Absolutely mate, makes even dull rides great (although this one turned out to be far from dull)

It felt pretty stupid as I slogged out the first ten miles, but ultimately, I really enjoyed it.

They’re definitely not mate, they’re literally good for nothing (other than making you look weird in the supermarket)

Thanks mate. Climbs were brutal (especially the first) but the eight (mostly flat) road miles at the start weren’t kind either, especially as there’s a tendency to want to keep a good pace going on tarmac as you want it over and done with. Plus, I didn’t want to look slow and lazy in front of the multitude of roadies who passed by (all really friendly, bucking the stereotype)

@@Stopadoodledoo Even if they were friendly, that road biking thing is all wrong 🤣

@@TrailTrackerSwitzerland goes without saying mate 🤣

I would be lying if I said that this had nothing to do with preparation for Spain (especially as Andy and Tony are fit as fiddles) 🤣. Train was the best option to return as it meant I got miles and miles of decent trails in, rather than loads of tarmac. Yeah, Degla twice in a year and I didn’t slag it off either time. Maybe I am mellowing out in my old age 🤣

I'm really not mate, I trundled up the hills like an ancient tortoise with a broken leg 😂 I do find it frustrating that I was a lot fitter than I am now but life gets in the way (as do lockdowns....). I really was determined to see this one through, which kept me going and I am chuffed with myself that I managed it. It would be great if this video could inspire others to have a go at something similar 👍

It's been a while since I had decent riding on the doorstep (since I lived in Bingley in 2017 basically) so I usually drive or just blast around the local stuff, which is flat and not really very exciting. First ten miles of this one were grim; flat and then gradual climb (into a headwind) and then the nasty climb to where I filmed the intro - and the majority of the descent is tarmac too. To be honest, it's not something I would repeat but the nagging feeling of wanting to tick off the idea I came up with back in 2020 just had to be done. It has given me the impetus to do more longer rides now though 👍

Thanks mate, kind of wish I had done it in lockdown but it really was a case of 'how do I get back in a way that's interesting?' The other one which I thought about, as you can see it from Chester, is to ride out to Moel Famau and back; may leave that one for a while though :) No problems at all putting the bike on the train, it even had a rack on it.

Thanks Adam. Funnily enough, the idea to actually go through with it came to me that morning (and even then, I had my doubts as I looked at the OS Map) but so glad I did, as painful as it was. God forbid we ever have another lockdown but if we do I now have a plan 😀

@@Stopadoodledoo yeah! The lock downs were terrible! :(

Thanks mate; not sure the battery would have lasted on an eBike anyway! There were times on this ride that I wouldn't have really called it enjoyment, more a sense of not wanting to give in but there were other bits I really enjoyed; getting to the masts for instance. I'd include the descents in that but I was too busy trying to concentrate through the exhaustion to notice enjoyment 😂

Some E bikes would make that route quite easily while some would struggle, depends on the battery size

@@grannyjone Guess you'd need to be mindful of how much battery you had left, etc. Don't know if I would have enough self control 😂

Thanks mate. Ironically, if I had been on an eBike, I imagine I would have had to take a spare battery along? There's no carrying spare legs 😂

Really was mate, first ten miles were a slog but after that (and hitting trails), it just got better. Thing is, I know that in the great run of things, it's not a huge ride or huge elevation figures but for me at my current level (or lack thereof) of fitness, I was pretty chuffed. Funnily enough, what was motivating me owards the end was the thought of having a beer whilst either waiting for the train at Ruabon, or back in Chester. Unfortunately, I didn't spot a pub close to the station at the former and when I got back to Chester, Pride was on so town was absolutely rammed; I wanted a quiet beer, not to be in the middle of a massive party 😂. I did have one later though of course, down the local.

