Today's Bike Ride

[molehill]

I’m another for longest ride - but not as long as Luke. Chose a relatively flat route round here and clocked 59 miles at 4500ft. But without tea, cake or beer ☹️. Felt fine which is encouraging, but churning out the miles on roads alone does bore me silly. And the bike squeaked all the way ������

[Graham Breeze]

The biggest day out i've ever had on a bike today, including an unplanned hill. I was thinking the route from Fewston church to Yorke's Folly at the top of Nought Bank would be a steady amble through fields and quiet lanes. Turns out that between Stone Houses and the folly there are two valleys, and the elevation of Nought Bank summit is the same as Greenhow so i may as well have gone up to that and back down. So the ride took in 7 hills not 6:

Askwith Moor from Otley
Yorke's Folly from Fewston church (Nought Bank reversed)
Peat Lane
Hartlington Raikes
Embsay Fell
Cow and Calf
Otley Chevin the hard way

There wasn't a lot of time to stop and make social visits, i refused tea at Fewston and just went for a square of millionaires shortbread. There were a load of old Austins coming up Nought Bank, no steam, they all made it. Only 2 pints in the craven arms and a sticky toffee pudding. The legs were getting heavy over the undulations on the way to Embsay, and the fell was a first gear ride. Tea and two slices of cake at St Peter's addingham, all for the princely sum of £4. Cow and calf came and went, but my back was getting very sore and i was dreading the chevin, it being the second biggest climb and last on the list. Chevin was a first gear grind, and if i'd have had a rape whistle i'd have blown it. I felt like i'd been out for years when i got home, 5h17m riding time to be precise. The s-bends at the bottom of Peat Lane are awful, sand banks and huge holes everywhere.

The computer showed 73.5m and when i traced the route on MMap it returned an eye watering 7200' of climb.

Impressive!

Simon Warren gives Nought Bank 8/10 coming out of Pateley B. because it is steeper than Greenhow.

I did a modest 36 miles today including the short steep climb (20%?) from the canal near the White Lion in Kildwick - famous starting venue for many of Mr Weeden's races. So I was chugging up Priest Bank Lane trying to keep out of Sean Kelly's "red zone" in total traffic silence when to my right a white haired little old lady suddenly said "Oh I couldn't do what you're doing without this..." as she serenely turned up her electric motor and drifted off in front of me.

I think I had the grace to smile

[mr brightside]

Impressive!

Simon Warren gives Nought Bank 8/10 coming out of Pateley B. because it is steeper than Greenhow.

I've never done it so it'll be on the list for next week. I can do the new road out of appletreewick and pick it up on the way home instead of the way out. The beer will help.

[Graham Breeze]

Well I suppose I could have watched the Women's World Champs Road Race on TV - or better painted my kitchen ceiling - but instead I decided to drive 50 miles to Hawes to ride over Butter Tubs to Muker and then back via Askrigg.

But being in Hawes (strictly Gayle) it seemed a pity not to ride up Fleet Moss (9/10), it being so handy and all. Oddly there are no road signs warning you that the ascent might be a little steep but on the descent there are two signs warning you of the 16% -17% gradients. Fair enough - except that to reach the top of Fleet Moss from the south you have to have climbed up similar brutal climbs and even foreign tourists in their Winnebagos would know that what goes up must come down.

Talking of which - on my descent back to to Hawes I was being restricted to just 44 mph by a Belgian camper van who when he suddenty realised he had the next Remco Evenpoel on his rear bumper kindly pulled off the road.

Just why did we desert our friends in Europe?

The highlights of climbing Butter Tubs from the south are the views of (Pennine Way peak) Great Shunner Fell at 716 m. In fact all the scenery in this area of Richmondshire is just stunning. Anyway after the Butter Tubs climb (8/10 coming south although I was going north) it started pouring down and since I knew I had done The Fleak I decided to turn south early off the Reeth road at Crow Trees - to realise that the 25% road sign and the twist and turns past Crow Trees farm seemed awfully familiar. As did the sheep who gave me that pitiful "character building?" look as the rain poured down on us all. Even the Range Rover drivers looked generously at me - which must be a first.

Oxnop Scar (south from Crow Trees) is 7/10 in Simon Warren's book

So three of Simon's climbs totalling 3400 feet of climb and all in only 26 miles - plus oodles of character development in the rain.

