Tough, scenic 100 mile ride - Mytholmroyd, Malham, Forest of Bowland, Sun 26th July

[ColinJ]

*** NB Ride postponed until Saturday 1st August ***

Hi folks.

It will soon be time for another Fitter Riders Watch The Fatter Riders Suffer™ forum ride, me being one of the fatter riders of course!

Usual rules - we ride at the speed of the slowest and you should not get frustrated if that is about 15 kph (or maybe a tad less). After stops - it will be! It's okay for the fit ones to sprint up the hills and wait for we slower ones at the summits. It's probably best not to do a Calum™ though (let youthful enthusiasm get the better of you, ride past several junctions and go off exploring by yourself! ).

I've devised a cracker of a route. I've moved the start to Mytholmroyd and included a stop at the Country Kitchen cafe at Waddington to bring the distance to exactly 161 km, or 100 miles. The route has about 3,000 m of hills (10,000 ft), some long, some steep, some quite long and quite steep. By any reasonable standards, it's a pretty tough route, not one for the unfit or inexperienced rider. I think it might take us up to 10-11 hours including stops so tell your partners not to send out the search parties if you are late home.

Here's a summary of the route:

Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge, Oxenhope, Haworth, Scar Top, Oakworth, Slippery Ford, Sutton Moor, Lane Ends, Glusburn Moor, Carleton Moor, Elslack, Broughton, Gargrave (cafe?), Eshton, Airton, Malham, Settle (cafe?), Giggleswick, Armistead, Keasden, Bowland Knotts, Stephen Moor, Bolton-by-Bowland, Sawley, Grindleton, Waddington (cafe), Clitheroe, Chatburn, Downham, Roughlee, Barrowford, Nelson, Coldwell, Thursden, Widdop, Slack, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd.

Route Map

Route Profile

I'm proposing a fairly early start so that we are well on our way before it gets too hot (I've booked good weather for the day!) and it also gives us plenty of daylight to work with. How about 08:00? Unfortunately, that means you won't be able to come in by train - sorry.

There is a big car park at the community centre in Mytholmroyd so I propose meeting there at about 07:50 ready for the 08:00 start. If you are parking, please make a contribution in the honesty box by the entrance. The centre is on Caldene avenue, just off the A646.

Here's a map - the red circle shows the site of the community centre.

Who is/might-be riding:

- ColinJ
- Alun
- Redbike
- PaulB
- longers (if his legs survive the Saturday CycleChat track session!)
- trio25 (if her legs survive the Saturday CycleChat track session and she isn't working!)
- Kestevan

Would anybody else like to join us for the ride?

 

[colly]

Shame I am away that weekend, that looks like a real nice route.

I will be having a ball of a time instead visiting my Mrs relatives down in Kent and Hampshire.
Has to be done but why in the middle of summer????

The good news is:

We will be moving on and spending a few days with some friends down in Cornwall.

The bad news is:

I am told the bike is staying at home.

Life is a compromise I guess.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry you can't make it colly. I made it the end of July to give people plenty of notice, but I happen to be free the first weekend in July too if you fancied having a go at it then?

I'm sure that I'd be happy to do it twice in July. I'm booked up for the other two weekends.

If you'd like to do the ride on the 4th or 5th July, I'll edit the post above to give people a choice of dates.

 

[Alun]

That's a beast of a ride, Colin !

It's in my diary, I'll be the Lanterne Rouge.

 

[colly]

Sorry you can't make it colly. I made it the end of July to give people plenty of notice, but I happen to be free the first weekend in July too if you fancied having a go at it then?

I'm sure that I'd be happy to do it twice in July. I'm booked up for the other two weekends.

If you'd like to do the ride on the 4th or 5th July, I'll edit the post above to give people a choice of dates.

Hey that would be great. I could make Sunday the 5th.

You must be a glutton for punishment Colin.

 

[PaulB]

You evil, evil man. It's in my diary. I can't make the 5th July though as that's the day of the Dolomiti Maratona.

