Todmorden to Waddington, Sat 5th Nov

[ColinJ]

So let's see that is ...

Riders:

• ColinJ
• Littlgull
• Pale Rider
• Oldfentiger (meeting us on Padiham Greenway)

Possible riders:

• My cold-stricken pal Bill?
• @Svendo?
• @colly?
• @Starchivore?

The forecast is still looking okay - clear skies, sunshine, dry, chilly, headwind out, tailwind back.

 

[Littgull]

So let's see that is ...

Riders:

• ColinJ
• Littlgull
• Pale Rider
• Oldfentiger (meeting us on Padiham Greenway)

Possible riders:

• My cold-stricken pal Bill?
• @Svendo?
• @colly?
• @Starchivore

The forecast is still looking okay - clear skies, sunshine, dry, chilly, headwind out, tailwind back.

Perfect cycling conditions if forecast stays like that! I'm really looking forward to it.

I've just had a lovely few days away with Mrs Littgull in the Yorkshire Dales (Hawes) - an old favourite of ours. Fantastic weather. I took my Brompton and yesterday rode the 22 miles from Hawes to Settle en route home. It was sublime cycling. Velvet blue sky, sunny with fabulous quality of light and a slight tailwind from Ribblehead to Settle. I am sure i experienced the cycling equivalent of 'runner's high'. I always seem to strike lucy with the weather when i do that route no matter what time of the year.

If any as yet undeclared riders for @ColinJ ride on Saturday are coming through Littleborough towards Todmorden I'll be outside the Bay of Bengal Indian restaurant in Todmorden Road at about 8.25 am - but I won't hang about as I will have only just left my house a couple of minutes earlier and won't have warmed up.

 

[Littgull]

Perfect cycling conditions if forecast stays like that! I'm really looking forward to it.

I've just had a lovely few days away with Mrs Littgull in the Yorkshire Dales (Hawes) - an old favourite of ours. Fantastic weather. I took my Brompton and yesterday rode the 22 miles from Hawes to Settle en route home. It was sublime cycling. Velvet blue sky, sunny with fabulous quality of light and a slight tailwind from Ribblehead to Settle. I am sure i experienced the cycling equivalent of 'runner's high'. I always seem to strike lucy with the weather when i do that route no matter what time of the year.

If any as yet undeclared riders for @ColinJ ride on Saturday are coming through Littleborough towards Todmorden I'll be outside the Bay of Bengal Indian restaurant in Todmorden Road at about 8.25 am - but I won't hang about as I will have only just left my house a couple of minutes earlier and won't have warmed up.

Ha ha - excuse the typo , i didn't really strike 'Lucy'!

 

[Pale Rider]

Perfect cycling conditions if forecast stays like that! I'm really looking forward to it.

I've just had a lovely few days away with Mrs Littgull in the Yorkshire Dales (Hawes) - an old favourite of ours. Fantastic weather. I took my Brompton and yesterday rode the 22 miles from Hawes to Settle en route home. It was sublime cycling. Velvet blue sky, sunny with fabulous quality of light and a slight tailwind from Ribblehead to Settle. I am sure i experienced the cycling equivalent of 'runner's high'. I always seem to strike lucy with the weather when i do that route no matter what time of the year.

If any as yet undeclared riders for @ColinJ ride on Saturday are coming through Littleborough towards Todmorden I'll be outside the Bay of Bengal Indian restaurant in Todmorden Road at about 8.25 am - but I won't hang about as I will have only just left my house a couple of minutes earlier and won't have warmed up.

Respect for doing Hawes to Settle on a Brompton.

I don't think they are brilliant at climbing, although in my case it's as much the rider as the bike.

Looks like there's a couple of double digit percentage climbs on that route, although a quick RideWithGPS plot suggests it's not as ludicrously hilly as I thought it might be.

 

[Littgull]

Respect for doing Hawes to Settle on a Brompton.

I don't think they are brilliant at climbing, although in my case it's as much the rider as the bike.

Looks like there's a couple of double digit percentage climbs on that route, although a quick RideWithGPS plot suggests it's not as ludicrously hilly as I thought it might be.

The steepest bit is immediately as you leave Hawes (signposted Ingleton), it's signposted 25% from the direction of approaching Hawes but that seems inaccurate or only applies to a few metres of that bit of road. My guess would be it's more like 17%. The first 6 miles going fro Hawes towards Ribblehead has quite a few long 'drag' type climbs but not particularly steep. Going from Ribblehead to Horton in Ribblesdale (6 miles) is up and down initially and there is one quite stiff but shortish climb at about 17% when approximately 4 miles from Settle.

