Pendle Pedal

[trio25]

So did anyone else ride this sportive yesterday? I really enjoyed it and apart from right near the start the weather stayed dry.

 

[ColinJ]

I did the shorter route, extended somewhat by getting lost at the start. I was late setting off and the signs had already been taken down by the time I got onto the route.

Early on, at the foot of a steep little hill, I came to a gate across the road so I dismounted to open it. An old man was walking his dogs ahead of me halfway up the hill and he'd obviously heard me because he suddenly turned round and took hold of their collars. I cycled up to him and he shouted out "You want to be careful, you do!" What was the old duffer going on about, I wasn't anywhere near him or the dogs...

"I found a dead cyclist up there once!" I know it wasn't a laughing matter, but it was so unexpected that I almost cracked up. I've heard of 'killer hills' but this literally was one! Turns out the poor cyclist's heart had packed up as he crested the hill and the dog walker had found him lying next to his bike. Still, what a way to go, eh - I'd settle for that .

I was feeling fairly relaxed heading towards Longridge Fell from Chipping because I knew from the past 2 years that we had a fairly easy climb up through Longridge itself. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed that this year's route had changed and suddenly I was directed straight up the hillside. We took a much more interesting route up the Fell, but it was a brutal shock to the system.

I met up with some other riders on the final run back through the quiet lanes. There were about 5 of us riding along when a complete tw*t in a yellow van decided that he just had to squeeze past us without slowing down. Given that his van was the width of the lane, that was going to take some doing. He managed it (just!) by forcing his offside wheels right up onto the grass verge opposite. He then wound his window down and berated us for making him drive like a brain-dead moron. Where do they come from?

I came to a marshal on the last junction and he pointed right and shouted "Well done - only a mile to go!" I told him that it was a pity about the extra 20 miles I had to do to get home and he suggested that I reward myself with a pint at event HQ. No way - I wouldn't have got back on the bike again if I'd given way to temptation.

I didn't even attempt to cycle up some of the steep little hills on the way back to Hebden Bridge. I was so knackered when I got back that I couldn't even contemplate making anything to eat so I settled for a (cold) tin of baked beans and a tub of cottage cheese.

Total distance covered 107 miles, but it felt more like 150 - I must get fitter if I'm going to keep doing these tough pennine events. But that's what I said last year too...

 

[PaulB]

I was down to do the longer route but a combination of not feeling too clever (stomach problems and we'll leave it there!) and getting drenched very early on made me re-consider and I turned left at Newton instead of right. Decided not to feel cowardly about this and was glad not to have done the extra 40 miles as I felt awful during Sunday night.

As for the event itself, I thought the newer route benefitted from not going through Longridge although the extra climb up Jeffrey Hill was a brute was it not? Lastly, the start needs addressing and the miles on Britain's most dangerous road in the last 10K are unnecessary.

 

[Blonde]

I saw some of you! We were doing the Bowland 200 from Denshaw, going over the same hills the other way!

 

[ColinJ]

As for the event itself, I thought the newer route benefitted from not going through Longridge although the extra climb up Jeffrey Hill was a brute was it not? Lastly, the start needs addressing and the miles on Britain's most dangerous road in the last 10K are unnecessary.

Although the new climb over Longridge Fell really hurt me, I thought it was the right thing to do. I got up it okay, but I just wasn't fit enough to enjoy it.

I actually liked the new start, apart from getting lost and doing a 9 km detour before getting back on the route. My little trip down the A59 in heavy rain and heavy traffic was pretty scary !

I agree about the climb from Blacko on the A682 towards the end. I did that on The Northwest Passage audax in 2007 and an older rider was knocked off his bike by a farmer towing a cattle trailer. The last thing I felt like doing after the tough hills beyond Clitheroe was a long drag on a dangerous A-road**.

There are two obvious alternative finishes:

1. We could go north from Newchurch-in-Pendle (the way the PP used to go at the start) and climb from Barley to the crossroads at Twiston Moor and follow the outward route back to the start.
2. I'd prefer to return from Blacko on the minor road to Whitemoor Reservoir and then take the B6251 to Barnoldswick. There is a minor road through Coates that would bypass most of the town centre. This alternative only knocks about 2 km off the total distance so the main event would still be well over 100 miles. The shorter route would then be a couple of km short of 100 km but I'm sure they could be added on somewhere if it was really considered necessary (most people would do almost that riding between the car park and event HQ twice).

**For those who don't know it - the A682 would be a lovely road if it wasn't for the traffic. It has lots of bends and dips and is a bit narrow. As usual, the trouble is that people drive too fast and too close. The incident I mentioned above happened when the farmer was too impatient to wait behind a group of cyclists on a blind bend and started to overtake them. He encountered a vehicle coming the other way and swerved left to avoid it. Fortunately only one cyclist was hit, and he 'just' suffered cuts and bruises but it could easily have resulted in serious injuries and/or deaths.

BTW - the farmer didn't stop! He was either completely oblivious to what he'd done (in which case he wasn't fit to be driving) OR he wasn't bothered about leaving an old guy battered and bleeding in the gutter (in which case... he wasn't fit to be driving) !

 

[PaulB]

I agree about the climb from Blacko on the A682 towards the end. I did that on The Northwest Passage audax in 2007 and an older rider was knocked off his bike by a farmer towing a cattle trailer. The last thing I felt like doing after the tough hills beyond Clitheroe was a long drag on a dangerous A-road**.

