septimus . org

A rubbish title, but it will make sense shortly.

The plan was to ride to some “new” trails I’d spotted on a road loop, checked on memorymap (and double checked on googlemaps and the web) via some of the local stuff to avoid the road as much as possible. That, occasional annoying walker aside and a later start than planned (10:30am), went fine.

The first bit of the trail was ace and ends in a dead end which, according to the web/maps, is a short walk from the start/end of the next bit across a clearing. 2 hours hike-a-biking, some rapid elevation loss/regain and one stream crossing later later, I finally ended up on “a” trail, the wrong one, that spits me out a few miles further north than I planned. I had found it earlier in the hike but pressed on in the “right” direction as I remembered from the map that this other trail went the wrong way.

I get out the forest though and head south on the road to the next section. After finding the start of the next section, I ponder jacking it in there and then – I was four hours plus in already, at least two hours away by road, only planning to be out for six and starting to run low on water. I decided to press on as the next trail was a formally recognised path etc and should spit me out in a village “WITH FACILITIES”, whereas I wasn’t entirely sure where the road would take me. So, off I go and it seems fine. Rough landy track, ace views, losing lots of height. Windmills in the distance.

This is supposed to head south west, join another path then leave me in the village. 1/2 mile before the join, there’s a big fence, barbed wire and a sign saying “STRICTLY NO ADMITTANCE”.

Suffice to say I was a tad annoyed and ponder the LAR Act as I think about my options. I’m not turning back. I can see the other path in the distance, so another stream crossing later, I’m on the official path to the next village (and more importantly, its facilities), which is actually just a landrover trail through the grass. Soul-crushingly bad. I finally get to the highpoint of the trail and pause to look at the windmills.

We’re past the 6 hour mark now and I then press on, descend into the village to find that THERE IS NOTHING THERE OTHER THAN HOUSES. I have 100ml of water left at a guess and decide to bail and head to the next village on the road, not the next trail. It will be quicker and means giving up, but sometimes that is the best option….

Oh wait, I can’t. There’s been an RTA and no-one is getting through for at least 2 hours. I’m starting to fret a little at this point and eventually decide to go down the trail after all. The next town reachable by road is in the wrong direction and there’s no signs saying how far it is, or how far round I’ll have to go to start heading south again….

I have to ride between two reservoirs, ironic as I’m running out of water and I finally drag myself into Dollar as we hit 6pm. Jen phones me at this point and there’s a slightly angst-wridden conversation with someone seriously dehydrated and hungry. Rescue is declined for now while I try and find a shop. Thankfully I do and the local Co-Op is treated to the sight of me raiding the pork pies, irn bru and water. Plus a biscuit boost as they had no mars bars…..disgraceful.

Another phone convo and I decide to just ride home. I accidentally find myself on a horrendous road climb I had no idea existed (otherwise I’d have went a different way) and slowly drag myself home in 9 1/2 hrs, 65 and a bit miles according to the GPS.

The positive thing to do would be to call it ‘character building’…………..conversely it was a fail, of the almost epic variety. I should have committed earlier to various options – I didn’t have to spend 2 hrs hike-a-biking trying to find the other trail and should have just taken the route I ended up on when I first found it. When it was all going wrong and I had a chance to bail, I should have taken it, not pressed on in spite of all the reasons not to.

That said, I did it in the end and I suppose that is what matters…..