NW Passage

[ColinJ]

Okay, while Shaun is working on his, here's mine: Hebden Bridge - Hebden - Hebden Bridge. 113 km (70 miles).

is it flat?

Shaun's isn't quite flat. And as for mine - well, er ...

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Okay, while Shaun is working on his, here's mine: Hebden Bridge - Hebden - Hebden Bridge. 113 km (70 miles).



Shaun's isn't quite flat. And as for mine - well, er ...

what's the figures on ascents?

the elevation data / graph doesn't show on my browser.

your routes better than mine, although it would be nice to see the weird narrow roads between threshfield and hebden.

 

[Christopher]

Cheers Colin - great story. Ullswater was extremely full on Sat'day, the water level was just below the spillway, so about as full as it gets - it was nearly up to the lakeside path in places.

I passed the hotel, never been in there. Am worried that places like that can be snooty. Wainwright says that there was a pub roughly where the car park is now. It was demolished along with the rest of the hamlet in the 1930s... it's true as I looked at various old OS maps of the area. And I will take a camera, I got the digital one very wet last month but it seems to be fine now - it had stopped working altogether but drying it out & reformatting it seems to have done the trick.

 

[ColinJ]

Cheers Colin - great story.

What I didn't mention was the fact that the car park at the end of the road was full. It wasn't full of the empty cars of people out walking the fells. No, it was full of people who were still sitting in their cars, drinking from flasks and listening to their radios. What's that all about? You drive out to somewhere beautiful, somewhere that could be quiet and beautiful, and you can't be arsed to even get out of your car, walk across the car park, climb over a stile and sit somewhere on the hillside beyond. If they had walked even 400 metres up the hill they would have had much more dramatic views. And as for blasting each other with loud music ... sometimes I just don't get people!

One of the things that really struck me when we stopped for our picnic lunch was how quiet it was up there on the fells. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing, a gentle breeze gusting, and the distant call of a bird.

I passed the hotel, never been in there. Am worried that places like that can be snooty.

I don't know what it is like normally, you could be right, who knows? When we were there it was okay because we had taken over the place for 5 days so it was just a couple of staff, the people running the course and about 12 (?) of us.

I'm glad your camera is okay. I must admit that I've been worried about mine because I carry it on a little bag attached to my handlebar stem so it doesn't get much protection when it rains. I ought to wrap it in a polythene bag but always forget to.

 

[ColinJ]

what's the figures on ascents?

Roughly 2,500 m (8,200 ft).

the elevation data / graph doesn't show on my browser.

I've never managed to get Bikely's elevation display to work! I produce my profiles in Memory Map before exporting the gpx files to Bikely. When I've got time, I'll go back and edit my route descriptions to include ascent data and links to profiles which I'll host on my blog.

it would be nice to see the weird narrow roads between threshfield and hebden.

I'm confused - the only road between Threshfield and Hebden is the B-road through Grassington! My route does take the little road out of Hebden on the way to Appletreewick though if that is the one you mean?

The best weird narrow road I know in that area is the one between Cracoe and Thorpe which your route took - but so does mine! It's this one:

From which this picture of Grassington was taken:

And this is a picture of me standing on it with Svendo and Alun:

 

[Fiona N]

I've always been curious - in a sort of academic way - about cycling the Patley Bridge road past Greenhow. I remember it from day trips out to the quarry at Greenhow (collecting mineral samples - there used to be loads of really spectacular galena in the spoil heaps but these disappeared once 'rock collecting' (i.e. buying samples at fairs) became popular. Mind you by that time our family had probably acquired about half a tonne) as being extremely steep out of Patley and wondered if it really is that steep or it's just childish memories of 1-in-4 or something. Do any sportives used it?

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i use to use that road when i was working in ripon, the b6265 iirc. and i remember there being a climb, out of somewhere, near there being horrendously steep, even the old landy's struggled.

i'd be up for a ride out that way if you fancy company going down memory lane.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

just been looking on bikehike / google maps and the proposed route passes very near by the climb up to 'stump cross caverns'. i wonder if the cafe's still there?

 

[Garz]

Looks a cracking route Colin. Reckon we need to strap our knee's so they don't buckle under the strain?

