Solo Braunton 150 Loop

[ZeroDarkBivi]

The weather always plays a huge role in how fast a trail rides and the B150 Grand Depart event in late March was always going to be hard work after the wet UK winter. On top of this riders where subjected to some pretty wild wintery squalls, which must have made the experience most ‘character building’ and accounted for the high attrition rate. Having spent the winter overseas (negative bike), I have been itching to have a go at this route since getting back. The early summer dry spell, especially in the West, has had a transformational effect on our trails and the opportunity to ride this in perfect weather had me super excited.

Unfortunately after a week in the Scottish Highlands, my trusty Spearfish was not in the best shape; creaky bearings, harsh suspension, knackered tyres, and a drivetrain that was shot. So I bodged some more superglue tyre repairs and threw a new chain on; not the best preps for a solo 240km ride across some quite exposed terrain, but the other bikes where missing critical components, and the weather window would not last for ever, so it was a risk worth taking.

The strategy was a simple one – get round the loop within one cycle of darkness, with no plan to bivi unless it all went bad. The morning Faff resulted in a late start (why don’t I just sort it out the night before like any sane person?), and I eventually got rolling just after 1100. Starting from Exford, where there is excellent free and what looks like reasonably secure overnight parking, I had a short uphill ‘warm-up’ to meet the trail and start the clock. I reckoned 30 hours was a realistic goal – only an average speed of 8kph, including stops; how hard can that be? Starting from Exford also meant that I would do the hard climbs (and descents) along the north coast during daylight and whilst still fresh. What I didn’t realise was the worst trails are those on the west of the moor, which I would encounter in the dark when tired and a bit less enthusiastic…!

Dunkery Beacon was quickly ascended, and the longest, rockiest super-fun descent of the entire route was over far too soon, but most importantly with the bike unscathed, which was a relief; if it survived that, it should get round the rest. With less than an hour on the clock, I had to stop for a home-made ice cream in Minehead – I am addicted to dairy fat in all of its guises, and this was worth stopping for. The steep climb out of Minehead put a lot of strain on the drivetrain and the cassette was not happy with the new chain, spitting it out of several cogs with a nasty ping. I could only use the 28x42 with easy pressure on the pedals and a commensurately low cadence, but changing to this style was no bad thing for preventing excessive energy expenditure surging up the climbs. From an early stage I found navigation a real challenge, even with the GPS zoomed in tight on the track, I was often confronted with multiple trail options running parallel, which could only be confirmed as correct or not after a few hundred meters. I got this right more often then not, but still had a lot of back tracking – about 5km worth by the end – which was a bit tedious at times, as inevitably these errors did not occur on the flat. I also found that my etrex 30 does not like having the zoom scale changed frequently, resulting in several shut-downs. On one occasion it took about 15 minutes to get back online; cognisant of many other Garmin epic fail stories, I just left it on the 200m scale and stopped fiddling.

The north coast trail is just a fantastic mix of singletrack and connecting back roads, which were a delight to ride in this fine sunny day. Eventually I reached Coombe Martin around 1900, and stocked up on food from the Spar, before having an al-fresco fish supper – bliss! By this stage I was well ahead of schedule but was expecting some serious HAB later so pressed on quickly to make the most of the daylight. Lights went on before Woolacombe, as late as possible to conserve the battery on my Diablo – it should be good for between 6 and 12 hours, but there are so many different modes and sub modes, I am never sure what settings I have it on. The flatter beach trail sections on the Western end of the loop make a nice change and sooner than expected I am at Braunton. I am pleasantly surprised by the lack of pushing encountered so far; where was all the HAB talked about on the forums? Having averaged over 12 kph now, a sub 24 hour ride looks like a real possibility and the steady pace has left me feeling good.

The Western moor section started with some steep climbs, but mostly on roads or good trail, with a bit of pushing, but nothing much. 35km in and we are back on bridleways; of the worst sort! In truth, probably not that bad (nothing like the epic 2014 BB200), but during the lowest point of the circadian rhythm, I remember trudging through some boggy moor, looking for an indistinct trail, enveloped by thick fog, struggling with nav, and getting grumpy as my average speed went right down. The most notable moment of the night shift was inadvertently chasing a badger along the trail until it turned round and went straight for me, requiring a rapid manoeuvre to prevent a potentially painful engagement with this angry beast! My light prematurely failed half an hour before first light, but fortunately this was during a slow tussocky section with no fast descents to negotiate. The breaking dawn revealed another great day and the riding improved on the delightful two moors trail winding along by the river through some stunning countryside, and pretty villages, signalling the final stages.

The end came too soon, although my tired butt cheeks might argue otherwise. I was very happy with completing in under 22 hours, slashing 5 hours off the fastest GD time. I have no doubt that in good weather a proper racer like Liam Glen could get round this within the 18 hours of summer daylight. The Spearfish did well, although those wheels are even wobblier than before and it’s not going back out until the drivetrain is rebuilt…

[whitestone]

Good one!

I remember that slow tussocky section - it was bad enough in the daylight It was around that point that Ianpv, Mountainbaker and I began riding together though we got that long rocky descent from Dunkery Beacon in the dark which was interesting.

Unfinished business for me ...