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Well I have not done much riding this week, my evening ride never happened. I like to ride before I eat which means I normally go out as soon as I finish work (if I am working from home) or as soon as I come in. Last week just could not get it together so never went out riding. Saturdays ride never happened, the wife woke up feeling ill, got up and then went back to bed and my stomach did not feel to good first thing Saturday morning so the excuse fairy won that day. So it was a case of having to go out today, we had a route planned which I got from the Mountain Bike Guide Dorset book. A simple 17 mile ride around the fields of Cranborne Chase (route 12 if you have the book).

We left early this morning as we have done over the past few weeks to beat the heat and eventually left the car park at 7:45am. Our first problem appeared a couple of miles in, we could not find the turning. Fortunately a dog walker appeared and showed us exactly where it was, saying it was overgrown would be an understatement, we had ridden past it 4 times and stop next to it to check the route. Below is a picture of the wife pushing her bike out the far end of the path on the back wheel after I had cleared a bit of a path having ridden through it

There is a flymo in here somewhere!!

Thankfully it was only a short path of about 150ft long but arguing with 4ft high stinging nettles made you know who owned the path…………….it was not us. Unfortunately this was not to be our last encounter with the Triffids.

Unfortunately we lost the Bridle way and spent several minutes riding around a field until we worked out we should be in the next field over. Having climbed over a wobbly gate and skirted around the cows we found our way back onto the bridle way and into the next field but not before I had hit the deck twice. First time I stopped and forgetting I had raised the seat went to put my foot down only to realise I had stopped on uneven ground and my foot could not reach the floor. Having picked myself up we were on our way again until the wife decides to stop in the middle of the little track and as I pass her the end grip of my handle bar got hooked onto the elastic cords on the back of her rucksack, this eventually pull the handles bars round and before I know what is going on, I am on the deck……….again.

We left the field of green wheat (or maybe barley) field at the strangely named “Squirrel Corner”, not a squirrel to be seen anywhere. After a few 100yds of tarmac we were on to an old drove trail heading for Gussage Hill (after a mistaken detour down the roman road). This is where we met the Triffids again, fortunately they were not 6ft tall this time but 4ft grass, stinging nettles and thistle plants do make it difficult to ride along the path not to mention hide the ditch at the side of the path. We had just under a mile and a half of this, I was glad to get out the other side, my shins and fingers were stinging from all the nettle attacks.

The next section was mostly tarmac again as we headed for Six Penny Hadley, I love that village name. After a quick malt loaf refill we hit the bridles ways again heading toward Pentridge, just before we hit the main road we came across two alpaca’s in a field (large back garden), so I took a quick picture as our son and daughter would not believe us if we told them.

Judging by the state of his coat he had recently had a hair cut. When we got the the large hill at Pentdridge I decided to walk which was just as well as we had to play dodge the milk tanker as it reversed its way up the bridle path to collect the milk. Once at the top we made our way through another field of green wheat, dodged a couple of chickens, navigated around a heard of cows then we were on the downwards run back to Cranbourne. About a mile from the village we met two Lama’s and their owners going for a walk (sorry no picture). Apparently they were getting them used to surrounding fields and life etc. as they were being trained up for Trekking duties locally and Scotland.

We eventually made it back to the car park at Cranbourne, just under 5 hours and 17.4 miles after starting. It was certainly one of our longest rides timewise and certainly the most challenging. Would I ride it again? Yes but I would have to choose the time carefully, winter and many of the tracks are to muddy, summer and they are very overgrown.

While planning this route I came across many interesting village and area names, here are a few of the others that we past on our way round:

Monkton Up Wimborne
Toby’s Bottom
Ackling Dyke
Water Lake Bottom
Bowldish Pond

Tomorrow is weigh in night, I am not holding my breath as this week what with the lack of riding and I have not been a good boy eating wise this past week.

It is a week or so since my last blog and with the way thing have been for the past few months I have not really wanted to write anything. But as it stands at the moment, somebody has left the door open at the end of the tunnel so we may be emerging from the bleak darkness soon..

Last Monday weigh in did not go well a small gain and still stagnated around the same weight now for the past couple of months. Not two sure how tomorrow is going to go as I have had a mixed week, had an Indian on Friday night (wife birthday).

Having got the wheel to the Cyclefix on Monday for two new spokes and got the wheel back later that day I was hoping to get a couple of rides in during the week. But due to one thing or another It never happened until I took the day off on Friday. I went for a ride around Moors Valley, found a couple of nice short single track runs and some stroppy workmen laying a water main……….”can’t cross here mate”. I will need to sit down at some point and work all those little single track runs into a nice long ride and hopefully Mr Stroppy will have gone. I also had a visit from the puncture fairy which arrived at exactly the same point I was going to take a break so that was handy, it was also very close to the same area I had a previous puncture again in the rear wheel, never found what caused the puncture. I ended the day with 17.4 miles on the clock.

For Saturday it was a ride with the wife and I had decided to stay local and try some new areas which I thought I might be able to add to existing routes to make them longer. Basically it turned out to be a waste of time, we found one path that had recently been cleared as it must have been fully overgrown judging but the roots and stems (which were still growing in the middle of the track). Give it another couple of weeks and nature will have reclaimed the path again. Other paths I wanted to try just seemed not to exist so pretty much rode 10 miles of tarmac for a 14.5 mile ride.

Sunday morning dawned and as I ventured into the shed to get the bike out I noticed that I had had another visit from the puncture fairy and it was the rear wheel again. This time I found the cause, a large thorn stuck in the tyre. Once fixed I was on my way to do my normal Sunday loop. Only thing to report is I can’t wait to get my new knee pads (see below) to arrive, not to protect my knees if I fall off but they do a good job of protecting my legs from the stinging nettles and brambles that are encroaching onto some of the narrow paths I ride, my shins are still stinging now. Apart from my stinging shins, my knee are aching a bit which I guess is to do with the 26 miles I did today for a total 58 miles over the last three days.

In regards to my knee pads I mentioned above I bought some a couple of months ago and they had like a nylon backed foam with hole in to aid breathing\ventilation around the sides and front. Well in the pair I had these areas had started to tear so I sent them back and got a full refund. I have ordered another style of knee pads but I am still waiting for them to arrive.

Got the enjoyable job of driving up to head office tomorrow so it an early night and an early morning, oh joy………………..