Reached the top of Selworthy Beacon around 12:30pm for a much needed lunch break, and a little stroll around to take in the beautiful views.
I'd planned to get back down to sea level through Aller Woods, which I'd not ridden before, and I was in for a real treat! Some smashing single track right the way down
The bits I rode weren't too techy, but they were good and fast with just the right amount of mud for a lot of rear wheel drift and slide. A few of the steeper drop-offs had me hanging right off the back of the bike with the saddle in my belly, but even so I didn't find myself missing my dropper post here (whereas earlier in Horner Woods I have to admit I'd have had a better time on the way down on my modern hardtail).
Once at the bottom of the woods, a short link along the back roads brought me to the climb back up to Webber's Post. It was another doozy of a climb with plenty of walking along the way!
I'd planned the day's route in two loops, so I'd have the chance to bail if my legs were dying. It was now about 2pm and I'd ridden 17 miles or so... legs were tired-ish but I wanted to bag that second beacon... So I got straight on to the Dunster way and enjoyed some lovely rocky singletrack contouring around the edge of Dunkery hill.
All good things come to an end and soon it was time to start the 1,000ft climb up to Dunkery Beacon. At the time this photo was taken I started questioning my life choices. Is mountain biking really fun? Are the benefits of healthy exercise over-rated? Should I have stayed home on the sofa instead?
The first 3/4 or so of the climb was relentless, steep and scrabbly, but I still managed to ride most of it, only walking when the rear wheel was spinning and throwing rocks everywhere instead of propelling me uphill.