# North west mini passage 2017



## SpuddyJones (11 Feb 2017)

Is anyone doing this event next Saturday?

http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/15-47/

It's my second Audax, first one was the Goodbye Christmas Yorkshire Pudding a month ago - feeling a little nervous if this one as its a lot more climbing.

I'll be cycling to the start from Heywood. If upto it, might try and extend the ride back from the finish to do my 1st 100miler!


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## DCLane (11 Feb 2017)

Nope - was going to but we've both a training session for my 12yo plus a velodrome session later that day.

Enjoy the ride. And the pie and peas at the end.


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## ColinJ (11 Feb 2017)

I had been thinking of it but did my February metric century last Monday instead.

I have done the ride in the past though and can give you a few tips ...

The route has 3 main climbs, none of which is a leg-breaker. The first and third are more significant than the second, which does go up to over 290 metres but it drags up for a long distance to get there.

The first third of the route is very easy. That is the 40 km to Barrowford. Nothing more than gentle undulations which will give you a good warm-up.

The 6 km climb from Barrowford up the A682 through Blacko is more significant but just pace yourself and you should be okay. Watch the traffic on that road - it is a lovely road but it wasn't designed for the amount of traffic it can get and how fast a lot of people drive. There are blind dips/summits and blind bends, and the road is not that wide in places. It has a pretty poor accident record; in fact, a rider got forced off the road by a farmer towing a cattle trailer the first year that I rode the event - keep your wits about you!

The summit is at 45 km and then there is a really nice section round to Whalley with a stop at Country Kitchen cafe in Waddington, where many of my forum rides call in. It consists of mainly downhill or flattish roads for 33 km, with a few short, steep little rises on the way.

From Whalley, you begin the second main climb, a long drag up to Oswaldtwistle Moor, punctuated by a quick descent of the A6119 on the eastern flanks of Blackburn.

That descent takes you towards the humungous motorway roundabout at Whitebirk. If you are confident on HUGE roundabouts,go for it! A local showed me an alternative which I always take. There is a big Mercedes showroom to the right. Take a right at the traffic lights and go round to the other side of the showrooms by following Whitebirk Drive. As the Drive bears round to the right and becomes Blakewater Road go straight on instead down the dead end Davies Rd. That is tatty and usually has a few cars parked up there. Watch out for debris scattered about. The road is blocked off at the end. Proceed between the bollards and go down about 5 yards of footpath which brings you out on a small roundabout on the other side of the monster roundabout. Go round that one and turn up the A6119 after McDonalds. 







Now do the second half of the drag up to the moor. After that, there is a great descent to Haslingden.

I almost took the wrong exit on the roundabout on the far side of Haslingden and would have headed for the M66 ... make sure you take the exit for Edenfield!

After Edenfield there is the climb to Owd Betts at Knowl Moor. Looking at the numbers, it shouldn't feel too hard (only averaging about 3%) but it seemed to go on a long way the first time that I did it. 

Enjoy the speedy run down into Rochdale from there and soon you will be back to event HQ for the pie and peas!

I would describe it as a 'moderately hilly' route. If you pace yourself and eat and drink enough then you should be fine. It would probably be wise to take it steady to Barrowford though and not get tired trying to keep up with faster riders - save your energy for the climb!

If you want to get an imperial century in then you will have to find another 20 km or so on top of the ride to and from Heywood. I reckon you'd be on no more than 140 km rather than the 161 km that you need.

Anyway - have fun!


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## SpuddyJones (13 Feb 2017)

Thanks @ColinJ - very useful. I know the roundabout you mean at Whitebirk, so will definitely be looking to take your "short cut".


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## k_green (15 Feb 2017)

I'm signed up... feeling nervous about the hills! I've done a imperial century before but it was super-flat. Hope it's dry and not too cold, definitely a bit of the fair-weather cyclist in me.
Thanks for the description and notes @ColinJ!


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## SpuddyJones (15 Feb 2017)

k_green said:


> I'm signed up... feeling nervous about the hills! I've done a imperial century before but it was super-flat. Hope it's dry and not too cold, definitely a bit of the fair-weather cyclist in me.
> Thanks for the description and notes @ColinJ!



Yeah, I am a little nervous too - but slow and steady it should be one . Say Hi if you see me - I'll be in the blue/black/pink B'Twin jacket on a black carbon Ribble R872


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## ColinJ (15 Feb 2017)

It is too late for me to enter the event now but the forecast is looking okay for Saturday. I will be wanting to get out and do a decent ride so ... 

... @SpuddyJones and/or @k_green - if you would like some company and moral support for most of the ride, I could arrange to meet up with you as you come through Todmorden and accompany you round to Rochdale where I would split off and ride back to Todmorden.

If you would rather do your own thing, no problem!


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## k_green (17 Feb 2017)

I'll be there in blue muddy fox gear with my white Liv Avail.
I think I'll do my own thing this time but hanks for the offer @ColinJ


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## ColinJ (17 Feb 2017)

k_green said:


> I'll be there in blue muddy fox gear with my white Liv Avail.
> I think I'll do my own thing this time but hanks for the offer @ColinJ


Actually, the forecast has changed now so I think I might opt for a lie-in and a shorter ride later! 

It doesn't look _that_ bad but my singlespeed bike is my only bike with mudguards on and I wouldn't get up those hills on it.


