Ever changing challenges.

Dartmoor has a way of continually providing new challenges. This latest spell of cold weather (read windchill temps of between -15⁰c and -10⁰c) has frozen The Moor solid. Only the largest bodies of water have remained open and large swathes of the previously sodden landscape are now covered in sheets of thick ice. There's little snow, at least on the south side of The Moor, but the landscape has taken on a very pale hue. Just one more of Dartmoor's many personas. As a Soldier, I learned to love challenging myself, though I think that had always been a part of who I was, and it's no different now. I love to see what I can push myself to achieve, though am also aware of my limits. I remember a ride, a few years back, where the weather was horrendous. Gale force winds, whiteouts; I remember deciding to turn back and live to fight another day, on the exact same route that I rode today.

In order to ride safely in this environment, I need to carry more than would fit in my normal Camelbak pack. The pack carried my usual kit, including a first aid kit, survival bag, food, spare clothing, water, bike spares, and a flask of Bovril! However, in weather like this, if anything went wrong, it could easily prove fatal to be out here for any length of time. Therefore I supplemented my normal kit with a handlebar bag that contained a sleeping bag, liner, and insulating mat. This Topeak Frontloader bag will form part of my bikepacking kit, for later in the year, it's from a series of bikepacking kit they make. I've previously used it to carry my down jacket, when riding shorter distances with just my waist pack, so this was a lot more weight than it's previously handled, though well within the recommended 5kg maximum. It didn't do well. I have a handlebar extension to mount it on, but the mounting straps continuously worked their way loose, no matter where I mounted the extension or the bag. Once I got home, I used a couple of bag clips, from the kitchen, to clamp the straps up tight, and a third strap that secures the bag to the stem. Time will tell if this is a better arrangement.

The biggest challenge today though, came not from the handlebar bag, but from the sheets of thick ice that covered many of the trails. Logic suggests you go around these sheets, but the landscape says otherwise! I can honestly say that I've not been so technically challenged on a ride as today, not in a very long time. Line choice was crucial, as was looking well ahead, but even so I did take a couple of spills. The 3" plus tyres certainly helped me through a fair bit of what there was, spreading my weight and providing more grip than I'd have had with narrower tyres, though there were still times where the rear wheel just spun out, where the ice was particularly polished, leaving me with some tricky uphill restarts! After four-and-a-half hours and 36kms, I was certainly ready to get out of the cold. However, I'd get out there again in a heartbeat, as Dartmoor never fails to impress.