Down in my hometown of Taunton, Somerset for a wedding, I needed an adventure for the Sunday to get a good training ride in.
Combining a trip to Minehead on the West Somerset Steam railway with Holly and my parents and a ride home across the Quantock Hills seemed like a plan so with my bike safely in the guards van and a single ticket in my pocket off we chuffed across the Somerset fields to the seaside. After the trip out to Minehead from Bishops Lydeard, which takes about an hour, I unloaded the bike and quickly changed into biking gear as the sun started to burn off the morning mist.
Unfortunately there is not coastal path to ride at the start so I was forced onto the main road until Blue Anchor where I had to wait for the returning train at the level crossing. On to the coast road the shortcomings of my ‘road map’, with no topo information, became apparent as I encountered some big climbs over headlands. My intention was to climb up onto the Quantocks from St Audries (ex-site of a girls school where I had my claim to fame of teaching Stephanie Beachamp’s Daughters how to orienteer when I was in 6th form). The bridleway on my sketch map didn’t seem to exist on the ground however so I carried on a few more kilometres to Kilve and then climbed up a horrendously steep track 1000 ft straight up and out onto the moor but doubled back on the ridge to the first trig point at Beacon Hill for a fantastic view out over the Severn Estuary and beyond.
It was then a blast along the spine of the Quantocks, navigating by vague memories of tracks from 20 years ago and keeping an eye on the position of the sun. The ride brought back fond memories of cross country races, army cadet yomps and school orienteering as I ticked off the landmarks on the route; Bicknoller Post, Crowcombe Park Gate, Triscombe Stone, Lydeard Hill and Buncombe.
I had only mountain biked on the Quantocks a few times before, once in about 1989 on my Mk1 Raleigh Mustang, and once in about 1994 on my Kona Fire Mountain when someone I was with came off and had to go to hospital with his knee cap showing. The ambulance arrived in a cloud of steam and they eventually had to send another out to retrieve him…..
I finished my ride off with a scoot down the narrow lanes towards Cheddon Fitzpane and back through Creech St Michael, passing lots more memories on the way having had a great time.