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## SpuddyJones (17 Feb 2017)

ColinJ said:


> Actually, the forecast has changed now so I think I might opt for a lie-in and a shorter ride later!
> 
> It doesn't look _that_ bad but my singlespeed bike is my only bike with mudguards on and I wouldn't get up those hills on it.



I'm more than happy for some company if you do decide to get out for a ride early on - although I doubt you'd be able to ride slow enough to keep with me


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## ColinJ (17 Feb 2017)

SpuddyJones said:


> I'm more than happy for some company if you do decide to get out for a ride early on - although I doubt you'd be able to ride slow enough to keep with me


Blow it - the forecast keeps changing, but it isn't really bad for this time of year. A few showers won't hurt me ... I'm in! 

@Svendo did the NWP one year and it was so cold that his drinks froze solid! 

If you want to be an official finisher then you need to average a minimum 15 kph including stops. I would be happy with that. If you are averaging that then you would probably be doing 20+ kph on the flat. It is just shy of 17 km to Todmorden so you should get here between about 09:50 and 10:00. I will stand with my bike (a red Cannondale) just before the railway viaduct in the centre of Tod. (About 200 metres after the roundabout.) I will have a blue Endura jacket on and full length bib tights.

I'll make sure that I am at the viaduct at 09:50. I can't see you getting there _much_ earlier than that. I'll PM you my ride phone number and will have it switched on from 08:30 so text me if there is a delay or a change of plan.

I am 5 minutes from the viaduct so if you get there significantly before 09:45, text me and I will get there ASAP.

Better rush around now charging my GPS etc.

All being well, see you in the morning!


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## DCLane (17 Feb 2017)

@SpuddyJones - enjoy the ride

@ColinJ - I'd turn up and see if you get an entry anyway. You never know.


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## ColinJ (17 Feb 2017)

DCLane said:


> @ColinJ - I'd turn up and see if you get an entry anyway. You never know.


They not only closed entries, they even removed the organiser's contact details from the official audax page so I think they were serious about the event closure! 

I like the way that Chris Crossland organises his _Spring into the Dales_ and _Season of Mists_ events - he encourages pre-entry, but also permits EOL for those who don't want to commit in advance.

I always hated riding to Rochdale in the morning for the (mini-)NWP, then almost immediately riding back to where I started from, and at the end of the day having to do that stretch of A-road for a 3rd time! This way I cover the distance but in a different order and avoid the extra trips between Todmorden and Rochdale.

I normally DO enter the events so I don't feel guilty tagging along this once. I certainly won't be going into the pub at the end and trying to cadge pie and peas!


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## SpuddyJones (17 Feb 2017)

ColinJ said:


> Blow it - the forecast keeps changing, but it isn't really bad for this time of year. A few showers won't hurt me ... I'm in!
> 
> @Svendo did the NWP one year and it was so cold that his drinks froze solid!
> 
> ...



Excellent, see you tomorrow!


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## SpuddyJones (18 Feb 2017)

@k_green, how did you find the ride?

If I am honest, I found it tough. It's the farthest distance I've rode, the longest I've spent in the saddle in one go and the most I've ever climbed. However, really glad I finished it.

@ColinJ - great to meet you today and thanks for your encouragement getting me up those hills! Looking forward to a club ride in the near future!


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## ColinJ (18 Feb 2017)

It was nice to meet you too, Spuddy. 

I think you did well on the hills, all things considered. Once you get some more weight off and a few months more cycling done, your natural youthful fitness will emerge and then you would have to wait for me at the summits! 

I think we were very lucky with the weather, avoiding the rain that we could see in the distance from the 2nd and 3rd summits.

I got back in daylight, with a total of 117 km (73 miles) ridden. I was very happy with that.

As I mentioned on the ride, I will be organising my annual ride from Whalley to the coast near Glasson Dock on either the last weekend in March or the first one in April. I'll check what else is planned and try not to clash with any other local rides/events.

I found out why I was slightly unsure which way to go at a few junctions today ... I forgot that the GPX file I uploaded to my GPS was one that I plotted before I found out about my Etrex's limit of 500 trackpoints per track. The file had 514 trackpoints. In such a case, the GPS handles this by throwing away every other trackpoint, so the device ended up with a simplified 257 trackpoint track. It doesn't sound like much of a problem, but it _can_ be ...

It is a more sensible alternative to truncating the tracks, but the GPS doesn't tell the user that it has done it. The problem is that it can be quite misleading. For example if I had plotted a right turn off a first road onto a second road followed by a left turn onto a third road by placing a point on the first and second junctions and one extra point in between (which is how I would often do it), the GPS might mess that up and replace my informative double-doglegged track with a confusing diagonal line on the screen. I noticed that kind of thing several times on today's ride and wondered why I had been so careless when plotting the route. I hadn't been - I just made the mistake of not checking how many points were in the file. I could easily have cut 14 non-critical trackpoints from the file, rather than letting the GPS software throw away 257 potentially critical ones. I have edited the file now so it won't happen if I try to use it again in years to come!


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## k_green (21 Feb 2017)

@SpuddyJones - I enjoyed it, not the most scenic ride but the weather was decent and it certainly felt like an achievement! Still feeling it today though. Think I saw you, sorry I didn't say hi, suddenly felt a bit awkward! What are you planning next?


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