ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
***** ColinJ's forum rider tag list *****
Fellow forum riders, I am planning yet another ride!
@colly, @neil_merseyside, @Sea of vapours, @Domus, @Julia9054, @Spiderweb, @Slioch, @EasyPeez, @Kestevan, @Soltydog, @NorthernDave, @Buck, @si_c, @videoman, @FrothNinja, @GuyBoden, @Vantage, @Dadam
If anybody wants their name to be added to the list, let me know.
(If anybody wants their name to be removed, let me know, but...
)
NB Make sure that you have enabled tag alerts in your account preferences.
(Yes, I know some are already signed up for this ride, or can't make it, but I copy and paste the list from one ride to the next so I don't want to edit it.)
************************************
I'm back... Organising rides, that is! I took last year off from it, but I now feel like getting going again. I have already signed @Dadam up for this ride and hope that some more of you will join me.
The date of the ride is weather-dependent. I am not prepared to ride if there is ice around (I have had 4 heavy crashes on ice in the past and got away with cuts and bruises, but sooner or later I would probably end up with a broken hip/pelvis/whatever and don't really fancy that!) and I don't want to do it in heavy rain either. The route goes over multiple exposed hilltops at over 400 m elevation which would not be fun in foul conditions. So... the date will be confirmed nearer the time, but let's say 24th January, or the first Saturday after that with a reasonable forecast (6+ degrees C, no worse than light sporadic drizzle, no crazy winds).
I will have had my 70th birthday by then and this ride is intended to remind me that there is life in the old dog yet. I wanted to do 70+ km close to my birthday, and I will have done more like 80 km once I factor in the return ride from home to and from Hebden Bridge.
The route is 66 km (41 miles) long and has around 1,300 m (4,250+ ft) of ascent, some fairly steep, so it isn't super-hard but it isn't a ride for beginners either. You should have been okay riding something close to this distance and this hilly before. We will be riding at an easy chatty pace at the speed of the slowest rider, so we could take 4 hours or so, but we do want to get to the cafe while it is still open, and don't want to be coming back in the dark!
I have included some minor gravel sections. I have done them before on a road bike with slick 25 C tyres, but ideally you would have slightly bigger tyres on your bike. If not, you should still be okay, but don't turn up on your £6,000 best bike with lightweight £100 tyres and complain about the surface - that kind of thing has happened on one of my rides before!
The first section of gravel is a service road/track up from local NT beauty spot Hardcastle Crags. It takes us over/round the hillside to Widdop Road. It is a really nice change from busy roads!
Some time later there is a short section of gravel/cobbles that will only take us a minute or two to cover.
The third 'gravel' section is the Rochdale Canal towpath. I don't mind skipping that section and using the A-road parallel to it instead; we can decide on the day.
We will climb the A58 from Littleborough, but detour off it for a while on the Blackstone Edge Old Road. (Nicer, and away from the traffic.)
We then start to descend towards Ripponden, but soon turn left onto a network of scenic lumpy lanes, which is one of my favourite local cycling areas. We will climb up to Craggies for a welcome break. That will be around 57 km (35 miles) into the ride so make sure that you carry enough drink and snacks to fuel you for the 3+ hours to get there!
The end of the route is very easy, and could be easier still if anybody can't face one last little challenge... Pretty much downhill all the way to Mytholmroyd (which until recently was on a horrid potholed road, but the surface was finally fixed last year so it is now good), then a road and gravel track over one last little hill back to Hebden Bridge. The alternative is to skip the hill and use the flat Calder Valley Cycleway.
HERE is a map of the route on cycle.travel. I have attached a GPX file below.
Let's meet at the little pay & display car park on Station road, Hebden Bridge at 09:55 with a view to starting the ride at 10:00. Craggies' cafe is open until 15:30 so that gives us plenty of time to get there while it is open, have a break, and get back before dark. If you do use that car park, I suggest that you pay until at least 16:00, but you can usually find a free spot on the nearby A646 before 10:00 on a Saturday.
Post below if you fancy coming along.
DATE TO BE CONFIRMED LATER!
