A couple of days of Dorset

Posted on

I recently caught up with @whileoutriding for a couple of days/nights exploring the trails of southern Dorset on two wheels with an emphasis on great pub and cafe stops, and a good opportunity to do some more bag testing. It’s a part of the world in which I’d not done any riding at all despite it being not much more than ‘just up the road’ (about 4hrs drive). A good time was had. The area seems to be well riddled with dirt options so perfect for just making it up as you go with a map in hand. Herewith a bunch of snaps. As usual.

Fog was very much a feature of the Purbeck coastal hills…
Quite atmospheric. Apparently visibility has to be less than 1000m for the phenomenon to be known as fog, visibility greater than 1000m and it’s a mist. No idea when a mist becomes ‘a bit of a haze’…
Short stretches of asphalt.
Lavender.
Kids throwing stones at Chapman’s Pool.
Someone’s gone swimming…
Signposts…
There is a very interestingly shaped Norman chapel with a lot of texture at St Aldhelm’s Head.
Signposts part 2…
On the coast above Swanage. A stiff climb with bellies full of chips from a seaside chip shop. The ferry in the background is one of the high speed ferries that runs to/from Poole to France and The Channel Islands.
The fog cleared to gift us with a fab evening light on the fast, grassy descent towards Old Harry Rocks.
Late summer evenings on two wheels. Soon to be a memory….
Wonderful colours.
Just riding along.
A fine woodland camp spot.
Route planning.
What happens when you leave your camera lying around.
The area has a fine network of forestry roads like this to enjoy…
.. and this..
.. and even this…
.. as well as plenty of fun singletrack.
I was riding my Brother Cycles Big Bro together with the bags I’ve been working on, shown here open. The front roll top camera bag snaps to the bars, has a padded insert and holds my X-Pro 2 and a couple of lenses. The rear bag is still maturing in design terms but has tons of room, here with my tent and everything for a few days bar my sleeping bag and mattress. It’s also very light at 450grams. Plan is to develop it further, give it a good shagging on an expedition somewhere and then see about making it available commercially. More details as and when.
Purely coincidentally Cass had this newer version of the Big Bro on test. With clearance for 27.5×3″ rubber as opposed to 29 x 2.4″ on mine, it looks really good. I am sure a proper write-up will appear over on bikepacking.com in due course.
Just another day at the office for some… :-)
The almost obligatory ‘bikes propped against a nice wall’ picture.
On the second night we pitched up late in a fog so thick you wouldn’t want to stray too far from your tent in the night for a pee for fear of never finding it again… Morning brought clearer views of the Jurassic coast.

 

2 thoughts on “A couple of days of Dorset”

    • oh stop it… Cass is the real inspiration when you look at his history of bike travel.. I’m just muddling along doing my best. Thanks for the comment however, much appreciated :-) Looking forward to catching up in September.

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

Related Posts