1. I'd prefer to return from Blacko on the minor road to Whitemoor Reservoir and then take the B6251 to Barnoldswick. There is a minor road through Coates that would bypass most of the town centre. This alternative only knocks about 2 km off the total distance so the main event would still be well over 100 miles. The shorter route would then be a couple of km short of 100 km but I'm sure they could be added on somewhere if it was really considered necessary (most people would do almost that riding between the car park and event HQ twice).

That's exactly the route I'd have taken and indeed DO take living in the area as I do. I never voluntarily ride on the A682 as I meant what I wrote about it being one of Britain's most dangerous roads. It is often classified as Britain's MOST dangerous due to the amount of crashes and fatalities for the number of miles.

Having said that, my most dodgy moment came riding through Roughlee where there was a people carrier behind a slow-moving Nissan Micra. Both were going slower than me but in my attempt to overtake them, the fat middle-aged driver of the people carrier took exception and moved out to his right to prevent me getting past him! He almost forced me into that barrier above the river. I did manage to get past but he made his presence felt later on the A682 when he came dangerously close to me as he went past on his way towards Gisburn.

 

[ColinJ]

Having said that, my most dodgy moment came riding through Roughlee where there was a people carrier behind a slow-moving Nissan Micra. Both were going slower than me but in my attempt to overtake them, the fat middle-aged driver of the people carrier took exception and moved out to his right to prevent me getting past him! He almost forced me into that barrier above the river. I did manage to get past but he made his presence felt later on the A682 when he came dangerously close to me as he went past on his way towards Gisburn.

I think these people deep down inside feel inferior and when they see us out enjoying ourselves and keeping fit, we seem like superior aliens to them. A car gives them an artificial power which they use as a weapon against us, knowing that the law will not do much to them should the worst happen. Take them out of their vehicles and most of them are nothing more than lazy, flabby, timid little mice. Unfortunately, the rest are raging psychopaths !

As for rearranging the PP finish... I've a feeling that they chose the route they did to get the cyclists back to HQ without having to go through the centre of Barnoldswick. Our alternative would involve hundreds of riders passing through one or two sets of traffic lights in the town itself and this might not go down too well (bearing in mind what we wrote above). I might email the organisers anyway to see what they say.

 

[trio25]

Yes some of the hills were a killer, last year I did the shorter route as I hadn't been cycling long. But it meant I wasn't as suprised by nick 'o pendle as some of the lads who were cycling near me. I'll be back next year, see if I can get faster.

 

[andy_wrx]

I had an encounter with a fcukwit in a silver Rover 45 just after I came out of the feedstop at Crook o' Lune.
He passed me on the blind bend which leads onto the stone bridge over the River, then as there was an oncoming car coming round the blind bend he pulled-in hard - I was perhaps 1 bike length behind him but if I were alongside he would have crushed me against the stone bridge parapet.
This was seriously scary - without false exaggeration, I could easily have been killed.

As he drove away, I didn't give him the finger but smacked my helmet several times to indicate I thought he was a cretin. He responded with some sort of vague obscene guesture from inside the car.

He then had to stop at the T-junction, pulling-up alongside another cyclist who was already stopped at the Give Way line waiting for a gap in the traffic on the main road.
I was hoping I could catch him stopped, but didn't quite get there in time, both he and the cyclist pulled away and he turned left, cutting right across the cyclist, who then shouted and protested.

I pulled straight out onto the main road after him, now making 'w*nker' guestures after him and still catching him as I had a run at him and he was still pulling away.
He screeched to a halt in the middle of the road right in front of me, I managed to swerve down the gap inside of him and whacked his door mirror flat with my hand, but not hard enough to break it.

He accellerated forward again, steered left into the kerb and braked hard to a stop again, started fiddling with his seatbelt and swearing at me.
"Come on then !", I shouted at him, "Come on, let's see how brave you are outside your car ! There's two of us you've upset in 200yds, come on !"
He obviously thought better of confronting the two of us so drove off, going straight on where the route then turned right shortly afterwards.

I didn't see his face, just saw that it was a man with a beergut wearing a red shirt.
I rode with the to the other cyclist for a couple of hundred yards, we agreed that the man was a complete fcukwit and the other cyclist said how funny it was that it was always a fat man...
As far as you can, without eyes in the back of your head, I kept a wary look out for the next mile or two in case he turned round and came after me, knocked me off from behind.

Unfortunately I didn't get his number, or I'd have got the other cyclist as witness and this would have been reported to the police.
Nearly crushing me and then cutting-up the other cyclist might be legally regarded as careless driving, but then braking hard to a standstill in front of me, twice, has to be even more serious.

 

[Globalti]

Andy if you had got his number you could have called Lancashire Police on 0845 1 25 35 45 and reported him. They would log his number on the PNC and the next time he was seen by a traffic car equipped with ANPR he would get stopped and given a "producer" notice.

We are members of a street action group against speeders and we occasionally phone this number to report habitual speeders; during weekdays at least the Police are happy to log our reports.

Maybe keep this number on your cellphone?

 

[andy_wrx]

Thanks, but as I say I didn't get his number.

I suspect 'guy with beergut in silver Rover 45' might not be a unique enough description...