....and how could I explain the pleasure in the pain....

Last ride of the year probably, and what a year for me when it comes to cycling. After starting the year with a poorly shoulder and dented mojo I've steadily rebuilt my confidence and slowly built up my fitness. After getting somewhat carried away with worrying about my stats and other people passing me I finally got a grip and started enjoying my cycling even more. On the road bike I did the Exmoor Beauty which turned out to be a bit beastly but at least I found out I can turn a steady pace into a headwind. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the rider who complimented me on that after sitting behind me for about three miles! I did a couple of charity rides and a sportive out on the Somerset Levels where flat is harder than you think, you have to keep pedalling ! My last big ride of the year was the Exmoor Beast which although was hard work I enjoyed thoroughly even with the wind and rain. I've really started enjoying my mountain biking even more which I think is down to my improving fitness, anyone for the Exmoor Explorer next year ?  Most of all I've come into contact with some great people through the blog and by joining the local cycling club and even had the pleasure to ride out with a couple of them.

I took the mountain bike for a spin today, it turned a bit gloomy as I set off but as I slogged my way up the hill the sun came out. A well worn route today, very wet and muddy but the sun shining through the trees made for a lovely ride.

Look! a castle....

Here's the Strava bit for today's ride....

My stats for the year, give or take a few miles...

1839 miles.....
179,629ft of elevation gain.....
The chance to ride with friends....not enough

....open the sky and let her come down....

Well it rained and rained some more, I waited and pondered and waited some more, but it still rained. I got changed, still rain, waited a bit more, right that's it I'm off out rain or well rain and as if by magic the rain stopped once I'd set off. I was just going to do a quick lap around the hills nearby but with the wet stuff easing I went a bit further.

Nice and clean...

First climb of the day was Park Lane, not the posh street in the smoke but the rocky, wet muddy climb up to the woods of Dunster. Felt good again on the mountain bike and rode all of it which is a rare feat for me as I usually run out of skill on the steep rocky bits near the top.

Took a route I hadn't done for a while through the forest, the descents made even more fun sliding down the muddy bits. Up past the Bear and then down to Dunster, the water running under the bridge was the colour of mud and flowing quite fast.

As I was making quite good time I thought I'd try a climb I hadn't done in years to Grabbist Hill. Last time I went this way was with No1 son when he was a nipper and I had to push two bikes up the hill. Only one to push today though as it basically turned into a steep rocky river, now I remember why I don't go this way :)

Once on top it was along the ridge and the last descent of the day, a track Bonus named Readers Wives for reasons to be explained by parents. It's a great bit of singletrack, little used, under the trees, one of my favourite bits to ride rain or shine.

A great ride out again on the mountain bike the weather just adds to the fun. Here's the Strava bit....

Who chose a white bike....

.......bedshaped on legs of stone.....

I've really enjoyed riding my mountain bike recently, off the beaten track enjoying the peace and tranquillity. Today though with the weather being milder I thought I'd take the road bike for a spin to keep my hand in so to speak. I did feel decidedly tired, night shifts, seven years and they still knock me for six but it pays the bills and funds my rock and roll lifestyle ;)

I headed off up to Wheddon Cross, it felt like a struggle, heavy legs, back ache and wheezy lungs, but it was sunny and the roads were quiet. A stop at the shelter, time to ponder which way next and to get my breath back and chat to a young lad on a very shiny Trek who was out enjoying the pleasant conditions. As I was feeling crap I decided to head up the hill to the Brendons instead of the easy option of heading straight back down the hill. The aches seemed to go as I finally warmed up and it was a nice ride along the top of the hills towards Raleighs Cross. I rode down the road I rode up with the club last time out, even more muddier than last time, I think I'll save this descent for the summer. Even the back road to Williton was covered in mud, think the farmers have been out doing farming type stuff in the fields. A nice flat spin through to Doniford and onto Watchet and a breather at the marina, it's posh 'round here you know.

