Herts and Minds – 2 Day Loop into Herfordshire on the CRF450L – Camping at Dobbs Weir

Herts and Minds – 2 Day Loop into Herfordshire on the CRF450L – Camping at Dobbs Weir

This was a lovely 2 day loop, the second day had some stickier sections which beginners might find testing

Thanks for watch, please get in touch if you have any questions

GPX File
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5i94io05ni32onrvjnd4f/HertsandMinds.gpx?rlkey=reibvvoa9xc8uixdno0nhut2y&dl=0

Campsite
https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/dobbs-weir-campsite

Altrider Bag
https://www.adventurebikeshop.co.uk/soft-luggage/altrider-hemisphere-saddlebag-/

Tank Bag

Acercis Shorts
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274644250800?var=574870463676

Clarks Shoes
https://www.clarksoutlet.co.uk/atl-coast-rock/26170316-p

Radio

Stove
Swirling flame – OP-100

Tent

[Music] oh that’s a big booger [Music] Heat up here Hello and welcome to another adventure Right So I’m I’m uh doing a bit of a two-day I’ve uh put a a loop together and I’m heading down over towards Hertfordshire So I’m going into Hertfordshire Um camping tonight near Hartford I think it’s near Hartford Um yeah So I’m going to do a two day Going to do about 70 miles today and about 100 miles tomorrow Back to the start So I’ve started in Halstead So I’ve ridden over from home to start the loop It’s only about 20 miles for me to Halstead Well it is This lane’s a bit whoopy Yes I’ve started in Halstead Um just started I’m only like six miles in to the loop and um yeah going to make a steady trek over towards Hartford Camping tonight in a nice campsite Uh so I’ve got my minimalist camping kit Uh all on the back of the CRF So I’m on the CRF in case you hadn’t already guessed Uh yeah Yeah I’ve also got the stock exhaust on the CRF So I’ve still got the like Vortex ECU in That is one of the good things about the Vortex ECU It allows you to use the stock exhaust which is much quieter but you still get a bags more of performance than the stock bike the stock UK bike Uh yeah So it’s it’s just a lot lot quieter And crucially the bike doesn’t run as hot So if you’re carrying luggage then you’re not going to melt your bags or anything Yeah I was going to go and do the uh Transnor Trail trailer my bike up up to Yorkshire and leave it somewhere and then go and do the loop and uh but because we got this motor home my wife said “Oh I’ll come and I’ll sort of be the support wagon.” Well obviously I couldn’t say no to that So uh but then I’d sort of got all the my kit ready to do a bit of a jolly on the CRF and I’ve been thinking about you know what to take and what have you And uh and so I thought yeah let’s let’s let’s go and do a run into Hertfordshire And uh because I’ve sort of semi-put a loop together ages ago but I just never got around to doing anything So yeah I had a a sort of break in work a sort of quieter period and I thought right okay let’s uh let’s do this But then he got mega mega hot and I thought I don’t want to be going out if it’s absolutely scorchio as mñana Oh scorchio scorio if you’re not from the UK we’ve we’ve been having a heat wave last week or so I mean it’s been very very dry this year so far Um yeah and last few days been really warm but it’s cooled down today It’s a bit overcast today and a bit cloudy a little bit windy So it’s just sort of you know not I mean once you get riding it’s really nice Yeah So the other thing I’m testing today is a new camera setup So I’ve bought a new uh DJI Osmo Action 4 camera And um I’ve been out and done a couple of test runs with it And um so I think I’m fairly happy with it now I can be fairly confident that I’m not going to get home and I’ve got a pile of which obviously if you’re watching this then I didn’t get home and have a pile of It might you know not be quite what I want while I still get used to it But anyway you know what I’m what I’m getting at So um yeah So it’ be nice to um nice to get that up and running and uh break it in and do a vlog using the new setup The GoPro was just being an absolute pain in the backside It was crashing all the time I was having to stop take it out the mount which means unbolting it and fanning around and h So Might be a Ford down here by the look of this Well as ever you know you you kind of think you know an area and it’s not somewhere you come and ride very often Uh but it has been lovely Oh yeah Not a particularly deep one Don’t want to get feet wet Oh yeah It’s not it’s not that deep Oh that’s a nice surprise I think if I’d have done this route yesterday I would have been in there like a flash cuz it was absolutely baking But uh yeah it’s just nice today actually Right so I just thought I’d show you quickly around the bike actually as um as I’ve just started to get a photo and uh and just so you know that I’m on What a Lovely Lane eh Um yes So I’m obviously on the CRF