Exmoor Explorer 4th-6th May 2012

Tar Steps


I'm in.:)

Happy to help with off-road riding. I suppose this means that I'm going to have to go and ride around Exmoor over the next few months to check out all the routes. Tough job, but someone will have to do it.:)
 
Sunny day in Devon today so I decided to ride out and check on the sites of this event.

The campsite:
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Looks good even in November so should be excellent in May.:)

Very easy to find. It is only a few miles from the main A361 link road which runs between Jn27 of M5 and Barnstaple. Nearer the time, I will post up interesting routes to get to it avoiding main roads.

Pub is very close, immediately across the road.
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I'll check it out in more detail when I have more time.:beer:

At this time of year, the roads are covered in mud and wet leaves so you hardly need any off-roading but there is plenty to be had. Within a few hundred yards, I found one of my favourite signs:
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I had TKCs fitted so I thought "why not?"
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Amazingly and perhaps foolishly, I attacked this muddy hill and managed to make it all the way up to the top.
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Getting up was relatively easy but the return trip downwards was a bit more challenging:
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It only took a minute or two to go up but a slow decent as front tyre kept washing out on wet stones.
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Found another off-road track much more suitable to heavy GSers as this one was flat.
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Just around the corner is the famous Tarr Steps.
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Unfortunately, it gets dark so early now that the light was fading by the time I took these pics.
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Even I'm not stupid enough to attempt to cross here on my own in half light when the river is swollen and fast running.
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Found another excellent play area for getting wet nearby:
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This will be a fantastic event next year.:)
 
Good stuff Sid. I have started to mark a few trails up on the map to go and check.
We'll have to have a day out sometime and link a few of them up.
 
I am in, I could lead a run for pogos also around Somerset area (I live in Taunton area). I could act has a tail end Charlie on a run if you already have enough run leaders, I will be riding a DRZ 400s.

I would strongly recommend people thinking of riding off road down this part of the country to fit a MT43 OR MITAS TYRE of similar tread pattern
 
Thanks for getting some further info/pics on the forum Sid. We're in the bottom half of the camping field, where there's no hard standing between the tents, so we'll all be together. Bikes will have reserved hard standing on a couple of the adjoining pitches and in the carpark where you've pictured your bike. There are some good trails and, as suggested, let's get together for a beer and swap route notes and sort out some good off road.:beerjug:
 


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