I have finally got round to upgrading my CAADX and went out on a little test ride this afternoon. It was nice and sunny so I felt like doing a longish ride, but I had arranged to meet just_fixed (the former 'bromptonfb') for an evening road ride, so I couldn't be out too long.
Ride #1: I chose to do a warmup along the Rochdale canal towpath in the sunshine ...
View attachment 98294
... then cross the A646 and climb up Duke Street/Eastwood Lane, and finally dash home on the road.
Now, Duke Street isn't really a street, and Eastwood Lane isn't much of a lane either, but Sat-Nav programmers perhaps can be forgiven for thinking that they are public roads. They are NOT! They are actually steep, rough farm tracks which are effectively a private road, but one which is classified as a public bridleway. Hence me heading up there on a cyclocross bike, and why the locals are not happy for people to drive up there. Especially in large vehicles!
So, you are told that right at the bottom, in no uncertain terms ...
View attachment 98299
(The Long Causeway is the top road to Burnley from Hebden Bridge. It is a scenic alternative to the A646 in good weather, but this is not the right way to get up to it in a motor vehicle.)
And in case you didn't get that ...
View attachment 98298
... ignore your Sat-Nav and follow the A646 to Burnley (the road on the left of the photo).
No, honestly, your Sat-Nav is trying to get you into trouble ...
View attachment 98297
.... but you follow it under the railway bridge and drive up Duke Street anyway.
I'll be blunt - if you ignore these warnings too, then ...
View attachment 98296
YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO DRIVE!
Anyway, enough of that! I was enjoying my new low gears. The bridleway gets steeper and steeper as it ascends towards Great Rock. It used to be a test of skill as well as fitness because the surface was very broken up and covered in boulders, potholes, cracks, gravel etc. but it got 'sanitised' a while back. The roughest parts were resurfaced in tarmac or concrete. Now it is really just a test of fitness.
I really appreciated my new 34/36 bottom gear - I don't think I would have got up there on the old 36/30 gear.
I made the mistake of stopping to take a photo for you lot ...
View attachment 98295
... and then struggled to get going again! As usual, the photo does not show just how steep the bridleway is.
When I emerged onto the road below Great Rock, I stopped and slumped over the handlebars, gasping for breath, much to the amusement of a driver who had stopped up there for a quick cigarette break!
Time was getting on so I rushed home for a quick bike change. My 7 mile test ride went well, and I look forward to doing longer ones soon.
Ride #2: Whizzed up the A646 to meet just_fixed near the outskirts of Burnley, then did a loop together back along the Rossendale valley and over the hill from Bacup back to Todmorden where we parted company. 26 miles covered in that ride.