So those that don’t know that this is a CRF450 L Um so it’s a trail bike It’s not an Enduro bike It’s technically a dual sport bike Um 450 So it’s based on their sort of motocross bike but changed quite a bit to make it more trail friendly Um so as as ever I’m using my Alt Rider Hemisphere horseshoe bag which is absolutely brilliant and bomb proof I’ve got my um little Nelson rig tank bag but all I’ve got in there is my drone So oh and a couple of USB cables Uh so as ever I’m using my phone to navigate My second phone my normal phone is always here in my pocket Look So my normal phone is always in there And then I’ve downloaded my map onto there So I’ve got the map in I’m never going to lose where I am because this is a GPS unit It’s got the map in So never going to struggle but it does communicate with my phone for data if I need it Um yeah So what tires am I running I’m running this is actually really a motocross tire It’s a um Kender Milville that I bought for that uh Gavini Funday that I did a few weeks back And I’ve still got on the back the old um Kenda Trackmaster which actually has been a brilliant blooming tire I love it Yeah So um got a very lightweight very basic setup I weighed my kit before I left So the that bag weighed 8.7 kilos So that means that the load was I’m steaming up That meant that the load was a bit under 8 kilos cuz I think that bag on its own is about 800 g Yeah So I’ve got a really really lightweight setup and and on this bike you know I’m only doing one night so I don’t need a lot of kit But anyway so that’s what I’m on It’s been an absolute joy so far uh on this It feels like a toy cuz I’ve ride the Tennere so much When I get on this it just feels so flickable and so toy like it’s ridiculous Um but say unlike the um CRF 250 L 300L and Rallies this has got a really good engine It’s got you know over 40 horsepower probably about 42 in this trim Um so when you’re overtaking cars and that on the road it just you round it no problem So yeah it’s an absolute joy to ride Um right Okay let’s get going again Let’s get back on the road I want to try and get to the campsite by about 6 What is it now Qu 3 So uh let’s keep moving I’ve been going down some absolutely cracking lanes [Music] Yeah vast majority of these lanes today and tomorrow I have not done before So it’s all new to me I’ve done my usual thing just sort of plotting and planning on um green road map and you using the OS map app desktop tool and a bit of street viewer to um to see what what some of the lanes look like or the ends of the lanes It doesn’t tell you a lot but it sometimes tells you enough guys Hang on Let me get out the way Yeah it’s been it’s been a bit lumpy in places but so far it’s been um it’s been very easy Very sort of beginner friendly or big bike friendly couple of bits A look at the state of this Did it piss you off I’m going straight over So that must be down there Yeah [Music] These uh are churbish shorts that I’ve got on So not only have they got the sort of protection in them in the sort of hip area and it’s a bit on the back sort of not quite where Coxix is but um hang on a minute What’s going on here then Oh down here Yeah there we go Yeah but they’ve also got sort of padding in the book So I’m not sure if they’re actually meant for mountain biking like downhill mountain bike racing but um they’re obviously going to give a little bit of protection if you’re trail riding We’ll see See how we get on I They’re just nice and vented That was the other thing I liked about them opposed to say me motor skiies They’re sort of made of like a mesh material So it you know should hopefully stop you getting proper Betty swallocks But um excuse me But um I’ve got my like compression tights over the top cuz obviously it’s you know I always at least wear my compression tights Um yeah Never like to wear my jeans right next to the skin It’s horrible especially if you got knee pads on I’ve had some um some nice messages recently from people on YouTube So you know thanks for everyone who who leaves a comment on on the vlogs Um and I had a message from someone the other day saying you know they’ve been in a bit of a bad way and um you know some issues with work and that they would since thought right I’m going to get a bike and I’m going to get my bike license Uh which they passed and I know they passed the test and they were going to get a Tener Um yeah you know so that’s you know so great to sort of hear that and um and that I am in encouraging some people to get out on the bikes or even you know start riding bikes Um I mean for me that that’s just you know as good as it’s going to get Um but I do think there’s a there’s a there’s a point there you know a good point that that you know riding bikes is good for you It is good for your soul You know I I do miss my bikes when I’m not riding And and it’s just in me It’s just in my DNA It always has