 

[Pale Rider]

Presumably you took the B6255 from Hawes.

It doesn't get any nasty black arrows on the OS map, but I agree with your description.

Goes to show you can't always rely on avoiding those arrows to avoid steep climbs.

https://binged.it/2fdsFz3

 

[Littgull]

Presumably you took the B6255 from Hawes.

It doesn't get any nasty black arrows on the OS map, but I agree with your description.

Goes to show you can't always rely on avoiding those arrows to avoid steep climbs.

https://binged.it/2fdsFz3

Yes that's the road.

 

[Globalti]

Colin, what time do you think you might be passing Spring Wood?

 

[Starchivore]

I can't come on Saturday unfortunately

I had thought I had a Social Engagement that I could wriggle out of, but I was mixed up with next Saturday. This Saturday we have to take the new cat for it's 2nd round of injections and it has to be done then.

It's a shame for me because I really liked the look of the ride and it would be nice to have a social ride. Hope it goes really well for everyone- and thanks @Pale Rider for the offer of doing a shortcut with me, that would have been good.

Hopefully there'll be something similar I can come on in not too long! Have a good one.

 

[Pale Rider]

Colin, what time do you think you might be passing Spring Wood?

Spring Wood - Whalley - is about 20 miles in.

Seems to me we should be there in under two hours.

With a prompt 9am start, that would mean about 10.45am.

 

[ColinJ]

Colin, what time do you think you might be passing Spring Wood?

Spring Wood - Whalley - is about 20 miles in.

Seems to me we should be there in under two hours.

With a prompt 9am start, that would mean about 10.45am.

It's actually 16 miles. It used to be 20 miles when we did it from Hebden Bridge. So, it should be nearer to 10:30. I don't think it will be much earlier than that, and as long as we don't have any problems then it should not be later than 10:45.

As usual, we will make a quick pitstop at Spring Wood. My ageing bladder seems to know its own way to the toilets there ...

I can't come on Saturday unfortunately

I had thought I had a Social Engagement that I could wriggle out of, but I was mixed up with next Saturday. This Saturday we have to take the new cat for it's 2nd round of injections and it has to be done then.

It's a shame for me because I really liked the look of the ride and it would be nice to have a social ride. Hope it goes really well for everyone- and thanks @Pale Rider for the offer of doing a shortcut with me, that would have been good.

Hopefully there'll be something similar I can come on in not too long! Have a good one.

Oh, pity about that - another time then!

As long as we don't have an awful winter, I will consider organising something in December and/or January. It might be a repeat of the Waddington ride or maybe something else instead.

My pal Bill won't be coming. He says that he only rides in cold conditions when he "can crack on to keep warm" which would be too fast for the rest of us.

 

[Pale Rider]

My pal Bill won't be coming. He says that he only rides in cold conditions when he "can crack on to keep warm" which would be too fast for the rest of us.

Shame about Bill, although he'd only moan about the price of the food and drink at the cafe stop, and moan about the time we take to eat it.

Nice bloke though, I'm bound to say that as someone else who can turn being grumpy into an art form.

 

[ColinJ]

Shame about Bill, although he'd only moan about the price of the food and drink at the cafe stop, and moan about the time we take to eat it.

Nice bloke though, I'm bound to say that as someone else who can turn being grumpy into an art form.

I think the cafe was another factor!

In his defence though, he is pretty skinny so he doesn't have much body fat to keep him warm. I really felt the cold when I was down near to 12 stone but it is not quite so bad now with an extra 20 pounds back on.

 

[Globalti]

I sympathise - on Wednesday night we went out and it must have been down to about 3c, I realised that the heat generated by muscular effort wasn't keeping pace with the heat lost to wind chill. I had a bit of a "chest" before going out and I'm feeling quite ropey today.

 

[ColinJ]

I sympathise - on Wednesday night we went out and it must have been down to about 3c, I realised that the heat generated by muscular effort wasn't keeping pace with the heat lost to wind chill. I had a bit of a "chest" before going out and I'm feeling quite ropey today.

I was starting to feel like I was coming down with something yesterday, but feel much better now. I think that I will stay off the bike today though, just in case.

It is looking like a very cold start in the morning ~4 C and riding into a stiff northerly wind!