ride around hebden bridge this weekend?

[ColinJ]

Hey Colin, you're most welcome to my pie and peas. I've never been a mushy pea fan and nowadays my tolerance for pies has also diminished so I'd rather have a piece of cake and a cup of tea.

Thanks Fiona. I'll still try to enter on the day if I am going to ride. I'm fairly sure it is okay to do that and I'd take a pre-filled form with me to save time. If they won't let me pay and pies have to be pre-booked, I'd like a cheese and onion - ta!

Double pie and peas for Colinj- Result

Just the one would do - I'm trying to lose weight!

 

[JayP]

I had a ride up your way this weekend. A 200 DIY from Macclesfield. I planned the route using Bikehike's "Open street maps" option. Mistake! Jeepers Creepers you have some terrain up there. I knew it was hilly having had a go at Hebden Bridge Star but this was just Bloody Murder. Took me best part of 17 hrs and 3324m of climb. I'll stick to the main roads next time. Doldrams lane will live in my nightmares.

 

[ColinJ]

I had a ride up your way this weekend. A 200 DIY from Macclesfield. I planned the route using Bikehike's "Open street maps" option. Mistake! Jeepers Creepers you have some terrain up there. I knew it was hilly having had a go at Hebden Bridge Star but this was just Bloody Murder. Took me best part of 17 hrs and 3324m of climb. I'll stick to the main roads next time. Doldrams lane will live in my nightmares.

Hills - what hills?

Ho ho - yes, always check on an OS map first!

I had to look up where that road is. It's one of those nasty little climbs up the side of the valley out of Sowerby Bridge isn't it?

Years ago, the Leeds Classic was sent up the nearby Scar Head climb at the back of the railway station. Some of the pros were overgeared and almost falling off their bikes. In fact, I think one or two at the back of the bunch got off and walked the steepest bits!

Don't stick to the main roads, you'll miss some of the best cycling round here. Just accept that you need lower gears for the ultra-steep stuff. The main roads are busy, noisy and smelly. A mile away on one of the hilltops, it is like another world.

 

[JayP]

It's one of those nasty little climbs up the side of the valley out of Sowerby Bridge isn't it?

Yes that's where it was Colin - tops out at Longley. Its 30% grad (according to my elevation profile) and its cobbles and there all green slimey! Next time I'll stay over and have fresh legs.

 

[Garz]

Hebdon Bridge is where they take goats to select pedigree.

 

[Fiona N]

Hebdon Bridge is where they take goats to select pedigree.

In 1988 I cam back to Yorkshire after spending more than half a year touring on a mtb (no suspension at that time though) through the Himalaya in Nepal, India and Pakistan. I was very slim, extremely fit and had just cycled thousands of seriously mountainous miles over high altitude terrain.
I came to visit my Mum in Huddersfield and went for a day ride around west of the city, up and down the hills round Hebden Bridge - following roughly the Mary Townley Loop. It was knackering, harder than the Himalaya - all those really steep short hills took so much brute strength and were so difficult to recover from. By the time I got home after 60 miles I was on my knees and my Mum was quite amused

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i live on / in them there hills, sometimes a blessing, sometimes as curse (usually when coming home from a long ride or long week of commuting). and sometimes, you realize you've been taking them for granted and just stop, sit up and admire the view, those are the best days.

 

[ColinJ]

Yeah, I love the hills too, but I often wish that Cheshire started where Rochdale is so I could get a good flat ride in from time to time without having to travel far to do it, or having to ride up and down busy valley roads all day.

At least I live at the bottom of the local hills so I don't have to climb at the end of a tiring ride!

Shaun - did you make it out on the Brompton on Sunday? I ended up indoors all day.

 

[Fiona N]

Yeah, I love the hills too, but I often wish that Cheshire started where Rochdale is so I could get a good flat ride in from time to time ...

But even when you have that - or at least I have the Fylde just south of Lancaster or the northern reaches of Morecambe Bay between Arnside and Grange - I still head to the hills most of the time - probably 19 rides out of 20. I get bored and uncomfortable after about 30 mins on the flat. My ideal terrain is pretty much Alpine - long gentle-ish (3-7%, definitely less than 10%) ascent, preferably up a partially wooded hillside followed by a long descent, a flat bit across the valley floor and then repeat.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

At least I live at the bottom of the local hills so I don't have to climb at the end of a tiring ride!

