Routes in Ilfracombe

ugo.santalucia wrote:

... the Toll road is an absolute stunner, one of the best climbs in England

Yepp, wholeheartedly agree. Might be worth driving to Minehead and starting the ride from there if you cannot manage a tough 60 miler. Potter along to Porlock then spin up the toll road. Once up on top then the road along the bay dropping into lynton/Lynmouth is just jaw dropping but be bloody careful because at the bottom of the descent it drops to -25% and there is an adverse camber with a couple of manhole covers thrown in. From there, bear left and climb up watersmeet and then up and across to Simonsbath, Wheddon Cross and drop back down to Minehead, cycling doesn't get any better.

Edit: Here you go:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2266169

Park near the station and enjoy seeing some great old steam trains before heading off into town. There'll be lots of beautiful climbing but as gentle as you can get around Exmoor. It can be tough climbing to Simonsbath if the wind is against you and the road to Wheddon will sap your soul as it seems to consist of just up or down. However, the descent from Wheddon Cross will lift your spirits again for a fantastic finish (lovely surface and sweeping road). The A39 between Dunster and Minehead gets busy so I avoid it by popping left in Dunster but keep your wits on that road as it is single lane and traffic might not be expecting you!

I'd head over to Lynton and Lynmouth similar to the route's you've planned, from there if you want a long but not particularly steep climb head up towards Simonsbath on Exmoor, from there you can drop off Exmoor back to Ilfracombe.

There are several great climbs around Lynton and Lynmouth, there's the short and ridiculously steep Lynmouth Hill (not very long but 30%), Countisbury Hill which is a brute, 20-25% at the bottom and a couple of miles of continuous climbing and the the climb I mentioned earlier which takes you from sea level to the top of Exmoor over 5 to 6 miles.

The absolute daddy is Porlock though, just about manageable on a compact, the hairpin bends have to be seen to be believed. Another possibly equally hard climb is the road over Dunkery Beacon from Luccombe although thats definitely getting too far east from you.

Sorry if this has turned into a ramble, I absolutely love Exmoor and the climbs although brutual, offer amazing views once you've conquered them!

If you are still down that way next w/e then see if you can bag a day's pass

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/13-142/

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/28672992

I'll be there but don't let that put you off

MoscowFlyer wrote:

Thanks, not sure if I'll get a chance but will see what happens on Friday.

I'm two days in now and have done a couple of rides, the first one was epic for me personally in terms of the climbs and roads, much better than anything Surrey has to offer. Combe Martin is a great climb, really enjoyed that and some of the views heading on going west to Braunton were fantastic. Not the most scenic route heading north from there but a painfull last ten miles or so. Overall a lovely ride with some good ascents and lovely road surfaces. Oh, and hardly any traffic too which was great!

http://app.strava.com/activities/47619368

Fell off today and busted myself up a bit so only managed 17 this am, but got back on the bike for ten miles in the PM. Ten miles from home would probably give me no more than 200ft of climbing, but this one was great heading out to Combe Martin and back, so another 1500ft in the bag there.

http://app.strava.com/activities/47619368

I've never known anywhere that has so many constant hills, I have to ride 15 miles before getting anything that resembles a hill back home. Weather's looking patchy tomorrow but hopefully I'll get another good ride of ascent in the legs. I love it here.

Glad you're enjoying it here. Quite funny to read your post; I don't ride over that way much because there's way too much traffic, and I find the roads a bit boring.

If you can you should definitely have a ride on Exmoor while you're here, it's hillier but much quieter, and it's also very beautiful.

Here's my ride from Saturday which is reasonably flat for Exmoor, as it misses all the proper hills, but takes in some amazing roads and I hardly saw any cars.

http://app.strava.com/activities/47513891

I thought you'd be glad of every sprocket you could get.

This piece is the conclusion of an essay written by ex-pro turned photographer Jered Gruber, whom I had the pleasure of riding with on Exmoor in December:

"I had come to Exmoor looking to find a special place. I said it before we left—if it’s half as beautiful as it looks in the pictures, I’ll have a new favourite spot. It was twice as beautiful, twice as difficult, and every bit as perfect as I had imagined. My heaven is different than most, I guess. I don’t mind struggling up steep lanes barely as wide as I am tall, muddy, tired, cold. Alive. My heaven isn’t perfect—it’s not an imaginary place—it’s real, and it’s icy and windy and dirty, and I love it."

The whole 10 page article can be found in Peloton magazine issue 18.