A Bog Too Far - Dartmoor 200
Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:38 pm
Always check the gpx….
What happened then? Meg kicked ass and trounced Andy (Roobell7) and me. Pete(68) set off touring.
The weather started off poor - drizzle/rain and lots of low cloud and got better. Except when me and Dave were crossing the Bog of Despair. Just as night set in the flag came down. Not what you want when crossing 2km of waist high tussocks. This shouldn’t of happened. We should have paid heed to the Private Drive, No Public Access sign.
I should have checked that the route I made in Strava went into RideWithGPS intact. It didn’t and a two crucial points it made a mess of the route.
Mea culpa, I apologise.
So what should have been a little bit of light BB200 style annoyance turned into a 2km slog. For some reason the route got taken off the bridleway I did 2 years ago that involved a bit of tussock hopping and got strung accross 2km of - and I sh1t you not - at times 6ft high tussocks, boulders and swearing.
The turn off the Granite Way cycle path at a bridge was also at the wrong bridge so couldn’t be done.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
I got round in 23h10min. As for the others, I can’t say. Meg was way faster - all I saw was tyre tracks. I left Andy in the Bog of Despair and I think saw his lights 20km further on, behind me on the third bit of open moor.
I got to try a few things for the BB. A hard plastic Sawyer filtering water bottle that goes in a bike cage. It’s a bit harder to drink through than a normal bottle but was great. I drank way more than usual. Taking the opportunity to fill the bottle whenever it arose. The bottle rarely got near empty and there was no pumping or flapping around. Because I couldn’t put electrolytes in the potter I used PH sweat salt tablets and PH1500 as a loader. I felt well hydrated throughout and had no cramping.
In addition I’ve made up my mind that I won’t be doing the BB300 but will stick to the 200. I don’t think I’m fast enough of trained enough. If I stood any chance I’d need to keep moving the whole 36hrs with no time for rest,something I’m not ready for.
If you ignore the route sub standard deviations I thought the route and ride were great.
Dartmoor 200 will come again next year with the the glitches ironed out and be all the better for it.
https://strava.app.link/az5zRNuuGjb
What happened then? Meg kicked ass and trounced Andy (Roobell7) and me. Pete(68) set off touring.
The weather started off poor - drizzle/rain and lots of low cloud and got better. Except when me and Dave were crossing the Bog of Despair. Just as night set in the flag came down. Not what you want when crossing 2km of waist high tussocks. This shouldn’t of happened. We should have paid heed to the Private Drive, No Public Access sign.
I should have checked that the route I made in Strava went into RideWithGPS intact. It didn’t and a two crucial points it made a mess of the route.
Mea culpa, I apologise.
So what should have been a little bit of light BB200 style annoyance turned into a 2km slog. For some reason the route got taken off the bridleway I did 2 years ago that involved a bit of tussock hopping and got strung accross 2km of - and I sh1t you not - at times 6ft high tussocks, boulders and swearing.
The turn off the Granite Way cycle path at a bridge was also at the wrong bridge so couldn’t be done.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
I got round in 23h10min. As for the others, I can’t say. Meg was way faster - all I saw was tyre tracks. I left Andy in the Bog of Despair and I think saw his lights 20km further on, behind me on the third bit of open moor.
I got to try a few things for the BB. A hard plastic Sawyer filtering water bottle that goes in a bike cage. It’s a bit harder to drink through than a normal bottle but was great. I drank way more than usual. Taking the opportunity to fill the bottle whenever it arose. The bottle rarely got near empty and there was no pumping or flapping around. Because I couldn’t put electrolytes in the potter I used PH sweat salt tablets and PH1500 as a loader. I felt well hydrated throughout and had no cramping.
In addition I’ve made up my mind that I won’t be doing the BB300 but will stick to the 200. I don’t think I’m fast enough of trained enough. If I stood any chance I’d need to keep moving the whole 36hrs with no time for rest,something I’m not ready for.
If you ignore the route sub standard deviations I thought the route and ride were great.
Dartmoor 200 will come again next year with the the glitches ironed out and be all the better for it.
https://strava.app.link/az5zRNuuGjb