[mr brightside]

A nasty cold forced me to only do the standard 50m this week, up to the craven arms to see the bouncing bomb. It was smaller than i had expected, but still quite impressive. I said to David he should buy it and make it a permanent addition.

[PeteS]

Well I suppose I could have watched the Women's World Champs Road Race on TV - or better painted my kitchen ceiling - but instead I decided to drive 50 miles to Hawes to ride over Butter Tubs to Muker and then back via Askrigg.

But being in Hawes (strictly Gayle) it seemed a pity not to ride up Fleet Moss (9/10), it being so handy and all. Oddly there are no road signs warning you that the ascent might be a little steep but on the descent there are two signs warning you of the 16% -17% gradients. Fair enough - except that to reach the top of Fleet Moss from the south you have to have climbed up similar brutal climbs and even foreign tourists in their Winnebagos would know that what goes up must come down.

Talking of which - on my descent back to to Hawes I was being restricted to just 44 mph by a Belgian camper van who when he suddenty realised he had the next Remco Evenpoel on his rear bumper kindly pulled off the road.

Just why did we desert our friends in Europe?

The highlights of climbing Butter Tubs from the south are the views of (Pennine Way peak) Great Shunner Fell at 716 m. In fact all the scenery in this area of Richmondshire is just stunning. Anyway after the Butter Tubs climb (8/10 coming south although I was going north) it started pouring down and since I knew I had done The Fleak I decided to turn south early off the Reeth road at Crow Trees - to realise that the 25% road sign and the twist and turns past Crow Trees farm seemed awfully familiar. As did the sheep who gave me that pitiful "character building?" look as the rain poured down on us all. Even the Range Rover drivers looked generously at me - which must be a first.

Oxnop Scar (south from Crow Trees) is 7/10 in Simon Warren's book

So three of Simon's climbs totalling 3400 feet of climb and all in only 26 miles - plus oodles of character development in the rain.

Nice one, Graham. Almost the reverse of my route I alluded to in my earlier post. I'd not even noted the climb past Crow Trees but will consider it next time I'm up that way.

[Graham Breeze]

Never having worked in retail I have an interest in the ebb and flow of trading emporia. Approaching Hawes from the east one passes the auction mart reminding one of what Hawes used to be before it became the honey pot, tasteless, tourist trap of today.

Ilkley has always been a quiet small town. It used to be a spa for taking the waters but now is full of female fashion shops, places to eat, drink coffee and, as "Heaven's waiting room", care homes by the score. And every imaginable charity shop. Oh and Wheelbase selling outrageously expensive Pinarellos.

It has long had an intersport and a year or so ago a branch of alpkit appeared. Regatta. Great Outdoors and Craghoppers have just opened. Go Outdoors is opening soon. Oh and there is a Mountain Warehouse.

Mountain Warehouse? The Cow and Calf is now a mountain?

Things do change.

[molehill]

Last week was a riding "blank", first since I started this year, but fishing trip put paid to peddling. Yesterday after the rain I had an hour+ gravel ride to losen the legs and hoped for a long road ride tomorrow.
But the bike had been making some horrible rubbing noises on the front brakes, so off it came for a look this afternoon - oh dear, not surprising I wasn't stopping fast, there are no front brakes left and the cilper spring metal is wearing through. Embarrasing but new ones ordered, looks like gravel ride tomorrow.
Unfortunately there will nothing next week, which is taken up with running the sheepdog trials and next day the village show. So little time when retired!

[Graham Breeze]

Oxnop Common going north from Askrigg and then Butter Tubs Pass going south (the "hard" side) from Mukor. And to extend the pleasure a crossing of Widdale Fell from Garsdale Head and Station (of the S&C) down to Dent Station before turning north.

Passed some 25% road signs on my way to 39 miles and 4800 feet. The road south of Garsdale Head is quite vicious but the road sign by the station eschews a gradient and just warns that the road climbs to 1762 feet and "can be dangerous in winter".

Yes I imagine it can.

[mr brightside]

Oxnop Common going north from Askrigg and then Butter Tubs Pass going south (the "hard" side) from Mukor. And to extend the pleasure a crossing of Widdale Fell from Garsdale Head and Station (of the S&C) down to Dent Station before turning north.

Passed some 25% road signs on my way to 39 miles and 4800 feet. The road south of Garsdale Head is quite vicious but the road sign by the station eschews a gradient and just warns that the road climbs to 1762 feet and "can be dangerous in winter".

Yes I imagine it can.

You always slip on place names, Graham, it's Muker.