been And uh and it’s just the way I I sort of find myself if you know what I mean You know I’m out I’m riding my bike and it’s just where I feel like I’m most being Mike where I’m most most being me my the true me And I mean I’m not a fan of all this nonsense about blo crying and getting in touch with your feminine side and all I mean I’ve got no issue with crying I’ve only got to watch something like Britain’s Got Talent and some you know whoever it is brilliant singer whatever And I’m off I’m blubbing But I do think in some ways it’s it’s not great for you because we never used to cry Men never cried You know I grew up in a mining village and you know that was they were tough men and they didn’t have bad mental health where now it seems mental health in youngsters today is terrible Um but they’re all crying and they’re all hugging and they’re all you know and so I’m convinced what we all need to do is find something that is something that we connect with and is a is a way that we we find our calling as it were Now I know it’s not easy cuz it takes money a lot of the time and and what have you but for me that that encourages me to work hard and when I’m having a tough day at work and I’m getting a bit stressed and this is what I’m thinking about me right in a few few weeks it’ll be worth it you’ve got to go out ride your bike and and so I think you know sometimes you got to sort of push back a bit haven’t you And say “Look I need to do this to your misses or whoever in your life significant other and not feel bad not feel guilty cuz you are out playing silly boogers on motorbikes.” But I’m just so convinced that it it just leads to a happier life Anyway so thanks so much guys for um for the comments Um yeah it’s uh it really does help me a lot and it makes me on those those tough days when I really I should be getting on with some work cuz summer it does make me think right I’m going to go and do this cuz um it’s not a waste of time Yeah in Essics you do get a lot of these sort of gravel top lanes that I don’t know if I like them or not Hey what’s up Huge buzzard I suppose they’re better than a muddy sloppy lane eh But um Oh I don’t know I like a challenge Great if you’re on the big bike though Absolutely perfect I don’t like getting my Tenerade dirty if I’m honest Bit of a bit of a fanny with that He’s such a pig to clean It always takes me like three jet washers to get the T7 like how I want it CRF one go panels off Jet wash Bish bash bos job done Oh on your side grandad So obviously as ever I will share the route Um you know I’ll stick it in a link in the description on YouTube Uh some people seem to struggle downloading from Dropbox You do not need an account to download from Dropbox You just need to read what it says on the screen and follow the prompts But if it says become a member or down um or do something you know you don’t need to You just need to click click click and then it you should get to a bit where it it says something like oh you can’t see it here or something like that I’m not sure Um but yeah so if you’re struggling to download it you’re doing something wrong because 99.99% of people can no problem And honestly I I just haven’t got the time a day to be sending it to people individually Um I think I’m doing enough as it is Yeah Yeah So I’m stopping tonight at a place called Lee Valley Camping and there’s a few of them but this one’s called Dod’s Weer So that’s the bit you got to remember cuz I ended up ringing the wrong campsite nearly booking and then I real I think it was Edmonton or something like another one in London Um yeah so it’s Dodsw um just outside Hartford I think it is and uh Sainsbur is not far around a corner and a pub just across the road So it wasn’t particularly cheap I think it was 20 about 24 quid But it was it was bang where I wanted it to be I use this good uh website called and I’ve got the app on my phone uh called Search for Sites And what’s good about search for sites is you can sort of specify the area you’re looking in and it will tell you everything that’s within that area And so when I did a search there that was the only one sort of bang on my route at about the 7 about the 70 mile point [Music] Right Okay So I’ve just got a few bits from the shop Just got some water a couple of beers and some sandwiches for me tea cuz I’m It is It doesn’t look it but it is actually really warm And I always use lose my appetite when I’m when I’m warm Let’s just tuck that in there Yeah So I got plenty of space in my bag to fit a few bits in Yeah So we’re nearly there now Nearly to at this Lee Valley campsite Just come slightly off my route for that garage Just doing a left down here Look And got one more lane and then uh then we’re into the site I’m not necessarily a fan of a of an urban campsite but as I said before this was just convenient But I uh I suppose the good thing about an urban campsite is you’d hope you’d get a decent mobile signal Oh well Anyway here’s the pub So I’m going to um check it out It doesn’t look too bad does it [Music] Campsite’s just around the corner here I think And here we go Lear Caravan Park Do we home for the night Um so apparently they’ve emailed me a code Just want to check in with Zo