Last leg and up the hill out of the town and onto Blue Anchor and the last hill of the day out of there, a quick blast down the cycle path and back home. Overall not a bad ride, hills were a struggle a bit more than usual but at least I can get out there.

Here's the Strava bit......

.....see the world in green and blue.....

Great ride with my mate Bonus this morning, cold and frosty, puddles to crunch through, happy days, took some pics.

....it's just another day, living here this way.....

I've tried the gym, I didn't like it, it was always occupied by muscle bound men watching themselves lift weights in a mirror ? I don't get it either. I tried a turbo trainer, I didn't like that, being stationary whilst on a bicycle didn't work for me. Perhaps if I had a spare wheel or a spare bike or someone buys me a Watt bike, perhaps I may persevere. I'm also happier in jobs where I'm on the move, I expect the Mendip Rouleur will have a word for it he knows things like that, its probably an intuitive preference or something.

Cold and icy means time to hit the hills on the mountain bike for me, you can't beat crunching along frosty tracks. There's a certain satisfaction breaking an icy puddle a bit like popping the foil on a new jar of coffee if you get my drift. I thought I'd do one of my loops in the wrong direction today so I could explore a track for a new ascent up to North Hill. Myself and my friend Bonus have been looking for a rideable ascent up to the hill so we can extend and create loops, the couple we have tried turned out to be steep push ups which is no fun.

So I wrapped up and headed up the steep road climb to Hopcott and then along the ridge past the trig point and the descent down to Bratton. I stopped to take some pics but overall I just kept riding up, really feeling good on the bike, I think I finally have fitness, it's taken some time just speed and endurance to find now ;)

A ride along the back lane to Selworthy, big puddles and strewn with debris, puncture fairy was having the day off today though thankfully. I then took the track around the back of the church up through the combe, a bit rocky but a good ascent through the trees. I managed to ride most of it but got bogged down in muddy horse and 4x4 tracks but soon got back on and before I knew it I was at the top, just need to get Bonus to try it out.  A ride up to the beacon to admire the view and it was basically all downhill to home, down the zig zag tracks to the seafront, always a blast.

Here's the Strava bit.....

...don't you wake me up, I don't want this dream to...

Cold, windy, looking like rain, mountain bike day today then. My legs were still aching from the club ride on Sunday but the lungs were still functioning to what classes as full working order. Just a short run to get out but the route I chose meant no warm up and straight up the road to Hopcott. In the old days it used to take me more than half an hour plus stops to do the mile and a half to the ridge line. These days, straight to the top in twenty minutes, no stopping, just keep going, its my fitness measure. Down Grabbist and then over to Dunster wood, a ride around the tall trees, up past the bear and down to Dunster. Rain, wind, hail, sunshine and it was cold but worth getting out to enjoy the world around me.

I thought I would start recording my off road rides so people can see where I ride, I don't think my stats will impress anyone. Here's the Strava bit....

A short history of something....

Some of you may have already read the History of the Garmin Family on the notable blog of the Mendip Rouleur, if not please do. I thought it was about time I wrote about a little known branch of the Garmin family, that of the Exmoor Garmin's who once lived, loved and lost in this part of the world. Many stories are told of how this branch of family arrived in Exmoor but few facts are truly known. It is thought Ronald the brother of the flamboyant Jonny grew weary of his brothers excess so bought an estate from his distant cousin Bryton and moved to the rugged and bleak beauty of Exmoor to live a more rural life. Ronald had travelled, doing a grand tour and was particularly impressed by the mountains of the Alpine region. Being somewhat of a philanthropist Ronald soon built a chapel for the workers on his estate and ensured all the children received a basic education.

Garmin Chapel

With the industrial revolution now taking hold and the advent of the internal combustion engine Ronald with the help of his only child Joshua ploughed the family fortune into building a road up the notorious Porlock Hill. Not only did this need to have a gentle gradient for the new fangled car but Ronald also wanted it to resemble the roads and tracks he had witnessed on his travels throughout Europe. The cost of such a big civil engineering project put a huge strain on the family finances and the health of Ronald who was now old and frail but determined to see his road built. The family estate was sold to a local consortium to help fund the project much to the disgust of the younger members of the family who saw their legacy disappearing into a hillside.