@Stopadoodledoo I like a few cold pints of Guiness after a big adventure these days! Just to replace the iron levels of course! 🤔🤣 Me and couple of mates did the Trans Cambrian Way the other week... that was pretty tough going, especially with cracked ribs from an OTB two weeks previous to it! 🤦🏻‍♂️

@@GrantRS4 Good effort there mate. What was it like as a long distance trail? Did the C2C a few years ago, the Tim Woodcock version. Lakes bit was great (especially as we knew what detours to take to enable us to ride better trails) but to be honest, it got a bit rubbish the further east we got. We kind of wished we'd got to Haweswater, turned round and ridden back to St Bees 😂

@Stopadoodledoo We did it over 3 days with b&b stops. The 1st section was pretty dier tbh, lots of grass climbs etc. After that, it livened up with some good trails along the reservoirs etc! I'd imagine it'd be the absolute pits if the weather was shite, but we touched lucky!! We clocked about 175km with over 4200mtrs of EL (though Komoot will suggest much less). Good trip overall though! 👍🏼

Felt it mate. I hadn’t realised that there was a hill to get over at the end of the canal section, to the station. My knees sounded like a rusty barn door hinge in a gale 🤣

@Stopadoodledoo 🤣🤣🤣 funny how we can go up and down the same hillside for 10 miles and 2.5k ft. But get on a 25 mile xc ride, and it kills us! 🤔🤣

@@MTB_Trekker Really is the stamina thing mate, keeping a pace for a few miles on the flat can really do you in whereas messing around in the woods, you're usually in a group, chatting and pedalling slowly up to do another run. I also find that when I ride solo, I take less breaks and just want to press on. That's partly a bad thing as you probably don't rest enough but the flip side is that rest too long, and it's hard to get going again.

@Stopadoodledoo think that's most people when riding solo tbh mate, not much point in stopping and chatting to yourself! Lol

@@MTB_Trekker Very true 😂. Danger comes when you have done a loop on your own, know how long it takes and then forget to factor in faffing and resting when taking mates on the same loop 😂

Thanks, I really am lucky living so. Lose to North Wales although to be honest, it didn’t feel close when riding to where I filmed the intro 🤣 The app is Strava 👍

Thanks mate. I’ll be honest, at the top of the horrendous first climb, I questioned my sanity but pressed on anyway; knowing the trails got better and better as I went on helped loads although the climb up to the masts filled me with dread (turned out to be not too bad, it’s just long and a gentle gradient in the main), You could always ride to Delamere 🤣

@@Stopadoodledoo doesn’t have the same appeal for some reason 🤣

Absolutely mate, the more XC rides I do, the more I realise how much I enjoy them. The mind definitely can hold you back, very easy to get it into your head that you can’t do something so don’t try. I am trying to overcome the ‘can’t’ at the moment 👍

@@Stopadoodledoo we all seek out our roots at some point.

Blimey mate, that’s some going as a commute, even more so on a singlespeed (especially the journey to Degla). Your leg muscles must have been powerful enough to kick fully grown trees over 😄

@@Stopadoodledoo I was riding 24/12hr races solo on it so wasn't too bad.

@@thegibbonisreal had a mate who used to love such events, he used to do it on a rigid singlespeed Inbred. He was always ruined for ages afterwards

You’re spot on there mate, and the doubt was what probably put me off for so long. I was utterly knackered by the end, probably not as bad as I thought I would be (although the 2 miles from Chester station to home hurt 🤣). Really want to do more longer rides like this now, setting off and actually getting somewhere (or via somewhere) is something I have missed. Love messing around in the woods doing loads of runs, but this kind of ride is more rewarding by far, a totally different kind of enjoyable.

@@Stopadoodledoo , I noticed that discomfort with the train ride then the remaining ride home, too. The natural pain killing action of riding subsides on the train, the effort begins to hit home, then you mount the bike again in considerably more pain for a few more miles. I found it better to bike back all the way when I could manage it, that is. Better to go through that discomfort in a warm bath; it's no as bad. Must say though, above thirty miles when I'm far away from home and that train is mighty tempting.

Thanks mate. It really was an idea germinated in early 2020 but not done, but being able to see the masts above Degla (albeit some distance away) from Chester has had me thinking about it on and off ever since. The main deterrent was the road miles at the start and they were tough, especially with a head wind and massive climb at the end. Thing is, I knew from not far after that, there were some decent trails, which motivated me to continue. Getting to the masts was such a great feeling as I knew there were no more significant climbs from then on, just (mostly) cracking descents. Funnily enough, I did have another idea around the same time, to ride out to Delamere, ride around the forest and ride back, but there effort/reward ratio for that wouldn’t be worth it, so I’m not going to suggest we do it 🤣. You can see Moel Famau from Chester though…..

