Another fantastic ride yesterday with Colin and his two non cc chums Carrie and Kevin. Great company too.
It was a very misty day and the hills and valleys were shrouded in it for virtually all of the ride. Although this detracted from the scenic views it was very atmospheric as we progressed from valley villages to hilltop villages with some really challenging climbs to tackle in relentless fashion. It surprised us how cold we felt especially when tackling the descents. This was despite us all having the good sense to come layered up with base layers, gilets etc but the mist had a sort of cloying effect. Due to the time and the unappealing prospect of finishing the ride in the dark Colin consulted the group and took the wise executive decision to shave approximately 5 miles off the ride making it a total distance of 57 instead of 62 miles.However we all over achieved the metric century as Colin and I rode in and home from/to Todmorden and Littleborough respectively and Carrie/Kevin rode in from Bingley and home from Oxenhope.
We had our cafe stop in Mytholmrod on 40 miles following a recommendation from a helpful passer-by. I can't remember the name of it but I believe it has recently opened. A few of the menu items we wanted weren't available but the service was friendly, price reasonable and food decent. A fair bit of vegetarian fayre too.
The 5 mile reduction in the actual ride was achieved by cutting out a few lanes above Ripponden as well as finishing Loop 1/starting Loop 2 at Mytholmroyd rather than the planned Hebden Bridge. This cut out one of the steep climbs (Birchcliffe Road) - we went up Midgely Road, Mytholmroyrd instead.But believe me, there was no shortage of tough climbs to come! After Midgely, we weaved our way along picturesque lanes until we came to Stocks Lane near Luddenden. Wow, what a climb! The sign at the bottom said 11% . I think that must be the average gradient as parts of it seemed quite a bit steeper. the length was quite daunting with a few apparent 'f'alse summits' for those unfamiliar with it. I started feeling the impact of having ridden my heavier tourer instead of my road bike (which is much lighter but temporarily out of commission). It felt like pulling a tank up there but I made it after bringing up the tail, we all had a satisfied grin for a moment at the top before continuing on to Wainstalls and beyond. There are a couple of quite isolated pubs up there (The Delvers Inn and Crossroads Inn) which I had not heard of before. I'll have to try those on another day when I'm not on my bike.
Colin and I bade farewell to Carrie and Kevin as we set off in our opposite directions towards our homes at just gone 6 pm. We only had to cycle in dusk/dark from Hebden Bridge which was not a problem as we had lights and the road is well lit. So the executive decision by Colin referred to above was spot on and characterised his impeccable attention to detail.
Some stats from my Garmin:
- Ride distance 57 miles (plus 20 to get to and from the Hebden Bridge start)
- Total ascent 7709 ft (less 1431ft being the ascent attributed to getting to Hebden Bridge and back) = 6278ft (total ascent of the 57 mile ride)
Legs only slightly stiff this morning.
Great ride and many thanks to Colin for the time and effort in planning and leading it.
It was a very misty day and the hills and valleys were shrouded in it for virtually all of the ride. Although this detracted from the scenic views it was very atmospheric as we progressed from valley villages to hilltop villages with some really challenging climbs to tackle in relentless fashion. It surprised us how cold we felt especially when tackling the descents. This was despite us all having the good sense to come layered up with base layers, gilets etc but the mist had a sort of cloying effect. Due to the time and the unappealing prospect of finishing the ride in the dark Colin consulted the group and took the wise executive decision to shave approximately 5 miles off the ride making it a total distance of 57 instead of 62 miles.However we all over achieved the metric century as Colin and I rode in and home from/to Todmorden and Littleborough respectively and Carrie/Kevin rode in from Bingley and home from Oxenhope.
We had our cafe stop in Mytholmrod on 40 miles following a recommendation from a helpful passer-by. I can't remember the name of it but I believe it has recently opened. A few of the menu items we wanted weren't available but the service was friendly, price reasonable and food decent. A fair bit of vegetarian fayre too.
The 5 mile reduction in the actual ride was achieved by cutting out a few lanes above Ripponden as well as finishing Loop 1/starting Loop 2 at Mytholmroyd rather than the planned Hebden Bridge. This cut out one of the steep climbs (Birchcliffe Road) - we went up Midgely Road, Mytholmroyrd instead.But believe me, there was no shortage of tough climbs to come! After Midgely, we weaved our way along picturesque lanes until we came to Stocks Lane near Luddenden. Wow, what a climb! The sign at the bottom said 11% . I think that must be the average gradient as parts of it seemed quite a bit steeper. the length was quite daunting with a few apparent 'f'alse summits' for those unfamiliar with it. I started feeling the impact of having ridden my heavier tourer instead of my road bike (which is much lighter but temporarily out of commission). It felt like pulling a tank up there but I made it after bringing up the tail, we all had a satisfied grin for a moment at the top before continuing on to Wainstalls and beyond. There are a couple of quite isolated pubs up there (The Delvers Inn and Crossroads Inn) which I had not heard of before. I'll have to try those on another day when I'm not on my bike.
Colin and I bade farewell to Carrie and Kevin as we set off in our opposite directions towards our homes at just gone 6 pm. We only had to cycle in dusk/dark from Hebden Bridge which was not a problem as we had lights and the road is well lit. So the executive decision by Colin referred to above was spot on and characterised his impeccable attention to detail.
Some stats from my Garmin:
- Ride distance 57 miles (plus 20 to get to and from the Hebden Bridge start)
- Total ascent 7709 ft (less 1431ft being the ascent attributed to getting to Hebden Bridge and back) = 6278ft (total ascent of the 57 mile ride)
Legs only slightly stiff this morning.
Great ride and many thanks to Colin for the time and effort in planning and leading it.