Garmin Hall

Sadly Ronald never saw his road finished which left Joshua to complete the project alone. Luckily Joshua had the business sense to charge a toll to use the road which managed to fund a simple existence for Joshua and his family living in the toll house collecting the tolls. Joshua grew weary of this simple life though and fell in with some poets who would visit the area to seek inspiration, drink and some would say take opium. His growing addiction estranged him from his family and they were forced to move to the poor house in nearby Williton as any takings from the road would fund his drink, drugs and fancy friends. Little is known of what become of Joshua, he was last seen on a starry night cycling up the toll road never to be seen again. The last known descendant of the Exmoor Garmin's is Jeremiah who is an old friend of mine, although getting on in years he still manages to accompany me on my cycle rides around Exmoor and sometimes further afield.

Ronald's legacy...

If you look closely at the sign you will see a train. It was Ronald's dying wish to have a alpine style railway also but sadly that dream never saw fruition.

Keep on movin'.....

Last Sunday off for a few weeks so I thought I'd head out with the club. I nearly didn't, first week back shift working and I was tired and lacking a bit of motivation. My twitter motivational coach the Rouleur told me to go and the Pixie shamed me by telling me he was up at stupid o'clock to travel to the Isle of Wight to do a sportive. The alarm went off, I laid there and pondered, it was warm and cosy, I felt like crap, but I should really go, so I did.

Fresh out but not frosty and a group of fifteen or so of us congregated at the Rugby club. We normally split up into differing groups of ability but today it was suggested we all go out together and do some hills, to keep warm ! Steve who was ride captain today is doing the Tour of Flanders sportive next year, if you don't already know the Tour of Flanders is a cycle race in Belgium. It takes in some quite steep cobbled climbs which the pros have to negotiate more than once. The sportive is the day before the race and takes in all the climbs the race does. So I think secretly today was a training ride as we did several steep climbs on muddy lanes, which I have to confess I did have to walk on a couple, but I wasn't the only stroller. The climbing was thankfully interspersed with some great descents and we also rode along the valley from Luxbrough to Roadwater which is always a good blast. I rode lots of lanes I've never ridden before, which is good to know for planning new routes. The quick types waited patiently at the top of the climbs for the slow kids with associated banter ! and Steve and Paul dropped back to keep us company on some. Coffee and chatting at the Cider farm then onto the A39 and back home. Kev who was riding his new 'Winter Bike' seemed to be struggling on the way home, I think  his chunky cyclo cross tyres were dragging a bit so I waited for him and sheltered him back towards home. When I first went out with the club Kev could see I was struggling on a ride and did the same for me so it was nice to repay the favour.

Here's the Strava bit...

Glad I got up, nice to have company and nice to do a ride I hadn't done before even with the hills !

.....everybody hurts.....sometimes......

Depression, stress, anxiety call it what you will, it can be caused by many things in your life. What you might think of as trivial might be the trigger for something within someone else. I've suffered from depression in the past, it was a dark period in my life which I hopefully have now overcome. It wasn't until I spoke to someone about my feelings and my less than acceptable dark thoughts that I realised I had a problem. I was prescribed medication which I refused to take because I'd heard too many stories about that leading to other issues. In my case I had to change jobs and get away from what was the cause which luckily for me worked.   Of course this may not work for others as their problems could be caused by a number of things that perhaps have built up over time. As I have got older I try to be more relaxed and positive but we all have our bad days. Perhaps I shouldn't blog about such a personal issue, but that's where I went wrong in the first place, bottling things up until it was nearly too late.