right We’ll do
Know you’re here then
Thanks You’re welcome You got the men’s showers up here and the toilets up here
All right Lovely Toilets down there
Yeah
Okay There’s no showers down there
Okay
Okay
Cheers mate You’re welcome Anybody behind that That’s a nice bike isn’t it
Yeah it’s all right It’s all right I’ve had it a while It’s uh Yeah it’s good for trail riding
Yeah Hello
Hello Are you Zoe then
I am I did hear my name mentioned down there So yeah Anywhere down there I like She said yeah it’s not the most adilic site I’ve ever been to but generally what’s not to bike Right Okay Well I’m going to get set up I quickly I say quickly I put the tent up as quick as I could but it’s actually quite windy So if you’re getting a lot of wind noise apologies for that Um again I’m trying a new mic out today So um right So we got the tent up This is those not seen it before This is my Tetra So one Tigris Tetra 160 I did a review of this So if you look in the you know look at some of my past videos probably last summer I did it Um yeah So this is this is a good sort of lightweight It says it’s a twoman tent but really it’s a comfortable oneman tent Um yeah So I’ve got that set up I sometimes use two top poles to give me a bit of shelter but uh sun’s just coming out now but it’s actually been quite shady today So and to save weight I thought I’d just bring the one pole just to give me a bit of shade in case I needed it So uh right Okay First of all let me just show you this Look Mike’s top tip Right So let me just put the camera on the tripod Right So let me just show you this Look So if you’re about to go to the Adventure Bike Festival and you’re going to take a tent you’ve not been before you might find cuz it’s been dry it is like putting pegs into concrete when you’re putting your tent up So this is Mike’s top tip Uh and this is if you’ve got tent pegs that look like this So these are these tent pegs are really good because of the shape of them They sort of anchor into the ground really really well in bad conditions And they come with a lot of tents now But if the ground’s hard and you’re using your hand they can be painful to put in and if you try and stand on them that’s what happens Yeah it can be difficult when you got your motorbike boots on to get these tent pegs in So Mike’s top tip get yourself down your shed and just get yourself a bit of what’s that Maybe it’s 12 mil ply And I’ve just drilled out a little hole in the center there Look just to sort of give somewhere for the tent pegs to sit into And then when you’re trying to put the temp peg in let me So that there Now I can’t do honestly I genuinely can’t do that That is painful That is hurting my hand because it’s been so dry But look So then you just get that onto the center there I reckon I’m right into a stone Maybe it’s not Yeah I’m on a stone That’s why it wouldn’t go in It is solid The ground is really solid But look there you go See So using that you’re less likely to really hurt your hand or um bend the temp peg So obviously these are easy to pull out because they’ve got the bit of cord on them But when you’re trying to get them in that is that is solid So if I hold that look and do that I can easily get that started Two hands and I’ve got it in The ground is really really hard The only other thing is to take a peg hammer Um but if you’re obviously trying to Jesus that don’t want to come out now That is solid ground But obviously if you’re trying to save weight then you might find that just really really helps you Right So what other goodies have I bought recently that might interest you Not the sandwich or my Pringles Uh there for in a bit Um I found these the other day Look I’ll just come in here out the wind a bit I found these the other day in uh in a outlet store for Clarks So you know Clark shoes It does say Clarks on them somewhere I’m sure Yeah So they’re this 80Z Coast and they pack down really really flat and lightweight and there’s nothing to them and I thought they would be great for sort of bringing on the bike for these sorts of trips because they’re just um there’s nothing to them They’ll if they get wet they’ll dry really really quickly Um if you needed to you could do a river crossing in them then just uh leave them on the top of your bag Adam Reeman style so you lose them a bit later I’m sure he’s done that as well I know he’s at least lost his tripod his shoes pants around the drivetrain Blok’s an admin nightmare Um yeah So they’ve been uh they’ve been a good buy I was um I was pleased with them Right so I’ve done most of my setting up