boboneleg Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 I was meant to work today but after a phone call to my boss last night I decided to give it a miss. Ducati parts are not selling well at the moment and my boss and our mechanic were off to Snetterton today for a race weekend so not much point in going in. So a ride was on the cards and as I haven't been trail riding for a couple of months I though I'd give that a go and see if my ribs and back would hold out ok. Last night I scanned the OS maps and google earth and plotted a route down to some fords in Dorset and take in some lanes that I hadn't done before. It was an hour and 30 mins to the first lane just south of Shaftesbury, I must of ridden past this loads of times but never spotted it before........ These girls were keen to see what was going on ........... I did another couple of lanes before the glorious climb up through Fontmell Down............ and then through another couple of sunken lanes to get back to the A350 near Iwerne Minster........ 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 Now most of the lanes so far had been climbs or descents over chalk or rock and they were bone dry so the next lane came as a bit of a shock. It started well with a lovely old sign just off the main road............ Then I had to hunt a bit to find the entrance as it went across someone's drive right outside of their posh house Once I got into the lane I first noticed that there was a lot of vegetation and it was very green , this ,meant that there had to be a water course underneath and that usually means boggy going. The vegetation was thick and you couldn't see the ruts underneath so there was a lot of paddling of legs to keep everything upright............... After about 15 minutes to do about half a mile I came to more solid ground (thank god) and stopped for a coffee. While I was stopped I noticed this very ambiguous sign which just about sums up how rights of way in England . It says 'Public route to Public path ' WTF is that supposed to mean ?? The next lane is a bit contentious but the gate wasn't locked today so I carried on up Everley Down. Then I cam to a new lane (to me) and found that someone doesn't want us to ride it I just rode over the pile of chalk/rubble and carried on............ Now I had to do a bit of roadwork to get down to an area of Dorset that reminds me of parts of France. It's heath type land with lots of sand and fir trees............... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowlycatchymonkey Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 So satisfying 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTreme Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Excellent Bob! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 Now I came to the first Ford of the day, this is the ford at Moreton and it's not for the faint-hearted as it's about 50 meters wide with a gravel bottom that you can sink in if you don't keep the power on. I waited until the dogs had finished playing in the river and then went for it. Thankfully I made it through but my starfish did quiver a couple of times and then onto the wonderfully named Jubilee trail.............. Ford number 2 was next (still no BMW's) . I tried to do this last year with a mate , we came from the opposite direction and had a look at it but he didn't fancy it So I came to it from the other direction today and you could get a better view of the best way across............ Safely across and still no wet feet .................... 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowlycatchymonkey Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Loving this report. Do not fancy my chances of staying dry on ford number two! Or any water for that matter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Nice one Bob have i said i like a gravel bottom before 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 Next up was another lane that I've passed many times but never ridden . This is a Byway (open to all traffic) and yet there are locked gates at both ends, I just rode around the gates and carried on........... Further up the road I got to another lane that was completely blocked with farm machinery, there was no way past this one but obviously the rich land owners around these parts don't give a toss about the law Next I rode down into Cerne Abbas to see the famous land mark on the hill, if you zoom in you can clearly see that this dude rode a Honda Rally Just at the entrance to the next lane I stopped to take this photo of the drive leading up to some posh pad , a lady who was driving down would down her window and told me that I shouldn't be parked there So onto another a couple of lanes with glorious views.................... and then this one which involved opening and closing five gates along it's length 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 And so onto Ford number 3 ................... The only dodgy bit today was dropping your front wheel off the first ramp to get into the ford , after that it wasn't so bad............... The next lane was off limits when I got there as it has a TRO (traffic regulation order) in place until April 2023. The lane in question has been fought over by different parties for over 20 years so no real change there. I then road onto some some lovely lanes around Yeovil ............... and finished at Babylon Hill, one of the best lanes in southern England (IMO) but not one that you'd want to ride up when it's wet By time I got home I'd been out for over 9 hours and covered 175 miles, this evening I am knackered 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowlycatchymonkey Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 9 minutes ago, boboneleg said: Next up was another lane that I've passed many times but never ridden . This is a Byway (open to all traffic) and yet there are locked gates at both ends, I just rode around the gates and carried on........... Further up the road I got to another lane that was completely blocked with farm machinery, there was no way past this one but obviously the rich land owners around these parts don't give a toss about the law Next I rode down into Cerne Abbas to see the famous land mark on the hill, if you zoom in you can clearly see that this dude rode a Honda Rally Just at the entrance to the next lane I stopped to take this photo of the drive leading up to some posh pad , a lady who was driving down would down her window and told me that I shouldn't be parked there So onto another a couple of lanes with glorious views.................... and then this one which involved opening and closing five gates along it's length Well some of thats annoying shite but some of it like closed (not locked) gates I understand if you're moving cattle where there's public access well thats a whole nother story. As a reasonable sprinter I can tell you 4 legs beats 2 every time and feckers who leave gates open should be shot on sight 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slowlycatchymonkey Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Fecking awesome @boboneleg The sort of ride that tickles the heart. The balance isn't so bad then?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 11 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said: Fecking awesome @boboneleg The sort of ride that tickles the heart. The balance isn't so bad then?! I’ve got to admit that I managed the boggy lane without incident so I’ll call it a win 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 I forgot to say that this was rugged individualism at it’s finest, this Honda is definitely not gay 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Great stuff Bob! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Do the fords get much deeper in the winter months Bob or do they just get wider 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 3 hours ago, Sir Fallsalot said: Do the fords get much deeper in the winter months Bob or do they just get wider The last one definitely gets deeper , you can’t ride it most of the winter as it will go to 6feet + The other two don’t get as deep but they have a lot more flow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyrider Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 15 hours ago, boboneleg said: The last one definitely gets deeper , you can’t ride it most of the winter as it will go to 6feet + The other two don’t get as deep but they have a lot more flow. a good chance of ending up on your butt then 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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