OK, not sure what your start point is but you mention Hyde first so I will start there. I will give a few alternatives so you can try different ways and mix it up a bit on different days.
Starting from the Junction of Clark Way and Clarendon Road head along Clarendon Rd for a short distance (120yds) and turn left into Park road along the side of Hyde Park. At the top of the hill turn right onto Lodge lane then at the junction turn left onto Ashton Rd and continue through lights past the site of the demolished mill/cigarette factory to where the road forks. Here you have a choice
· You can continue straight on for about 0.8 miles to the lights by Morrison’s where you need to turn right, then quickly left onto Sandy lane. At the bottom of the hill you will cross Park Rd then over the river Tame to where Tame St joins from the right before the canal
· Alternatively, you can fork to the right onto Cheetham Hill Rd and follow this for around a mile until you drop down to a set of lights. Go straight across here onto Tame St and follow this to the end, turning right to cross over the canal.
Once over the canal, pass under the railway bridge and continue to the lights where you turn left. Tricky manoeuvre now because the road is two lanes and once through the pedestrian crossing you need to move into the third lane to turn right and in the rush hour this won’t be easy. At these lights fork right onto Beaufort Rd then right again after 200yds into Montague Rd. Continue along here till you reach a big five way junction with traffic lights (Mossley Rd). Again, here you have two choices ‘the get to work with some extra miles’ option, or ‘the totally heroic ride past Hartshead Pike because I CAN!’ route.
· The simple, easy route involves crossing the lights and carrying straight on for around 1½ miles until you are out of the houses and have fields on both sides then turn left into Alt Hill Lane
· The hero route involves turning right onto Mossley Rd (not sharp right almost back on yourself) then climbing for a little under 2 miles. Just as you start to drop downhill into Mossley turn left onto Broadcarr Lane and climb for a further ½ mile then bear right at the top with the track upto Hartshead Pike to the left. Now you have a pretty quick descent but the lane is narrow in places so watch out for oncoming traffic, especially around the left hand bend by the houses. At the bottom you will come to a T-junction with a small school facing you, turn left here and continue to drop downhill for a further 300yds then turn left into Lees New Rd. Follow to the end then turn left to climb a bit and continue for almost ¾ of a mile then turn right into Alt Hill Lane.
Alt Hill Lane is quite narrow and can be used as a rat-run so watch out for speeding cars but I think the problem has reduced in recent years. Go past the farm with the big green silage tower and when you reach a small hamlet keep left and drop down a road that is edged with paving slabs stood on edge. Continue along this windy road for 1½ miles until you come to the main Ashton-Oldham road where you need to turn right up the hill past Smokies Hotel. As the road levels out you will pass a post office on your right then some waste land on the left, after the waste land turn left into Coalpit Lane. At the end of Coalpit Lane turn left then after 240yds turn right into Ashton Rd and over the motorway bridge. Continue straight ahead across the mini-roundabout and through Woodhouses and then drop down to the Bay Horse pub between Newton Heath and Droylsden around two miles after crossing over the motorway.
From the Bay Horse you can cross over the road and ride the gravel path through Clayton Vale which comes out facing Riverpark Rd by Phillips Park then ride along Riverpark Rd past the old M/cr abattoir, left onto Briscoe lane, right at the fire station then 1[sup]st[/sup] left onto Bradford Rd then carry straight on until you hit Great Ancoats St. Alternatively, from the Bay Horse pub turn left and follow Edge Lane up the hill where it turns left. At the traffic lights turn right into North Rd and from here just keep heading straight on to Manchester passing close by the Velodrome and the Manchester City football stadium.
I hope this all makes sense to you. I have tried to be as descriptive as possible while still being concise as I appreciate I am talking about roads I know well but you may never have been on. Let me know how it works out and if this is the kind of route you had in mind.
Steve.
