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Windle

Über Member
Location
Burnthouses
A sort of straight out & back ride from Sunday on the gravel bike. I took one of my regular routes westward along Scotland Lane than along the track past Gibsneese Farm and down to the road near Copley Chimney, instead of turning back and doing a series of varying loops this time I kept going past the few houses and along the farm lane that runs south of, but sort of parallel with Hindon Beck with the thin strip of woodland in the Gaunless valley to the south . Climbing all the way up past a couple of farms (where a normal road surface resumes)

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and upwards into a raging headwind until I got to the summit,
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then after a brief photo pause dropped down to the B6282 and decided to get my own back on the headwind by turning northeast, dropping down over Hindon Beck and climbing, wind assisted up to and through Woodland
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then down the steep, partly walled descent (slower than usual due to a lot of wind buffeting) back down to where the road crosses the Gaunless near Copley Chimney. From here it was back up the stony & often muddy track
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to just past Gibsneese whence I turned northeast along the old railway path and out onto the road briefly before skirting across the corner of Cockfield Fell, back down through the village, past the football ground (with a cheeky go over the skatepark hump) then home via the muddy farm track / footpath and Burnthouses Lane. A decent (for me) 14 miler with about 1,200 feet of climbing in mostly glorious sunshine.
 

Jameshow

Veteran
Yesterday ride from Hartland to Bideford then up the tarka trail with the kids to orchard yard cafe which was closed so back to puffin Billy cafe and back to Bideford.

Then onto appledore and westward ho taking in the narrow streets and ship building heritage.

Almost knocked off by white man van in abbotham and then a slog back on the a39.

55miles total.

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geocycle

Legendary Member
Having a few days in North Yorkshire with the bike. Today’s route began in Pateley Bridge after a couple of hours drive eastward. I headed up the Nidd to Stean but was disappointed that How Stean Gorge seems fully commercial with no chance of a view from the road. I retraced my steps to Lofthouse and then the steep climb up onto the moor. It seems this is sometimes known as Trapping Hill or Cote de Lofthouse in the Tour de Yorkshire. Great views across the Heather before descending down to Masham and some lunch in the square. Despite the famous breweries I resisted and stuck with tea. The next stage was through the flat lands to Riponand then on to picturesque Ripley, As well as a lovely a castle it boasts a splendid ice cream shop. From there I picked an undulating route past Brigham Rocks and back to Pateley Bridge. 81 km and 1300 m of climbing.

pictures are of the heather clad moors above Lofthouse and the bunting they put out for me in Pateley Bridge, a nice touch which I appreciated.

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Jameshow

Veteran
Having a few days in North Yorkshire with the bike. Today’s route began in Pateley Bridge after a couple of hours drive eastward. I headed up the Nidd to Stean but was disappointed that How Stean Gorge seems fully commercial with no chance of a view from the road. I retraced my steps to Lofthouse and then the steep climb up onto the moor. It seems this is sometimes known as Trapping Hill or Cote de Lofthouse in the Tour de Yorkshire. Great views across the Heather before descending down to Masham and some lunch in the square. Despite the famous breweries I resisted and stuck with tea. The next stage was through the flat lands to Riponand then on to picturesque Ripley, As well as a lovely a castle it boasts a splendid ice cream shop. From there I picked an undulating route past Brigham Rocks and back to Pateley Bridge. 81 km and 1300 m of climbing.

pictures are of the heather clad moors above Lofthouse and the bunting they put out for me in Pateley Bridge, a nice touch which I appreciated.

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Crazy to say but I haven't done that ride!
 

Windle

Über Member
Location
Burnthouses
Doubt I could wholly cycling- that climb out of Lofthouse always looks to me like one up wheel the bike up.

Or one wheel up in the air :ohmy:. I've done it a couple of times years ago (before it was famous) and I recall one of the steeper sections near the bottom just went diagonally across a field, so you didn't have any walls or hedges hiding the gradient. It was also prone to having cows wandering about on it too, just what you want when you're grunting up a ruddy great hill. It was either: which end's the safest to pass on or should I try and go underneath, risking a face full of udder :laugh:. (Only joking about the last one).
 

a.twiddler

Veteran
Or one wheel up in the air :ohmy:. I've done it a couple of times years ago (before it was famous) and I recall one of the steeper sections near the bottom just went diagonally across a field, so you didn't have any walls or hedges hiding the gradient. It was also prone to having cows wandering about on it too, just what you want when you're grunting up a ruddy great hill. It was either: which end's the safest to pass on or should I try and go underneath, risking a face full of udder :laugh:. (Only joking about the last one).