It must be glorious on a good day riding that area, such a shame as it flips completely on damp dark days I bet it could also be quite grim.

 

[ColinJ]

I've always been curious - in a sort of academic way - about cycling the Patley Bridge road past Greenhow. I remember it from day trips out to the quarry at Greenhow (collecting mineral samples - there used to be loads of really spectacular galena in the spoil heaps but these disappeared once 'rock collecting' (i.e. buying samples at fairs) became popular. Mind you by that time our family had probably acquired about half a tonne) as being extremely steep out of Patley and wondered if it really is that steep or it's just childish memories of 1-in-4 or something. Do any sportives used it?

i use to use that road when i was working in ripon, the b6265 iirc. and i remember there being a climb, out of somewhere, near there being horrendously steep, even the old landy's struggled.

i'd be up for a ride out that way if you fancy company going down memory lane.

The B6265 is pretty steep in places. I climbed up it on the killer self-plotted unofficial 200 I did in 2006 (when I was slimmer and fitter!). It was a succession of steep ramps but they are only single chevrons on the OS map, so what's that, 17-20%?

I think the horrendously steep road is the little lane which goes south from Pateley Bridge through Bewerley up to Yorke's Folly. That has double chevrons and looks like it would be really nice/nasty depending on how good your climbing legs were!

just been looking on bikehike / google maps and the proposed route passes very near by the climb up to 'stump cross caverns'. i wonder if the cafe's still there?

Yes - Stump Cross Caverns Cafe - but I think going to the Cavendish Pavilion cafe by the Wharfe after Appletreewick makes more sense than going up yet another steep climb only to come back down it again!

Looks a cracking route Colin. Reckon we need to strap our knee's so they don't buckle under the strain?

It must be glorious on a good day riding that area, such a shame as it flips completely on damp dark days I bet it could also be quite grim.

The weather was pretty kind to me most of the time on my aforementioned 200 km ride. I'd never have got up Park Rash on my bike if the roads had been greasy. Unfortunately, things turned grim and grey after Coverdale.

The 25% descent on wet roads to Lofthouse at the end of Nidderdale was pretty scary! It carried on raining to Pateley Bridge and back over to Grassington, then it brightened up again. Yes - it's great out there in sunshine, but a completely different story in bad conditions!

 

[Fiona N]

i use to use that road when i was working in ripon, the b6265 iirc. and i remember there being a climb, out of somewhere, near there being horrendously steep, even the old landy's struggled.

i'd be up for a ride out that way if you fancy company going down memory lane.

Thanks bromptonfb but I don't think I'll be up to tackling that for a couple of months. Like ColinJ says, low fitness and high weight are not a good combination for those sort of routes.

But I'd love to extend my usual Hawes circuit out to Ripon so could return via Patley Bridge and Greenhow to Grassington, Hetton, past Malham to Settle. It could turn into a really serious 200km if from Settle I returned via Horton, Ribblehead, Dentdale, Sedbergh and the Black Horse climb back to Kendal. My legs are tiring just typing that out...

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks bromptonfb but I don't think I'll be up to tackling that for a couple of months. Like ColinJ says, low fitness and high weight are not a good combination for those sort of routes.

I've been wondering if it is realistic for me to try and get fit enough to repeat my mega-hilly Park Rash 200 from Hebden Bridge again by this summer. Looking at what I've done over the past year or so, I'd have to say no, but then I remember that I have managed 2+ pounds loss a week consistently over a period of months in the recent past ...

If I really got stuck in, I could be dipping back down just below 13 stone by the end of June. That's the weight I was when I did my 200. It would make a great summer forum ride - in good weather!

But I'd love to extend my usual Hawes circuit out to Ripon so could return via Patley Bridge and Greenhow to Grassington, Hetton, past Malham to Settle. It could turn into a really serious 200km if from Settle I returned via Horton, Ribblehead, Dentdale, Sedbergh and the Black Horse climb back to Kendal. My legs are tiring just typing that out...

That sounds fantastic too!

 

[Fiona N]

I forgot to add - I've love to extend my usual Hawes circuit out to Ripon sometime around June or July...

In theory, time to lose 10-12 kgs

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

get it organized, i'm sure there will be plenty of cc'ers up for a challenge, later on in the summer?

 

[Garz]

Absolutely!