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  1. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    It's like Where's Wally for retrobike nerds 😂 it's hiding there somewhere though, promise!
  2. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    FWIW total distance was about 33 miles with 4,000ft climbing, and 90% of that on rough terrain. I'd say I'm about averagely fit (never the fastest on a group ride, but not in the bottom half either), and it was definitely a bit of a push!
  3. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    True - I guess that sort of terrain is what typified mountain biking in the 90s, trails and bikes have evolved in tandem since then. I use an army surplus bivvy bag and tarp, together with a regular sleeping bag. It was pretty cold during the night so I had thermals and a couple of fleeces on...
  4. hawkhill97

    2000 Marin Mount Vision Build

    Just back from an epic overnighter on Dartmoor on the Mount Vision :D Full write up here: https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/marin-mount-vision-tour-of-dartmoor.480549/
  5. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    Had a lovely evening, with a beautiful golden sunset and some light rain pattering on the tarp. Getting started the following morning took a bit of doing, but after the push back up to Dinger Tor, I barely had to turn a pedal, just enjoyed a nice speedy coast back to the camp at Okehampton. If...
  6. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    After climbing the Tor, which clearly had to be done, I found a perfect spot to spend the night just behind the Tor. All that remained was to pitch camp, and pop on a nice warm jacket, as it was getting distinctly chilly by now. Rummaging through my bag produced some more goodies -...
  7. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    I could see Lints Tor in the distance, so set off on tired legs to push the Marin to the finish line. Had a few more bogs to traverse here, but getting closer... Until, with considerable relief, I was there.
  8. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    My legs were getting seriously tired by now! Fortunately it was time to head directly towards the planned camping spot for the night at Lints Tor. This required another good stiff climb - which I'm not ashamed to say I ended up walking the steeper sections of. The track ended at Dinger Tor, and...
  9. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    From here, I was rewarded with another nice fast descent - this one not as rough or technical as that near Steeperton Tor earlier, but still fast and exhilarating, with one particularly memorable sweeping left handing over loose rock that I came into waaaay too fast :LOL: From here I wound my...
  10. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    From here I could see another, very inviting looking tor in the distance. The name should have given it away, but "Higher Tor" took most of what remaining strength I had in my legs to reach! Can you spot the Marin hiding below?
  11. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    The climb levelled out onto a lovely section of grassy ridge, with lovely views to the North. Having been forced to re-route by the bog earlier I wasn't quite going to bag my ten tors, but quickly got to my fifth, Oke Tor on the spine of the ridge. The relatively flat spine of the ridge was...
  12. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    Uh-oh! All those super steep max-effort sections proved a bit much for my chain! I think I must have inadvertently picked up a batch of fake Shimano chains a few years ago, as this is the third one I've had break on me in quick succession, after decades of never breaking a chain. Sometimes...
  13. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    After a nice cuppa on the tor, I was treated to what was easily the best descent of the day. It started as I'd become accustomed, with a flat out bomb down a nice rocky track. But while the gradients on the descents thus far had stayed fairly mellow, this one kept on getting steeper and...
  14. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    Fortunately the map presented plenty of viable options, so I set off for Steeperton Tor. This one more than lives up to the name, and most of the approaches are so steep there's no chance of cycling up them. However, the approach from the South is relatively benign... relatively being the...
  15. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    From here I'd planned to continue to Little Hound Tor... but was finding the track I was following was becoming progressively less distinct, with lots of tell-tale signs of cotton grass on either side (a sure sign of boggy ground on Dartmoor). After a short while, I was reduced to pushing...
  16. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    From here I made my way further South into the moor, and continued until the end of the access tracks reached the ominously named Hangingstone Hill. From here I headed cross country to Wilder Tor. The OS map had the route marked with a dashed black line, but while this had previously...
  17. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    The route featured a lot of long sustained climbs and descents. The majority of the descents were on 4x4 access tracks, in varying states of repair. Much of the time they feature long sections of deep, loose, fist sized, chunks of granite - if you're confident enough to hit these at speed...
  18. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    Next up on the list was Yes Tor, the highest tor on Dartmoor. The climb up to this wasn't as bad as I'd feared, but still a bit of a leg burner! The access track gave way to an unsurfaced grassy track strewn with massive granite boulders. This required a lot of good line choice, and short bursts...
  19. hawkhill97

    Marin Mount Vision Tour of Dartmoor

    The ride started with a brief tarmac climb up from the military camp at the border of the moor, but this quickly gave way to a stoned track. The photo below is pretty representative of a lot of the route. Too rough to easily carry any speed on a fully rigid bike, and rough enough that a full sus...
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