If I was in that part of the world I might choose an udder route!
 

geocycle

Legendary Member
Day two of my short tour of North Yorkshire. I got out early from my accommodation in Bedale and headed east to the North York Moors. The first 40 km were disconcertingly flat and picked through some lovely villages. Things changed when I reached the moors at Swainby when the road went vertical until it let me reach the flat topped heather moorlands. I stopped in Osmotherley for a first coffee from the most wonderful general store I have ever been in. Fortified with pineapple, coconut and white chocolate slice I continued traversing the western fringe of the moors. The binary nature of flat top moorland and precipitous descents continued and I reached Revaulx Abbey for lunch. Unfortunately the 11th century bridge was closed with no means of crossing so I had to retrace and reroute adding miles and more climbing. I reached the main road again and rolled into Helmsley. The detour took me to Ampleforth and then through the lovely villages of Coxwold (Laurence Stern fame) and Kilburn, home to mousy Thompson for those who know their pew makers. Finally, I was back in the valley and coasted the last 30 km back to Bedale. 133 km with 1500 m climbed, which doesn’t sound bad except all the climbing was in 60 km!

Pictures of the Osmotherly village store, sound advice on the moor tops, Revaulx and Boyland Abbeys.

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Jameshow

Veteran
Day two of my short tour of North Yorkshire. I got out early from my accommodation in Bedale and headed east to the North York Moors. The first 40 km were disconcertingly flat and picked through some lovely villages. Things changed when I reached the moors at Swainby when the road went vertical until it let me reach the flat topped heather moorlands. I stopped in Osmotherley for a first coffee from the most wonderful general store I have ever been in. Fortified with pineapple, coconut and white chocolate slice I continued traversing the western fringe of the moors. The binary nature of flat top moorland and precipitous descents continued and I reached Revaulx Abbey for lunch. Unfortunately the 11th century bridge was closed with no means of crossing so I had to retrace and reroute adding miles and more climbing. I reached the main road again and rolled into Helmsley. The detour took me to Ampleforth and then through the lovely villages of Coxwold (Laurence Stern fame) and Kilburn, home to mousy Thompson for those who know their pew makers. Finally, I was back in the valley and coasted the last 30 km back to Bedale. 133 km with 1500 m climbed, which doesn’t sound bad except all the climbing was in 60 km!

Pictures of the Osmotherly village store, sound advice on the moor tops, Revaulx and Boyland Abbeys.

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Tough but enjoyable day!
 

Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
Yes, a great area for cycling and takes me back to my roots in York. We’d often get to the Helmsley area with the family. The contrast between the eerily flat Valeof York and the NYM is striking.

The vale of York is annoying in that is rare to find a decent worthy of freewheeling. I'm always glad heading west from it to see the road going upwards as that means there is a nice downhill not far away
 

Windle

Über Member
Location
Burnthouses
Day two of my short tour of North Yorkshire. I got out early from my accommodation in Bedale and headed east to the North York Moors. The first 40 km were disconcertingly flat and picked through some lovely villages. Things changed when I reached the moors at Swainby when the road went vertical until it let me reach the flat topped heather moorlands. I stopped in Osmotherley for a first coffee from the most wonderful general store I have ever been in. Fortified with pineapple, coconut and white chocolate slice I continued traversing the western fringe of the moors. The binary nature of flat top moorland and precipitous descents continued and I reached Revaulx Abbey for lunch. Unfortunately the 11th century bridge was closed with no means of crossing so I had to retrace and reroute adding miles and more climbing. I reached the main road again and rolled into Helmsley. The detour took me to Ampleforth and then through the lovely villages of Coxwold (Laurence Stern fame) and Kilburn, home to mousy Thompson for those who know their pew makers. Finally, I was back in the valley and coasted the last 30 km back to Bedale. 133 km with 1500 m climbed, which doesn’t sound bad except all the climbing was in 60 km!

Pictures of the Osmotherly village store, sound advice on the moor tops, Revaulx and Boyland Abbeys.

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There used to be a Cyclists Church Service at Coxwold, which our club once went down to (not the actual church service but the pub). This must have been early 90's and it was heaving with cyclists. It was quite a famous thing back then ~ maybe it's still happening?
I was on my Kirk at the time (appropriate) and a newspaper photographer (from the Times no less) who was taking pictures must have spotted the unusual bike and asked if I minded him getting some pictures of it, I didn't mind of course ~ but he asked one of my younger and obviously more photogenic clubmates to ride it up the road near the church for the photo, cheeky b'stard :laugh:.
Not being a reader of such highbrow broadsheets I never did see the photo.
 
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