk about is still valid!

You'r right Sharki. There are few places as good as Quantocks IMO. I wished I lived 15minutes away from the Q's, but I live 15mins away from the 'dips, which is vastly better than living in say, Anglia or London - at least for MTB.

Perhaps this particular trail was slightly off piste, it was a night ride and all i remember is all of us entering the trail in single file on single track than as it steepened, we began our separate journeys in all directions, my failure in using trailrakers or other suitable knobbly tyres meant a few moment of the rear over taking the front, inc one complete 360, which i still can't work out how....i could see the trail exit but the bike seemed not to want to take me there directly, so after about 300m the 150m section was completed and despite the rain we all stood there sharing our experiences of the last couple mins....We were going to do it again but thought better of it as stump roulette isn't a game to play twice in one evening.

Date please date please date please date please date please 😀

Stop tormenting us!

I can just see CG in the back of the car now.....
Are we there yet are we there yet are we there yet re we there yet

Nah, just had such a good time with the West Country Riders and wanna do it all again 8)

Anybody fancy making this a weekender ? There's a nice campsite opposite broadway House in Cheddar only £5pppn. Could do Fri night/sat and sun rides then 🙂

Date please!

I fancy this if I can get a pass out but need to plan the date in the diary. I keep seeing these rides and saying I must make one. I do hope you dont bite.

Dropoff, you just want the preride BMX playtime....

2 days on the Dips...Hmmmm!

Listen up - I've been chatting to OldFart and this is what we think...

[b]Date: Sunday 16th of August.[/b]

Route: We've come up with three equivalent routes and we'd like to get you're opinions before we decide. [Apologies for the nerdyness, but I had a day of illness last week and was bored enough to get the mapping software out]

[u]STW Route 1 (33km, 902m ascent, 6 hours at 5mph, 15% road)[/u]
Cheddar Gorge – Reservoir Walls car park (Start)
Up to the summit of the Gorge (Climb)
Cheddar Cliffs (Descent)
Bradley Cross to Carscliff Farm (Climb)
Charterhouse
Rains Batch (Climb)
LimestoneLink (Descent)
Rowberrow Wood (Climb)
Santa’s Grotto (Descent)
Rowberrow Bottom (Descent)
The Ship at Rowberrow for refreshments
Holloway Lane, Rowberrow Wood to Tynings (Climb)
Warrens Hill Road to Cheddar (Descent)
Up to Reservoir Walls (Climb)

Notes: there are several free parking bays near Reservoir Walls but the ones lower down are pay parks, about £4 per day I think. It uses a cheeky track to access the top of the gorge-top trail to avoid a push/carry. Descending the Gorge around 10am will be OK if taken carefully. At other times it will be too busy to be fun. The climb up from Bradley Cross is initially quite tough. The refreshment stop is “The Ship” in Rowberrow, about ¾ of the way around. The long descent of Warrens Hill is a good finish

[img] [/img]

[u]STW Route 2 (36 km, 927m ascent, 6 hours at 5mph, 15% road)[/u]
Burrington Combe (Start)
Burrington Ham (Climb)
LimestoneLink (Descent)
Dolebury Bottom (Descent)
Sandford Batch
Cheddarcombe Lane to Shipham (Climb)
Rowberrow Wood to Tynings (Climb)
Warrens Hill Road to Cheddar (Descent)
Cream teas in Cheddar Gorge
Bradley Cross to Carscliff Farm (Climb)
Charterhouse
Rains Batch to Black Down (Climb)
Stony Lane (Descent)
Burrington Combe (End)

Notes. The initial climb up Burrington Ham uses cheeky but at 10am Saturday it should be fine and the small summit is very scenic. There is another small bit of cheeks on Sandford Batch, but this area is barely frequented, in fact it might be a bit overgrown (we will have to look/prune). Suggest the refreshments break is one of the tea rooms in the bottom of the Gorge road. The climb up from Bradley Cross is initially quite tough. The descent line of Black Down can be confusing because there are many variations. Stony Lane is a good if short descent to finish.

[img] [/img]

[u]STW Route 3 (35 km, 745m ascent, 6 hours at 5mph, 15% road, 15% cycletrack)[/u]
Cheddar Tweentown Pay Car Park(Start)
Strawberry Line cycle track to Shut Shelve
King’s Wood (Climb)
Wavering Down
Crook Peak (Descent)
Loxton Hill (Climb)
Christon (Descent)
Road to Banwell Castle (cream teas on the terrace)
Road to Sandford
Sandford Batch (Climb)
Cheddarcombe Lane to Shipham (Climb)
Rowberrow Wood to Tynings (Climb)
Warrens Hill Road to Cheddar (Descent)

Notes. This is a complete contrast to routes 1 and 2 because it goes to Wavering Downn/Loxton instead of the main area Burrington Combe. The general feel is more technical bridleways than singletrack. The initial section is cycle track following a disused railway line to Shute Shelve. The climb up King’s Woods is short, tough but doable. The descent of Crook Peak is cheeky and uber high speed but it is wide open there is little risk to walkers. There is an alternative techy bridleway to Webbington. Cream Teas on the terrace at Banwell Castle. The long descent of Warrens Hill is a good finish.

[img] [/img]

🙂

Well I'm certainly up for it as I can't do the Quantocks one and the Pewsey one on my doorstep doesn't seem to be getting anyone all moist with anticipation yet, but [i]some[/i] sort of clue as to date would be nice. Any Sunday, really, as Saturdays are usually committed.
[edit] buzz's date suggestion works for me, and I'll go along with the majority decision regarding route. I don't know the area at all, so will accept superior knowledge. [/edit]

Blimey buzz, you have been busy! I'm easy to please cos I don't know the area. Happily go with the flow 🙂

Id be interested in no3 on a different day as would like to do the WMW above the webbington one day.

But for visitors to the area, burrington needs to be included so no2 with a bit of playtime in Rowberrow if we can

Could you post the gpx files? Not certain that I'll be able to make it but they'd be useful to keep on file.

I've now put this into my calendar for the 16th. Looks like a great day out.

Will see what I can do happy to go with the local knowledge. 16th Aug will go and hunt the diary down.

Hope to be on hols by then, otherwise I'm in, whichever route you choose.

I'd be very interested in this. Very impressed with the effort you've gone to Buzz! 16th should be ok with me (assuming Transalp hasn't put me off mountain biking forever!).

Will you keep people informed via STW?

Sweet, can make that date. Fantastic work on the maps Buzz, I think I'd plump for route 2, simply because cream teas at cheddar gorge sounds good. Playtime in Rowberrow could be fun!

clubber - GPX in your mailbox

Damn, you managed to pick the week that I'm on hols in the Lakes. Wouldn't mind a copy of the gpx files anyway, it's an area I'd like to explore some time.

16th good for me too. This is brilliant as i have been dying to ride in the mendips for ages!

r6ymy - GPX in your inbox

How is your arm?

Hi buzz, files received. Arm is OK thanks, today is the first day that it will straighten out properly, just in time for tomorrow's Chilterns ride.

Thanks Buzz

I'm doubtful on this one now.

Hopefully Scotland will be my destination.