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Scrabble
Day two part two - Everything so far has been incredible. Just really great riding, all the right problems to solve and the best of spirits. The next part of the ride was always going to blow everything else before out of the water.
And it was going to be hard.
The first part of the descent into Invention Wood rolled beautifully. A couple of quick stops for photos and then the roller coaster. We plunged downwards. Holding brakes down full and feeling just the right side of out of control. Terrifying but fun stuff. What goes down must come up and we met out first (marked) 25% climb. We all spent a bit of time prepping before tackling it and opted for a bit of a run up. John is light as a feather and on really low gearing and managed to spin all the way. I tried to follow but the back end of my bike started to slip around on loose leaves and gravel. I took the heroic decision to get off and walk for the really steep bit and as I did so turned around to see Phil making the same decision. We shared a look of ‘what the fuck?!?’ Regaining a bit of footing hopped back on the bike and caught up with John and recovered together at the top of the hill waiting for Phil to join us.
I knew what was coming next. The valley of the rocks. It’s one of my favourite places and I couldn’t wait to show the others. What I didn’t realise was the road we were on to get there was set to be one of the best I’ve ever ridden. With heavy bikes and tired legs Slatterslade lane just flows. Every quick up perfectly timed for a gentle push of the pedals to boost you over and every twist and turn offering glimmers of the coastline through the trees. Popping out of the woods into the open and a climb past Lee Abbey before the rocks present themselves.
I’m not gonna try and wax on about how great this place is, quite aware of how wanky this all sounds already but in short, it’s a must see. John has a climb up to the top to get some photos whilst me and Phil day eating cake.
It was getting to that point in the day where we start having to assess our timings. Lynton is over the hill, then on to Porlock and either of the two are the last chances to get some warmth before home. We have about 3 hours of daylight left and Dunkery Beacon is the final climb of the day. We settle on the plan of a quick stock coffee in Lynton and to push on after that.
After climbing out of Lynton, Hookway Hill alongside the Oare is the path to take and again, we find ourselves on another delightful road. Slowly meandering through the valley, slowly climbing we all feel tired but are spurred on by the prospect of the Porlock Toll Road descent. Phil basically hasn’t ridden his bike all year outside of commuting so whilst climbing together we discuss the option of taking the main road out of porlock straight to Minehead or carry on with the planned ascent of Dunkery. He’s tired but strong and wants to do Dunkery. I was secretly hoping he would opt for the shorter route as I’m feeling pretty wrecked at this point.
We crawl to the top, smash along a small stretch of main road before turning off for the toll road. Again, it’s hard to explain how great an experience this is. Just a really great descent that competes with the Alps and The Pyrenees. Just a bit smaller. Another must.
Out of Porlock and begging god the climb to Dunkery John talks about his experience of riding it before. We meet the quick kick up to 18% with the handily places cattle grid and slowly split as we all take it at our own pace. The road levels out to reveal a clearing and it’s got to that time of day where the sun is just touching the peaks of the hills around us as it sets. This is the highest road in Exmoor we’re climbing and it’s been timed perfectly for golden hour. The views are vast and the light unbelievable. We’re treated to a herd of wild horses milling around in the sunset at the peak. Couldn’t be more perfect.
We opted for coming off the route and dropping back down on the A396 into Dunster. It’s a wide gently descending road and daylight is quickly disappearing. John still has a drive back to Cornwall ages of him and we’ve gotta get Phil on his train back to Briz. We roll back into the quantocks along the coastal roads we came out on yesterday and are greeted by a huge roast dinner and showers before sending John and Phil on their way.
I got a bit over emotional about this weekend away. It was just perfect and so good to spend it with two people who have the exact same riding/living ethos. everyone should consider Exmoor for a cycling trip If they haven’t already been. It’s tough (the relive recording gives an idea) but it’s all so rewarding. As a group we normally do a long week or two cycling trip in the summer but have settled for just doing long weekends like this next year and slowly ticking off all of the UK national parks and AONB’s. We’re all very lucky to live here.
Disclaimer: This was all written on my phone and the autocorrect has doen some funny things. I'm not actually an idiot.