Only you can answer that mate 🤣

Been interesting if nothing else. Not saying it was definitely coordinated by the man himself but the common denominator is that all are followers of him and are either friends on Facebook or comment on posts made on the man’s Facebook group. Apart from Terry the wabbit hunter, not found that link. Yet.

I don’t think I’ve ever read such pathetic comments, MTB is a much better place without imbeciles like these, at least they provided some entertainment 🤣🤣

The vitriol shown by some of these people in their comments is totally disproportionate.All very silly....

@@MTB_Derbyshire The shame is that some of them are hidden, probably because of the language they used but if you filter comments by Newest First, then they are visible. Unfortunately the one where Rob Galli calls me a scruffy c**t in another of his incoherent rambles isn't displayed due to his profanity, disappointing really because it was a real side splitter. Ironically, he was the only one who posted a comment that was not really that controversial at first, even though he probably doesn't realise that a rather high percentage of those subscriptions were purchased so totally meaningless. Be interesting to hear what @BOTG_Adventures take on all of this is, full deniability I guess as there's not a shred of evidence I can find that says he is instigating or behind this. Be difficult to cry about toxic MTB communities though I guess, when his own group is seemingly the worst out there, and I know very well that they have tried to do the same to other channels. End of the day, who looks bad here? Me, for an offhand comment that to be honest most viewers wouldn't pick up on anyway because they have no idea who he is or him, for his lackeys posting all this nonsense on my videos . I think you know the answer @BOTG_Adventures; they've screwed you, made you look a right (and I quote Galli here) c**t. If you are behind this (and lets be clear here that I am not accusing you), then what an own goal 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo it would certainly help settle things down if he were to communicate about this. Ultimately it's him that is mentioned, none of these other people who appear to be so very fired up! Ah well.

Now you are a mystery Terry, for a few reasons. Of all the comments that have come in this week, I can trace them all back to a specific group very easily (online presence, friends, comments, etc) but you, not so much. I notice that you set this account up yesterday, presumably to comment on my videos (not bothered about addressing what your comments say as they are nonsense) but you already have a channel, a rather successful one by the looks of it so why not comment using that account rather than going to the trouble of creating a new one? Couldn’t see any ties to the group in question on your Facebook group but given that you have 1.5m followers on there, doing so would be painful. It does beg a couple of questions though. Why is a rather successful deer hunting KZbinr from the US randomly viewing a nobody from the UK’s mountain biking videos? Seems odd that my videos would land in your Suggested list in KZbin. Why is someone with an arguably impressive social media presence wading in on a bunch of nonsense about sheep shit and an off hand comment about a group ride on the other side of the World? Of course, you can (and probably will) state that all of the above is ridiculous and you are not the person behind the hunting channel but unfortunately you messed up there in using a profile picture of yourself which is blatantly the Terry of DruryOutdoors ‘fame’. Please feel free to continue posting derogatory comments on my video Terry, you are a crusader for all that is wrong with taking the mickey. Bet you are wishing that I was a deer right now aren’t you

Do you even ride bikes Terry, or do you just waddle around the woods looking like a cross between Elmer Fudd and GI Joe, shooting things? I ask because it’s not apparent from your KZbin channel (your actual one and not the one you set up yesterday to troll me) that you get any exercise at all apart from said waddling/shooting creatures. To be honest Terry, I am not really that upset if you don’t subscribe, either with this troll account or your actual one with 131k subscribers. You have no interest in my poorly edited nonsense and I have no interest in you blowing animals to pieces for a laugh. On the subject of editing, and I know why you keep harping on about it and exactly who/what you are referring to. There was a tv show over here called Songs Of Praise, basically it comes from a different church every Sunday, the premise being old farts singing hymns and some dull stuff about the church and town/village it is in. Being a show produced by the BBC, it was professionally filmed and edited, but the content itself was of no interest to anyone other than old farts who believe in the sky wizard. You get me Terry (and whoever else is monitoring these responses)? Probably not.

We enjoy riding out together and always happy to be out as a group! Looking at your comment, and the one you placed on his other video at the same time, it is clear where you have crawled from!