Shaun - did you make it out on the Brompton on Sunday? I ended up indoors all day.

i live on top of a bloody big hill which at least 13% whichever way i go home and at least 3 miles long.

no i didn't. the brompton needed fettling for commuting monday. i really hope my big bike is back from the lbs as i really want to do the nwp full fat version. if it's not i'll do the mini on my brommie.

 

[Svendo]

I had a ride up your way this weekend. A 200 DIY from Macclesfield. I planned the route using Bikehike's "Open street maps" option. Mistake! Jeepers Creepers you have some terrain up there. I knew it was hilly having had a go at Hebden Bridge Star but this was just Bloody Murder. Took me best part of 17 hrs and 3324m of climb. I'll stick to the main roads next time. Doldrams lane will live in my nightmares.

Much respect JayP. I've just got back from a ride and tried Doldram Lane on your 'recommendation', but after 3 goes had to give it up, couldn't get more than 30 metres before I'd hit a slimey green patch, spin out, stop, foot down and have to go to the bottom to try again. If you were on narrow slicks I'd like to know how you did it!

Here it is on Street view.

http://maps.google.c...=12,146.46,,0,5

I didn't get as far as the first big tree on the left.

 

[ColinJ]

Much respect JayP. I've just got back from a ride and tried Doldram Lane on your 'recommendation', but after 3 goes had to give it up, couldn't get more than 30 metres before I'd hit a slimey green patch, spin out, stop, foot down and have to go to the bottom to try again. If you were on narrow slicks I'd like to know how you did it!

Here it is on Street view.

http://maps.google.c...=12,146.46,,0,5

I didn't get as far as the first big tree on the left.

The Streetview car didn't either!

If you want another challenge Svendo, have a go at the Buttress in Hebden Bridge.

Not when it is like this though ...

It's officially part of the Pennine Cycleway (NCN 68) but I've never seen anybody manage to ride up it and it is stupidly dangerous to ride down. I tried riding down it just the once and will never make that mistake again!

 

[Svendo]

Since I seem to be doing my 'I-Spy book of West Yorkshire's stupidly steep roads' I'll consider giving it a go, but maybe when it'll be a bit less damp. Ticked off Norland Road-Boggart Lane-Sowerby Croft Lane, as steep as any of those Sowerby Bridge to Norland/Shaw Lane Climbs but without the slimey green cobbles and moss grouting, this week. Today I actually ended up doing Bridge Street-Scar Head Road-Long Lane-Goose West Lane-Hob Lane.
Keep meaning to go and do Steele Lane, think I've done it before but I'm not sure, definitely been down it a few times:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...oid=oLAfhJijKNWPPxQ6TvmaMA&cbp=12,333.19,,0,5

Long stretch of cobbles but more heavily traffiked so not as greasy.

 

[ColinJ]

Since I seem to be doing my 'I-Spy book of West Yorkshire's stupidly steep roads' I'll consider giving it a go, but maybe when it'll be a bit less damp.

Have you tried Horsehold Road? It ends up right on the tops where it turns into bridleways so on a road bike you'd have to come back down. (Take the road over the canal at the side of Hebden Bridge Co-op, and turn right, straight onto the climb.)

You could also try the climb to Old Chamber from the back of Hebden Bridge station. Turn up by the Co-op again, but bear left and climb up through Fairfield. Continue to the end of that road where it becomes a concrete road climbing up through the woods. It gets horribly steep at the top with a cobbled section. Again, you'd have to turn and come back down because it fizzles out into farm tracks and bridleways).

There's Mytholm Steeps of course... (Church Lane left off the A646 just before the rise up to the traffic lights on the Tod side of HB.)

Also pretty tough - Birchcliffe Road. Climb that all the way to the top where the old Mount Skip pub was (now a B&B).

Cross Stone Road out of Tod. is pretty tough (with a choice of two steep finishes).

I always find the Shore Road climb from Cornholme quite hard too.

There are quite a few tough ones up from Slaithwaite, as I'm sure you know.

I haven't tackled the climb at the back of Todmorden station but that is supposed to be hard.

If you've done all of those, I could probably think of others!

 

[JayP]

I have to fess up to use of 24 inch gear Svendo. Even then I was slipping all over the place. Good luck with the Impossible hills guide.