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RIdes around Newton Abbot

by stealfwayne
Fri, Aug 29, 2014 21:28
10

HI. I'm going to be around Newton Abbot in a few weeks time and will have a whole Saturday free. 4 4 SO what better way to spend it than on two wheels, question is Road or Full Susser. I found a good looking 70km route for a road ride. anybody know of any routes off road for my MTB. quite happy with a 50 km off natural route preferable but a playground for a long sesh will do. Ta

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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Must be Mad | 10 years ago
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Flat? What's that??

The thing about Dartmoor (off road) - navigation is not quite as hard as people make out - there are plenty of land marks you can use - the real issue is that the terrain is MUCH harder to traverse than it looks. You see a hill, and think it'll only be a short walk, but it always twice as far as it looks, twice as steep, and there will be countless bogs, marshes, pools of water, hidden dips and valleys, dense vegetation, clitter fields (scattered rocks) etc, etc.

Regarding riding on the road in Dartmoor - have fun, but watch the decents. for example:

Quote:

I would say Newton Abbott, Bovey Tracey, Haytoor, Widecombe, Princetown, Moretonhampstead, Ide then back through Teignmouth would be a challenging but beautiful day out...

This route features at least three 20+% drops straight into a gravely pinch point.

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stealfwayne | 10 years ago
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First things first, thanks for all the pointers, really useful in deciding where i planned to go using my Mio 305 unit. It actually worked, 50 miles in a terrible time that i won't mention. Though it was no race and the weather and views meant I took my time.
Coming form North London I was not at all expecting the hills to knacker me as much as they did. 35 miles in I was blowing chunks, last few miles from Newton Abott up tp Searl's Haynes almost killed me. Route was long, windy and hilly, hardly a bit of flat anywhere. went over to Chudleigh, Trusham, Higher Ashton, over the A38 and A380 down to the coast above Teignmouth then south a bit and trundled my way back.
Absolutely beautiful all the way around.
Riding somewhere new is invigorating and exciting, I need to get out of London more often.

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Daveyraveygravey | 10 years ago
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Think the comments about getting lost are to do with being off road on the moors - probably less of an issue on the road but still something to bear In,mind. Can get damn cold and windy even in summer so take more care than you would say in SE England

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Daveyraveygravey | 10 years ago
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Think the comments about getting lost are to do with being off road on the moors - probably less of an issue on the road but still something to bear In,mind. Can get damn cold and windy even in summer so take more care than you would say in SE England

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stealfwayne | 10 years ago
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Many thanks for the ideas. They're slowly persuading me to leave Mtb at home and bring out the Road bike for the dartmoor loop. THat does look interesting. I just hope my MIO gps is up to the job, lately its been playing up. With all the words about getting lost, last thing i need is to find myself on the north side of Dartmoor. I think i'll get a map as well.... (he of little faith - in tech and my own nav skills)
anyway cheers again, hope to let you know how I get on.

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barbarus | 10 years ago
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This is my part of the country.

As a rule, don't ride your mtb on Dartmoor. Erosion and things that aren't really paths marked as such plus the very real possibility of getting genuinely lost. Haldon trail centre is fun, you don't need a full susser, I ride it mainly rigid. Find some locals who can show you lots of unmarked trails.

The road cycling is great. Try the Mamhead climb up to Haldon, also the route from Chudleigh up to Haldon. The first of these will be on the Tour of Britain route.

I would say Newton Abbott, Bovey Tracey, Haytoor, Widecombe, Princetown, Moretonhampstead, Ide then back through Teignmouth would be a challenging but beautiful day out...

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timb27 | 10 years ago
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Enjoying Dartmoor on a road bike is heaven. Dartmoor Classic is a good route, but can only vouch for the long one. The Moor2sea website (event is this Saturday) has a good 105km route (the Challenge Route), which includes Haytor > http://www.moor2sea.com/images/docs/Challenge-Inspire-Route-Map.pdf

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dezzo66@hotmail.com | 10 years ago
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There is good mountain biking on Dartmoor but the road cycling is better and genuinely second to none in the UK in my opinion. As mentioned above, some decent climbs, but also well conditioned tarmac/gorgeous scenery/a 40mph speed limit for cars (not strictly adhered to but it does help). The Dartmoor Classic route takes in some of the better stretches so build your rides from that.

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Daveyraveygravey | 10 years ago
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Top country for 100 Climbs! There's a line of 5 of them going west from Sidmouth to Somewhere beginning with T should be about 100 miles...
Just checked the map the T is Tavistock. Might be a long 100 miles (?!) but you could get the ferry at Exmouth...

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SideBurn | 10 years ago
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Look no further than sunny Dartmoor 24
I say sunny 44
Seriously, I would treat Dartmoor with care, getting lost is easy and not recommended at any time of year. There are some great routes though, get hold of a laminated leaflet published by 'Goldeneye' they are not too difficult to get hold of. None of the routes are 50km long but they can be joined together to make a longer ride.
My favourite is route 7 and 8 done as a figure 8 (you need to see the maps to make sense of this) route 8 as the top loop and 7 as the bottom loop. Start and finish in Princetown (Plume of Feathers pub 38 ) this will give you 50ish km with the option to cut back early. Enjoy...
Road routes can be based on the Dartmoor Classic routes (they start and finish in Newton Abbott)

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