And if I did, what would it matter, what difference would it make? How old are you? With these pathetic comments, one would imagine that you are a bored teenager with nothing to do in the school holidays but I suspect, from the group that this is coming from, that you are much older and just have the mental capacity of a teenager, one who eats crayons. I look forward to your ‘🎣’ style response though, totally missing why I have responded.

Did it remind you too much of your brother, the one you keep under the stairs?

p.s. It's whether and not weather, you imbecile. Is terrible grammar part of the entrance criteria to be in his special gang, or just an indicator of the general level of intelligence? Maybe you should give ChatGPT a try too, it's done wonders for his nonsense Descriptions.

Hmmm Matt, not sure your description is very good in this day and age! Shame he has no voice for himself, and uses you instead.

Maybe I should pay for an 'advert' too, eh?

@@Stopadoodledoo maybe you should if that helps you 👍

@@robg3836 I’m alright thanks, couldn’t care less about subscriber numbers, I just love riding my bikes. Not sure others ever did really; what do you think?🤔

@@Stopadoodledoo don’t matter what people like doing there will always be someone trying knock you back instead of just all getting along and support everyone in the mtb loop

​@robg3836 Yes, I agree, to a point. I do think though, that you can't/shouldn't just support everyone that happens to be into MTB. I mean there will be MTB people out there I couldn't support. For example they may be expressing bigotry, racist, homophobic or misogynistic views, etc Obviously I would not wish to support them. If I knew it about them, then that would be truly disingenuous and hypocritical of me and I'd hope anyone with a strong sense of human decency would feel the same. Perhaps I'm just too "woke" eh? 🤔.

Wow, you're well cool with your awesome funny comment, and you are so right too; it's just that nobody had ever told me before but now you have pointed it out, I can see it. What do you recommend Robert? I am hoping you are going to reply again with yet another incredibly funny response as I could do with a laugh after receiving such earth shattering news. Alternatively, you could just tell Box Of Demons that your work here is done, you've had your fun and destroyed my confidence forever. Boo Hoo. You sir, are a complete fanny.

@@Stopadoodledooobviously hit a nerve there grandad 😂😂😂

@@Stopadoodledooeatscock oh Robert, you seem to have jumped to conclusions there. I couldn’t give a frig what you said in your comment because even if you believe that I am very slow, it’s blatantly obvious where you have come from and why you commented. Anyway, you can now let your boyfriend know that you apparently got to me. Maybe he’ll reward you with a dick pic?

@@Stopadoodledoo 🎣

@@robg3836 not really though was it, as I knew exactly where this came from, along with all the other lame attacks. I bet you have been thinking about that witty retort all day on the bin round

Oh Vicky, you went to so much effort and yet Robert got three thumbs up for his incredibly hilarious comment whereas you just have the one. I say effort, but you put in about as much effort as you did trying to steer round that hole you fell in that time.

Oh, was hoping to see further added to this comment, well at least you kept it simple...

Absolutely mate, it's nice to do a loop and feel like you are actually going somewhere. Wouldn't want to do rides like this all the time but I love them every now and again 👍

Really is mate, it’s a shame that I didn’t get to ride the top half of it; have a feeling it would be way better than the one we did 👍

Really was a fantastic day out, wasn't it. Proper laughed all day 😃👍

Really is mate, I really did enjoy the full loop, it definitely exceeded expectations. Great pub too, only able to have one beer unfortunately

Mate, such a funny day just had to be 'documented' like this, including as much nonsense as I could find from the footage. Thing is, I truly did enjoy the ride itself too, way more singletrack than I expected and most of the climbs were actually kind of enjoyable. Definitely don't need a ton of descents for a ride to be decent. Definitely wasn't a BOTG ride too 😂

Nah, I was referring to Didcot; the view has changed somewhat since the cooling towers were demolished! Was a bloody fantastic ride; anyone who doesn't find singletrack fun can't really class themselves as a mountain biker in my mind :) By steps, do you mean that rocky trail that Marc featured in his video? You'll piss it mate, be sure to take your hardtail and GoPro 😂😂😂

@@Stopadoodledoo 🤣🤣🤣🤣 if I did them and it's a big IF, it defo wouldn't be on the HT!