What a terrible few days weather wise, rain, wind and then a bit more. I was determined to go out and of course had planned a route. When I woke it was still a bit dull, I checked the local news and social media to check conditions. Pictures of flooded streets in the town and stories of blocked roads east of town but no mention of west. I got ready and headed out on my planned route, the roads were covered in debris and big puddles lined my route to Porlock. I must thank that Volvo driver for going through one particular puddle at sixty as I went through it, cheers ! I got to Porlock only to find signs telling the me the Toll road was closed so I decided to head down to the Weir instead. I only got half way and found a bloody great puddle which I didn't really fancy heading through so decided to head back to town and do a loop.

No I'm not going the other way....

Big puddle round the bend....

Glad I got out but glad I didn't venture anywhere too rural as lanes around here can be a bit rough at the best of times, here's the Strava bit......

......If everything could ever feel this real forever......

I'm a cyclist, I like riding bikes, I'm not a mountain biker, I'm not a roadie I'm just a cyclist. I do however have two bikes, one with skinny tyres and rim brakes for zipping(!) about on tarmac and one with chunky tyres and disc brakes for venturing off the beaten track. After the slightly damp recent weather in these parts I thought I'd chose the latter and go on a little adventure :) It was wet, mulchy, muddy, rocky, slippy but great fun even a puncture didn't dampen my spirits. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

First obstacle of the day....

Some of the locals...

Headspace...

Picture book puncture repair

Downhill and home...

A great ride out in a beautiful place, sometimes you just have to get out and ride :)

Here's the Strava bit if you want to know where I went..

...on a cold and misty morning....

Since I did the Cheddar sportive back in September I've had a bit of a mind shift when it comes to my cycling and my attitude towards it. I was getting too wrapped up in my speed and stats and getting annoyed with myself for being fat and slow. After some kind words from a couple of friends I kind of realised I was doing okay, getting quicker slowly but surely and the weight was coming off to. I now try and enjoy my cycling more, relax and just go with the flow, still try my best but chill a bit as my eldest often tells me to.

I'd planned a route, the weather was misty and the lazy rain started as I got the bike out of the shed. It's only a bit of weather, I'd wrapped up and was feeling good so why not, I'll only get wet and cold, character building. Out towards Porlock and my glasses were soon in my back pocket with the drizzle and low cloud making it impossible to see anything through them. Grey, just a blanket of grey everywhere, no panoramic views today just mist and a bit more mist. Toll road again, no racing today, no chasing others, just me and the squirrels, a buzzard and even a stoat or is it a weasel and a little old man out for stroll but just me. Nice as ever, autumn colours, falling leaves, misty air, can't beat it, I'm very lucky ;)

I got up onto the moors and the air was a bit colder and after the sticky hill from Whitstone Post I was feeling a bit chilly. I thought I'd better take my glasses off because they were misting up then I realised they were in my pocket still and it was just the mist getting thicker ! It was eerily quiet on the moor and apart from my puffing all you could here was birdsong, at this point I did question my sanity. To get off the moor a bit quicker I decided to head down the Wellshead Road which wasn't as bad as I thought it might be and then onto Exford.

Exmoor...it's there honest...

A stop for a drink and a snack at the bus shelter and to readjust layers then up the hill and route decisions. I was warm again after puffing up the hill out of the village so decided to stick with plan A and head to Winsford which is a nice quick and quiet road to head along. Onto the valley road and a new climb to try, Quarme lane, about two miles of unknown ascent. It starts off steady, then a steep bit,then steady, then another longer steeper bit you get the idea. It took me a couple of go's but I didn't walk but the visibility didn't help because I couldn't see the crest of the steep bits, well that's my excuse. After that it was downhill time, the last downhill of the beast which I like heading down, see, method to the uphill madness.

..up it is then....

I was a good boy today and took it steadier than I did last time but still had fun on what was a very wet and muddy descent. A steady spin back towards home but I swerved the last little hill around the back of Dunster as my legs were feeling it a bit. I was cold and wet by the time I got home but I quite enjoyed being out in the murkiness probably because it was so quiet and peaceful ;)

....all downhill from here...trust me....