GPX viewer
Fellow forum riders, I am planning yet another ride!
@colly, @neil_merseyside, @Sea of vapours, @Domus, @Julia9054, @Spiderweb, @Slioch, @EasyPeez, @Kestevan, @Soltydog, @NorthernDave, @Buck, @si_c, @videoman, @FrothNinja, @GuyBoden, @Vantage, @Dadam
If anybody wants their name to be added to the list, let me know.
(If anybody wants their name to be removed, let me know, but...
)NB Make sure that you have enabled tag alerts in your account preferences.
(Yes, I know some are already signed up for this ride, or can't make it, but I copy and paste the list from one ride to the next so I don't want to edit it.)
************************************
I'm back... Organising rides, that is! I took last year off from it, but I now feel like getting going again. I have already signed @Dadam up for this ride and hope that some more of you will join me.
The date of the ride is weather-dependent. I am not prepared to ride if there is ice around (I have had 4 heavy crashes on ice in the past and got away with cuts and bruises, but sooner or later I would probably end up with a broken hip/pelvis/whatever and don't really fancy that!) and I don't want to do it in heavy rain either. The route goes over multiple exposed hilltops at over 400 m elevation which would not be fun in foul conditions. So... the date will be confirmed nearer the time, but let's say 24th January, or the first Saturday after that with a reasonable forecast (6+ degrees C, no worse than light sporadic drizzle, no crazy winds).
I will have had my 70th birthday by then and this ride is intended to remind me that there is life in the old dog yet. I wanted to do 70+ km close to my birthday, and I will have done more like 80 km once I factor in the return ride from home to and from Hebden Bridge.
The route is 66 km (41 miles) long and has around 1,300 m (4,250+ ft) of ascent, some fairly steep, so it isn't super-hard but it isn't a ride for beginners either. You should have been okay riding something close to this distance and this hilly before. We will be riding at an easy chatty pace at the speed of the slowest rider, so we could take 4 hours or so, but we do want to get to the cafe while it is still open, and don't want to be coming back in the dark!
I have included some minor gravel sections. I have done them before on a road bike with slick 25 C tyres, but ideally you would have slightly bigger tyres on your bike. If not, you should still be okay, but don't turn up on your £6,000 best bike with lightweight £100 tyres and complain about the surface - that kind of thing has happened on one of my rides before!
The first section of gravel is a service road/track up from local NT beauty spot Hardcastle Crags. It takes us over/round the hillside to Widdop Road. It is a really nice change from busy roads!
Some time later there is a short section of gravel/cobbles that will only take us a minute or two to cover.
The third 'gravel' section is the Rochdale Canal towpath. I don't mind skipping that section and using the A-road parallel to it instead; we can decide on the day.
We will climb the A58 from Littleborough, but detour off it for a while on the Blackstone Edge Old Road. (Nicer, and away from the traffic.)
We then start to descend towards Ripponden, but soon turn left onto a network of scenic lumpy lanes, which is one of my favourite local cycling areas. We will climb up to Craggies for a welcome break. That will be around 57 km (35 miles) into the ride so make sure that you carry enough drink and snacks to fuel you for the 3+ hours to get there!
The end of the route is very easy, and could be easier still if anybody can't face one last little challenge... Pretty much downhill all the way to Mytholmroyd (which until recently was on a horrid potholed road, but the surface was finally fixed last year so it is now good), then a road and gravel track over one last little hill back to Hebden Bridge. The alternative is to skip the hill and use the flat Calder Valley Cycleway.
HERE is a map of the route on cycle.travel. I have attached a GPX file below.
Let's meet at the little pay & display car park on Station road, Hebden Bridge at 09:55 with a view to starting the ride at 10:00. Craggies' cafe is open until 15:30 so that gives us plenty of time to get there while it is open, have a break, and get back before dark. If you do use that car park, I suggest that you pay until at least 16:00, but you can usually find a free spot on the nearby A646 before 10:00 on a Saturday.
Post below if you fancy coming along.
DATE TO BE CONFIRMED LATER!
GPX viewer
