@ColinJ will be along soon to tell us about Cragg Vale. But can it be freewheeled all the way?
It is
normally possible to freewheel for
at least 5 miles down through Cragg Vale. Usually there is a SW wind at the summit and if you look at the map posted by ILS above you can see that it would help on the descent.
Rarely, however, there can be a headwind on the descent. Depending on the strength of that, you
might or
might not be able to freewheel. I encountered the monster headwind from hell on that descent once and had to stand in a 39/29 gear to force the pedals round to be able to move forward.
It can, and further than the climb. You can start at the junction with the A58.
Surely only with a stiff breeze behind you?
Yes - it is very slightly uphill from the junction, past the reservoir to the
actual summit so it would require a monster tailwind to freewheel from the junction.
I'm not sure exactly where it is possible to freewheel
from, from a standing start. The gradient is so shallow at the summit that without the tailwind or a brief turn of the pedals, the bike might not actually start rolling.
Similarly, the gradient at the bottom is very shallow and I am not sure where you could actually freewheel
to.
Normally, I would pedal down the shallower parts of the descent but I'll check it out freewhelling next time I am doing my Cragg Vale loop in that direction. I was going to offer to do it this afternoon, but it looks like there would be a stiff cross-headwind hampering downward progress.