Here's the Strava bit....http://app.strava.com/activities/27939499

.....I’ll Take These Storms Away, start a brand new story.....

I had the pleasure of the Cycling Mayor joining me today for a spin around Exmoor, Jennifer is just coming back from some enforced rest, which must have took some forcing for a bit of a cycling addict. I won't go on about her problems just read her blog, I'd hate to start sounding like a stuck record, you remember those, black discy things and you had to put a ten pence piece on the top of the needle to stop it jumping.

Things looked a bit dodgy when she arrived there was even a hint drizzle in the air, layers applied off we went. A scenic spin through the grounds of Dunster Castle and onto the road to Wheddon Cross and we soon warmed up and the sun came out. A quick stop to remove layers and on up the hill, I promised nice hills today and the climb to Wheddon Cross is, nice surface under the autumnal trees. I puffed my way up as usual though, I felt good, no aches or pains today so the stretches I'm doing must be working. A breather and a chat at the bus stop and then the second nice climb of the day over Dunkery. This must be one of my favourite ups, apart from the loopy horse, nice and gentle and outstanding views a far as the eye can see and only the odd idiot driving too quickly. A quick descent off the hill but the wonderful colours of Cloutsham Ball were a welcome distraction and the descent down Crook Horn hill was relatively clear of mulchy leaves but a bit slippy at the bottom. A quick spin through the villages and then the blast home once I'd puffed up the last little hilly bit. A really good ride out with good company on a rather nice day.

Here's the strava bit...http://app.strava.com/activities/27785218

No pics today but I expect the Mayor will have some on her blog so read that one too :)

...kingdom of rust......

I can't quite remember when eldest first started to come riding with me, he's nearly seventeen now and has been riding something ever since he was able to. He started off by whizzing around the bmx track on his 16"Action Man bike and progressed up through wheel sizes as he grew. I think his first off road ride was up North Hill and straight back down the zig zag tracks to the harbour. I always remember his smile that day, he absolutely loved it and never looked back. Over the years we've gone from me pushing two bikes up hills to him riding up almost anything and leaving me behind but at least even I do a lot less pushing these days.

We haven't been out for a good off road blast on our own for ages, one of the lads he works with likes to ride so he's been hitting the trails with people more of his own age. Eldest had a plan for a route but that was before he slept so his epic ride wasn't quite so epic but still good fun. A blast along the bike path to Carhampton and apparently I was going too quick ! I need to chill apparently ? Eldest told me he'd put on half a stone recently so I think that was his excuse for me leaving him behind. First hill of the day and again I was in the wrong for not stopping to have a breather, this is a hill I used to push up, but not any more.

First hill of the day..

Some of this ascent was proving tricky with all the leaves, mud and slippery rocks making it hard work on the steeper bits but eldest disappeared up it with relative ease. A spin along the top and a stop to admire the stunning views all around us and the autumn colours in the trees. I'm really lucky to live here, I don't think some people who live around here really appreciate the beauty around them.

A quick wet and rocky descent to Dunster and then the ascent of Grabbist hill which again needed a degree of concentration due to boggy bits, wet roots and rocks. There is a steep climb at the end which we've both managed to ride up in the past but not today. It was hard to get traction in the mulch and we just kept spinning out so resorted to a push up, just like the old days ;)

Along the ridge of Knowle hill, with it being exposed and a bit on the sandy side it tends not to get too boggy so progress was easier, spinning along in the sunshine. A stop to chat to a nice man on a motor bike who was lost and then the descent back down to the road at Bratton. There is a myriad of tracks on the hill and you seem to find new ones or old ones you haven't ridden for years which we did today. It was a leafy, boggy, slippery descent which eldest described later as technical which means you spent most of it going down sideways which was great fun. Back to the road and a blast home along the straight, I quite like this Sunday off lark, lie in, coffee and read the newspapers, go ride a bike with your son and get muddy, happy days.

Muddy and happy....