Yesterdays ride out on a forum ride.
Clitheroe to (for me Leeds)
I caught the 7.51 train to Clitheroe via Blackburn. On time and for an early Saturday morning train quite busy:
At Blackburn Station I met up with
@Littgull and we caught the train up to Clitheroe together where
@ColinJ was waiting for us.
I don't know any roads around north Lancashire so I just followed in the wheels for the next 15 miles or so until we met up with
@Sea of vapours.
Together we made for Settle where Colin's friends Carrie and Kevin were waiting.
After a brief stop we made for the high country up Constitution Hill which leads up out of the town. Disaster struck immediately as Carrie's chain slipped with a hefty clunk and she promptly fell heavily onto the road. Minor grazes and bumps, fortunately nothing more serious, and a brief attempt again saw exactly the same chain slip.
So there is a bike shop not 30m from the start of Constitution Hill and we waited while Carrie took her bike in and had another chain fitted. 'Cassette is OK' says the mechanic.
So 25 mins later shes on the bike and has a run around the square and another attempt at the hill. Same thing, and unfortunately for Carrie she had another heavy fall. It shook her up badly. So back to the bike shop and.....well, it's a long story, and to catch the rest of it you will need to read
@ColinJ 's ride report.
So we did set off eventually sans Carrie (for the time being) and it was a slow climb up through Langcliffe and eventually onto Malham Moor. It was steep for most of the climb, the signs say 20% but how accurate they are I can't say. So steep in places my front wheel kept lifting off the tarmac.
Kind of unsettling.
Kevin, ColinJ, Littgull, Sea of vapours at the top of the climb.
Across the moor then for around 8 miles or so which naturally included some more serious uphill. Somewhere across here we collected Carrie again and it was up and down for a few miles. The scenery around was magnificent so it was a choice of looking around or looking at the road.
I chose to look around:
Before getting to Arncliffe there was a steep, twisty, unrelenting climb. Not long at around 0.8 of a mile but it was hard work all the way up. After that though there was a long fast twisty decent into Arncliffe. Little gravel, smooth well metalled surfaces and a clear view ahead. Great stuff.
The next 11 miles through hills and villages gradually took us down off the higher moor and into Appletreewick.
On the way I stopped to take a couple of photos of Burnsall:
It was here I lost the company, or maybe they lost me. I imagined I would catch them up in Appletreewick but at the cafes and pubs I saw no familiar bikes or faces. I pressed on after texting Colin to let him know I was breaking for home. That was the plan all along but it would have been so much better to have shared a tea and cake stop with everyone else before saying farewell. As it turned out they stopped, I think, in Barden, just down the road a couple of miles and while I did pass throught and keep my eyes peeled I never saw them.
I stopped for a much needed break myself at the Stridwood tea Rooms and after cake and tea I set off again in the direction of Bolton Abbey and the back lanes towards Ilkley through Beamsley.
It was through Ilkley and I hooked a right over the bridge at Ben Rhydding to collect the main road into Otley by passing Burley-In-Wharfdale. Into a strong headwind it was hard work but I made quite good time and at Otley I opted to take the lower flat road out to Pool-in-Wharfdale and Arthington. As a result I avoided the long grind up from Otley to Bramhope.
There was a price to pay eventually and I had to make the climb up the side of the dale around the back of Rawden Hill and up Bedlam Lane. It's a steep little climb of about a mile but it is, thankfully, over quickly.
Familiar roads back home from here around the back of Eccup Resrevoir
All in all about 78 miles and a bit under 5000ft of climbing.
Here is the link to the route but my Garmin has some odd ideas on what happened yesterday so take it with a pinch of salt. Essentially it's correct from Clitheroe but certainly not some of the metrics.
View: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/36294641
