Whoo, that's troubling. There's two reasons I would never cycle the devil's elbow; the first dead body I ever had to lay out was because he'd been in a crash on that the previous day. Lovely guy, chatting away to us in the anaesthetic room and we said we'd see him later as we were going to the canteen. While we were gone, he died as a result of his injuries. Secondly, tomorrow happens to be the anniversary of my jolly head/floor interface which banjaxed me to smithereens. I know lightning doesn't strike twice but sometimes it just might. But FYI, there was NO ice at all on the shaded descent you refer to as I've just been over there today.
That's a good reason for avoiding the Devil's Elbow! I've ridden it lots of times but I must admit that I never liked it, even before I found out about its bad accident record. Cars going by too fast, too close. One second you are doing 40 mph downhill on the bike with drivers behind you trying to go even faster, then suddenly you come out of the dip round the bend and lose all your speed but the cars don't - not a good scenario!
Okay, I'll trust your lack-of-ice report. No rain is forecast tonight so if it is clear today, it should be clear tomorrow too. Back to plan A - the scenic detour.
Wow! I just reminded myself on Google Streetview how nice that scenic detour is (and how busy the A-road is at the end of it). The Old Roman Road is really pretty and a much nicer route than the A671.
Hey Colin
I've had to get my ride in today due to family commitments arising for tomorrow, so I wont be able to join you at Waddy.
Hope the weather's as glorious for you tomorrow (usual warning of frost/ice lurking in the shadows of the hedgerows/trees)
Have a great ride, hope to catch up with you guys soon.
Andrew
Oh well, family come first - yes, catch you on another one! We usually come out to the
Ribble Valley several times a year on CycleChat rides.