Really was mate, we were laughing all day (these are just the bits I filmed). I I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the riding, I didn't expect much singletrack at all but the majority of the ride was on it. The section with the bracken went on for ages, I only included a small proportion of it - it was all fantastic.

Absolutely mate, and I guess you've probably been riding as long as I have, from the times when MTB's were only capable of rides such as these (and even then, you'd get rattled to pieces and fix about 20 pinch flats on a descent like that). I do think that it's all just riding bikes; I don't like pigeon-holing riding bikes really as no matter what you do, it should all be enjoyable. Saying that, I was taken aback just how much I enjoyed this one, and not just because of the company and resultant laughs.

@@Stopadoodledoo i started on a non suspension bike and scoffed when the new fangled 50mm travel front forks appeared. long time ago now.

@@garymartin557 A few years into riding, a mate had some RockShox Indy's on his Cannondale; they were just awful. When they finally kicked the bucket, I gave him the rigid forks that came with my Orange O2; he reported that his bike ride way better with those on - kind of says it all really :)

Totally mate. In the distant past, I have been out on rides with groups I didn't know and they were a bit serious (talking about nothing but bikes, etc) and in every case, it was the only ride I did with that group. Having a laugh is what it's all about!

@@Stopadoodledoo couldn't agree more!

Thanks mate and congratulations on your purchase; you know that I think it's the right choice but if it falls to bits then don't blame me 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo don’t worry it’s all on me🤣

Thanks mate, sure I will get one at some point but not just yet. Written? 🤣 I kind of had an idea what I wanted to talk about on the way there but most of it is thought up pretty much at the time; I kind of prefer them to be a bit spontaneous, even if that means the odd boo boo and confusing bit. Lot of effort to video and edit these ones, never do that well but I kind of prefer them; much prefer the riding in the others though

@@Stopadoodledoo yeah it comes across spontaneous and natural but the you manage to make the pints well rounded enough to make it seem well thought out. Fair play, it’s difficult to do for sure. 👍

Cheers Woody. Good luck for the ultra marathon, they sound like an insane amount of effort. Funnily enough, we got chatting to a few of the runners; one even asked if he could get a ciggy off us as he couldn't wait until the end - he ran off smoking, looking chuffed to bits 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo I've not had a fag for 13 years and beer for 4 1/2, not arsed about the beer but suspect a roll would be an absolute delight

They really are fantastic trails, the builders put a lot of effort in there (and are really friendly too). Maybe doesn't look it but there's quite a variety of trails there with narrow rooty ones, wider flowing ones, even some rocky bits (slate of course - it is Wales after all...). Beauty of it is that even in the depths of winter when the ground is sodden and muddy, it still rides well. Yeah, the roots can get slippy but that's all part of the fun!

@@Stopadoodledoo where I grew up in Maryland just north of my town there is a small community that’s still home to many Welsh people, slate was mined there for years long ago including much of the slate found in Baltimore and Washington DC.

🤣 I usually try to wait until I have watched full videos before commenting but have done the same thing myself before. I bet not many get to the point of seeing Tony in his ‘life jacket’ 🤣

Thanks mate, the trails were running damned well (apart from the overgrown ones). As for Tony's Tube, I couldn't actually film that clip at first because I was laughing so much; I really thought he meant he used it instead of a life jacket 😂😂😂

Well thanks mate, and that's that 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo short and succinct 👍

@@MTB_Derbyshire 🤣 Other than Tony’s impromptu life jacket, I’ll admit there’s not much else to comment on with this one. It’s just mates riding dry trails

Thanks mate, it really is. Tough ride but so rewarding!

My favourite 'local' place for sure 👍

They were running incredibly well, not loose at all. Only issue was the undergrowth on the last one - hard to see the trail in places (and you really want to see the trail) 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo that's the trouble with summer, overgrown trails!

Thanks mate, was so cool with them being dry (and dusty - left out the run that the thumbnail came from but I was basically swallowing the dust that the two lads were kicking up). Not sure about canoeing; have you thought about SUP-Boarding? 😂

@@Stopadoodledoo worth considering, or maybe a solo wild camp with a friend 🤣🤣

@@HallMarc_Trails 😂😂😂

I'll see what I can do, Wizbit 👍😂