Forum ride from Hebden Bridge, Sat 22nd Oct 2022, 52 km (33 miles)

[colly]

Any one got any pics!

Yeah but...............see above.

 

[colly]

I wasn't the most social of people (I never am ) but I did enjoy the company and the ride. Was a pleasure meeting you all.

No worries, we are all different. Hope to see you again.

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks for the ride sorry I had to dash off, I would only have worried about getting back in time!
Into the midst of family stress once again!!

Well, it was nice to meet you! Hopefully you can come on another ride when you have more time.

Any one got any pics!

@colly took quite a few and will no doubt post those later.

I only took 2 because I don't carry my phone in a pocket and it is a real faff to stop, take off my backpack, open that up, remove the drybag with the phone in, take that out, take the photo(s), and then have to do all that in reverse! Here are the two that I took...

Nice view from Mill Bank

CycleChatters at Mill Bank (L-R: @Julia9054 + Al, @Vantage, @GuyBoden, @Kestevan, @colly)

Fantastic day out, great weather, superb views and a few steep hills.

Including an added extra bonus detour into Sowerby bridge at the end for the lucky few.

What more can you ask from a great day out.

Big thanks for @ColinJ for organising the grand day out and a superb route.

Looking forward to the next Calderdale ride.

Thanks everyone for the good company.

We WERE very lucky with the weather, except for the horrid headwind on the moorland climb above Cragg Vale (as I had suggested we would have to suffer).

Thanks for the £10 sub for my cafe stop, Guy! (For the second time recently I had left the house without my wallet... )

Guy and colly somehow got detached from the rest of us on the descent from the cafe stop, and went off to explore the wonders of Sowerby Bridge instead of going directly down to Mytholmroyd...

There is a chance that I will organise another ride from Hebden Bridge on the 12th November if winter doesn't come early. I will tag you all if I do.

Gutted - only just seen this 😢
Managed a bit over 40km on my tod - did see a bunch of riders lounging at the south end of the Foulridge tunnel

It's a pity that you missed it. I will add you to my 'rides tag list' so you should get notifications in future if you have them turned on.

I wasn't the most social of people (I never am ) but I did enjoy the company and the ride. Was a pleasure meeting you all.

I saw that you were studying us!

I have 2 modes in public... I either sit quietly like you, or I don't stop talking. I obviously chose option #2 today!

It was nice riding with you again.

Quick summary...

6 of us assembled in Hebden Bridge, and then got messages from colly and Kestevan saying that they had been delayed. The short delay gave me time to go and invert my shorts liner - the pad had split and the gap was going to wreak havoc on my undercarriage if I left it rubbing on my delicate bits!

We had an uneventful ride up to Pecket Well, and then along to Midgley and the loop down Jerusalem Lane to Booth then back up to Midgley again. At that point James decided to head home before time pressure became an issue.

We plunged down to Mytholmroyd and rode up through Cragg Vale. That bit was okay because the gradient is not severe and we were sheltered from the wind. As nearly always on that climb though, the moor was a different story... The cross/headwind was very tough to ride into. We split into ones and twos to the top.

A rapid descent on the A58 led us to my little circuit of the lanes above Sowerby Bridge/Mytholmroyd/Ripponden. We encountered lots of parents and children walking up a lane towards us. It turns out that they were going to Pumpkins on t'Hill! The driver of one big car decided that the only way to avoid mowing the families down was to try to mow colly down instead - the car almost reversed over him!!!

We did a few more ups and downs and then Al's legs developed their customary cramps... I think that is the 3rd time it has happened when we have ridden together. We carried on to the top of the stiff climb out of Mill Bank, then I checked the map and chose a shortcut to the cafe. It only lopped a couple of km off the distance but it also avoided some extra climbing.

It wasn't long before we got to Craggies. It was a bit chilly in the wind but it was still nicer sitting outside on a sunny afternoon, than sitting indoors. We might not get too many more sunny days like that this year!

It is a very easy ride back to Hebden Bridge from Craggies, unless you chose to go via Sowerby Bridge and the steep climb of Tuel Lane!

We said goodbye to Vantage at Hebden Bridge station and Julia and Al went back to their car. Guy was parked in the same car park so I waited there for him to arrive with colly. I gave colly the Rolls saddle that I had promised him, and said my farewells. A quick ride back to Todmorden and my day was done. An enjoyable 67 km total for me with about 1,280 m of ascent (42 miles, 4,200 ft).

Thanks everybody!

 

[Vantage]

We plunged down to Mytholmroyd and rode up through Cragg Vale. That bit was okay because the gradient is not severe and we were sheltered from the wind. As nearly always on that climb though, the moor was a different story... The cross/headwind was very tough to ride into. We split into ones and twos to the top.

What wind?

 

[ColinJ]

What wind?

Obviously, the motor was doing its thing... I was probably using 125 W of leg power cancelling out the wind and only 50 W actually moving forwards!

 

[ColinJ]

I just had a chat to my sister. She made a very sensible suggestion - to keep an emergency £20 note in my bike backpack at all times! I'll get £30 cashback from Aldi tomorrow - the £20, plus a tenner to repay Guy next time we ride together.

 

[Julia9054]

Thank you for a great ride @ColinJ. Nice to meet up with people again and some for the first time. Crag Vale was fun but due to the wind was much harder than I remembered it!
Sorry we were a bit slow - we now have a renewed determination to get out on our bikes a bit more (we have had most of the summer more or less off) and to get fit again.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry we were a bit slow - we now have a renewed determination to get out on our bikes a bit more (we have had most of the summer more or less off) and to get fit again.

A nice thing about shorter forum rides is that time taken is usually less of an issue. I got back well before sunset, which was all that bothered me.

Obviously James didn't have enough time to do the full ride though, which was a shame.

I am feeling like I want to make more of an effort this coming winter. Maybe not out on the roads so much as on the turbo trainer. My best cycling year came after a winter of very intensive turbo training. I have already lost most of the weight that I aimed to lose - another 4 kg would probably be enough now. Keep that off and do my TT sessions and maybe I could get satisfyingly fit for some Spring forum rides

 

[Jameshow]

I know a few of us were from Leeds way how about a ride from Leeds, perhaps up to Ilkley on the back roads up over the cow and cafe and back along the canal to Leeds?

 

[colly]

Photos from yesterday.

Poor quality for the most part because, I think, the lens was dirty and grubby. (maybe a hangover from the previous set of pics I took ) They aren't in any particular order either sorry.

Anyway they are what they are:

 

[colly]

And again:

 

[Vantage]

Can I burn the pics with me in them? I look like I've swallowed the bottom half of my face

 

[Jameshow]

Looks like the second half of the ride was the nicer lanes?!

 

[Vantage]

The scenery was spectacular. The low sun added a fair bit of "fwaaaar".

 

[Vantage]

Currently in the process of converting the bike back to drops. My arms were absolutely killing me when I got home.
Flat bars don't agree with me it seems.