 

[ColinJ]

Hey that would be great. I could make Sunday the 5th.

You must be a glutton for punishment Colin.

Okay colly, you're in! Calum will probably be back in Bristol by now but perhaps Bokonon would like to come along with us?

You evil, evil man. It's in my diary. I can't make the 5th July though as that's the day of the Dolomiti Maratona.

Enjoy your Italian sportive - which of these are you doing?

I'll add your name to the list for the 26th.

 

[PaulB]

Enjoy your Italian sportive - which of these are you doing?

I did the Due two years' ago and I have to say it was the toughest thing I'd ever done to that point so far. Most people in the Cycling Weekly group that I went with also did the Due course but I want to do Tre this time despite the grim warnings about the Passo Giau.

 

[ColinJ]

I did the Due two years' ago and I have to say it was the toughest thing I'd ever done to that point so far. Most people in the Cycling Weekly group that I went with also did the Due course but I want to do Tre this time despite the grim warnings about the Passo Giau.

Yikes - good luck with that, and if you survive it, I'll see ya on the 26th!

 

[colly]

Sorry Colin. looks like I am going to have to give back word for the 5th as well.

Really sorry about it but one of my lads has organised something for that date and I have only just found out about it. He has gone to a lot of trouble and I don't want to rain on his parade as it were.

It looks like a real classic route so maybe some other time.

Sorry to mess you about.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry Colin. looks like I am going to have to give back word for the 5th as well.

Really sorry about it but one of my lads has organised something for that date and I have only just found out about it. He has gone to a lot of trouble and I don't want to rain on his parade as it were.

It looks like a real classic route so maybe some other time.

Sorry to mess you about.

Can't be helped - family come first! I might have a solo go at it if the weather is good and if I do, I might also check out Malham Cove and Gordale Scar while I'm up there.

I know someone else who wants to tackle the route and he probably won't be ready in July because he is waiting to take delivery of his new bike. Perhaps we can find a free weekend in September?

 

[RedBike]

Any chance I could tag along on the 26th?

I am riding most of the west side of that loop the week before while riding back from the Lakes to Stoke. It will be intresting to see where I 'should' of rode / what I missed.

 

[ColinJ]

Any chance I could tag along on the 26th?

I am riding most of the west side of that loop the week before while riding back from the Lakes to Stoke. It will be intresting to see where I 'should' of rode / what I missed.

You are already on the list!

I know from Spring into the Dales that Alun and I are likely to take at least 10 hours to do this ride (with stops), maybe more. If you are happy to just meander along with us enjoying what is fantastic cycling countryside (I've ridden about 75% of the route before, and it is really lovely!) you (plus anybody else) are very welcome to join us.

If any of us are starting to feel over-tired by Grindleton, we can always ride back to Hebden Bridge via Whalley/Padiham/Burnley/Todmorden which would save time and energy, but would mean riding on busier, less scenic roads. We'd still have done 3/4 of the nice stuff.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry Colin. looks like I am going to have to give back word for the 5th as well.

Really sorry about it but one of my lads has organised something for that date and I have only just found out about it. He has gone to a lot of trouble and I don't want to rain on his parade as it were.

It looks like a real classic route so maybe some other time.

Sorry to mess you about.

Can't be helped - family come first! I might have a solo go at it...

It turns out that I now have family commitments on the 5th too so I wouldn't have been able to make it either!

 

[ColinJ]

I've now changed the route details slightly - please see the edited original post.

The ride is now starting from and finishing in Mytholmroyd, and a second cafe stop has been added at Waddington (first at either Gargrave or Settle). This brings the route up to 161 km or exactly 100 miles - an imperial century.

I can confirm the route has 3,000 m (10,000 ft) of climbing. Memory Map claimed 3,600 m but by carefully adding all significant climbs shown in the profile, I reckon that I'm closer to the actual figure. MM usually seems to be about 20% high because it takes every little ripple in the road and adds it to the total.