Uh in fact let me just show you this look So um I did this uh my amazing wife made me this look So I’ve got a sleeping pad here And then this is just an old sheet with some elastic on it that’s stretched over there It’s going to be quite warm tonight So this is this sleeping bag turns into just like a quilt so you can open it right up And if it does get warm I always find it much nicer to sleep on your pad on a sheet as opposed to the pad you know cuz if it is warm it gets really sticky I don’t think it’s going to be that warm now So um but I’ve been using that for for a while now and I think it’s uh it’s a great thing Yeah So uh I’ve got that set up and no doubt going to have a great comfortable night Um so I’ve got the radio on I’ve had this a while now This has been brilliant this little radio Uh someone moaned at me on a vlog a bit ago saying you shouldn’t have a radio on If anyone else other than me can hear that radio then they need to go and see uh Norris McWarter or whoever’s doing it these days cuz they will have sort of the best hearing in the world Anyhoos right let me show you this Look so this is a fantastic get one of these Yeah it’s this SA summit washing line It is tiny and I’m trying to do this all with one hand So what I’m going to do is look I’m going to attach one end to there and then I’m going to peg the other end out Then I’ve got a washing line Yeah So how this works look you’ve got these um these sort of slidy bits these hoops and obviously you wedge your washing between the hoops So I’ve got my uh leggings here that I’ve had on today So just to show you I’m just bear with I’m doing this one hand So I’ve just put that under there So just get a bit of air through them And then look you got a instant washing line which is a great bit of kit Um yeah well worth the money Fits into that tiny little pouch which is about the size of four pegs but I reckon you could easily peg 10 items on there e depending on how you do it So last thing I thought I’d mention today look is these are those shorts I was wearing today These are Cherbis So this is quite tough here This is soft This is soft And this is soft on the back but this is quite tough And then there’s a bit here that comes up right up your love handles Look So if you were to have a spill they give you some really good protection And as I mentioned they’ve got like a cycling inner So cycling shorts you’re meant to wear next to your skin You’re not meant to wear pants or anything with cycling shorts So I’ve had these on today obviously right next to my skin Um and they are a bit see-through so they give you a good um good bit of air in Um but obviously I then have these over the top just so my sweaty legs aren’t rubbing on my trousers So yeah they they’ve been good comfortable Um I thought this was a bit hard at first but you sort of soon forget it as you can feel it on your hip cuz these trousers that I wear look there’s nothing to them These are just like summer motocross trousers and they’re really really thin And I think you know if you had a spill then that’s not going to do a lot at all But obviously that will and my normal body armor which is over there Look Um yes So right okay I’m going to call it a day I’m going to have some lunch now and I finish off my first beer and then I might have a bit of a wander over the over to the pub I mean I don’t know I might not Uh I’m pretty tired actually but I’ve got to ring my wife and uh do all that sort of stuff Yeah So thanks for coming along for the ride today I hope you’ve enjoyed it Um so obviously I’ll stick out part two which is the sort of second bit of the loop which will be like the 100 miles back to Halstead So um Hartford’s over there somewhere And then we’ll be sort of heading around St Alburn’s and then oh I forget the name of the place Lechworth is it Well Garden City something like that Anyway we’re heading over there next But obviously as per usual bike today was great No issues with that at all Um yeah and you know I’ve got this setup nailed I mean my admin’s everywhere but I’m just getting some air to it my knee pads and body armor and that and uh and obviously just settling in But I mean that is the good thing about this tent If if it was raining you have got a little bit of room to sort of do your admin So uh yeah don’t forget Mike’s top tip about this you know definitely worth it It’s weighs nothing You can easily chuck it in your tent bag Um save you putting a tent peg through your hand Okay so thanks for coming along Uh hope to see you back on the channel soon for another adventure and for part two of this little uh trip into Hertfordshire Uh yeah so hope to see you back on the channel soon Well if I don’t see you back on the channel then hopefully I’ll see you out on the trail riding your bike Okay so from me from Mike from the Lee Valley Camping Park Dobs Weer uh I’ll catch you again soon Bye for now