A metric century forum ride: Harrogate, Lofthouse, Masham. RAIN STOPPED PLAY [Slight change to route].

[Sea of vapours]

The route is A to B Ripley A Thirn (or at least the road junction to it's east) B

So you're suggesting missing out the Nidderdale section through Lofthouse and up Trapping Hill, otherwise known as 'the best bit by far' then ?! ;-)

 

[Pale Rider]

Looks a great route & I'd love to come along, but have a 50th do to attend in the evening & not sure I'd be home in time

Hello @Soltydog, good to hear you've got some younger friends.

 

[Pale Rider]

There will be a cafe stop in Masham

@Mike_P's route also knacks the planned lunch stop, which is a far more serious matter than grunting up a hill or two.

 

[ColinJ]

Local to me but there's no way Shanks's Pony would not be called into use at least once. Wondering if anyone (@GuyBoden for example) would prefer an optional less steep route from Ripley to Thirn. One thing to note looking at the previous comments the car park at Ripley is now pay and display - blame the Ripley Estate not the local council. Still free on street parking alongside if you are lucky.

I've been a very naughty boy, Mike, so I need punishing! Thanks for your input though. I might take a ride out that way another time.

I agree with @Sea of vapours' comment. That difficult section is my favourite part of the route. I like the fact that the first part is harder than the return leg though.

I am not really fit enough at the moment to tackle relentless hills so a good mix of hilly and undulating is better for me. Hopefully, I will organise a few really tough rides later in the season (2,000 - 3,000 m of ascent, including steep stuff) when I have better endurance?

@GuyBoden and @Vantage can join me for the nice flattish/undulating ride in Cheshire. I will start the thread very shortly.

@Soltydog - I'll give you a chance to pick the date for the Humber Bridge ride! Can you make any of the following Saturdays - 29th July, 5th August, 12th August, 26th August? If not, there are other possibilities. Choose the earliest one that suits you. (Subject to no rail strikes on the chosen date!)

 

[Peter Salt]

Nice route (the hilly version). Pencil me in, please.

Also tentative for the Humber Bridge ride.

 

[neil_merseyside]

Now this is a possibility as we should be in (relatively nearby) Darlington and it would be rude not to I reckon. Spa cycles visit if back early enough (or before depending on start time).

 

[ColinJ]

Nice route (the hilly version). Pencil me in, please.

Great!

Also tentative for the Humber Bridge ride.

Ditto...

Now this is a possibility as we should be in (relatively nearby) Darlington and it would be rude not to I reckon.

And again...

Spa cycles visit if back early enough (or before depending on start time).

Probably better before, for a quick visit. Spa opens at 09:00. I would likely be trying to catch the train arriving at 09:33 so we could meet at the station at 09:45. I reckon you could easily get from Spa to the station in 15 minutes. If I missed a connection I should arrive on the next train, just after 10:00.

I may have to ride to Hebden Bridge to catch a train to Leeds since there is probably going to be a replacement bus that day.

 

[Soltydog]

@Soltydog - I'll give you a chance to pick the date for the Humber Bridge ride! Can you make any of the following Saturdays - 29th July, 5th August, 12th August, 26th August? If not, there are other possibilities. Choose the earliest one that suits you. (Subject to no rail strikes on the chosen date!)

5th & 26th of August are possibles at the moment, but that depends on football fixtures, they are due out Thursday next week & I wouldn't rule out more rail strikes it would appear that a resolution to the dispute is miles away

 

[ColinJ]

5th & 26th of August are possibles at the moment, but that depends on football fixtures, they are due out Thursday next week & I wouldn't rule out more rail strikes it would appear that a resolution to the dispute is miles away

Probably better to decide 2 weeks before a proposed date to be sure to avoid strike days. It is the cancellations which cause bigger problems for me since I can't take my bike on a rail replacement bus. (Which Brompton for crap train days!)

 

[Mike_P]

Now this is a possibility as we should be in (relatively nearby) Darlington and it would be rude not to I reckon. Spa cycles visit if back early enough (or before depending on start time).

Just note their is only a pallisade fence to lock a bike to at Spa (unless something more useful has landed since my last visit). Also if time becomes a factor there is a direct link from Starbeck (purple on the map below) along an old railway to that of the Nidderdale Greenway (green on the map) that the route uses. To access the link you need to go back to the A59 and head north east to turn into The Avenue (bike sign post on the far side of the A59 for Bilton Harrogate Ripley) the cycle path commencing at its end.

 

[Peter Salt]

Is there a GPX file available for this route?

 

[ColinJ]

Is there a GPX file available for this route?

I will update the thread later when I am back on my laptop.

 

[ColinJ]

Is there a GPX file available for this route?

[Now on laptop rather than my phone]

If you meant the full route rather than Mike's shortcut from Spa Cycles... It is already attached to the first post!

In case we have problems and want to head directly from Healey to the cafe at Masham, I have attached a GPX file below for the shortcut which would cut the total distance down to just under 90 km (around 55 miles). If we did that I would probably get off my return train a couple of stops early and make the distance up to 100 km over here.

GPX viewer

 

[Peter Salt]

[Now on laptop rather than my phone]

If you meant the full route rather than Mike's shortcut from Spa Cycles... It is already attached to the first post!

In case we have problems and want to head directly from Healey to the cafe at Masham, I have attached a GPX file below for the shortcut which would cut the total distance down to just under 90 km (around 55 miles). If we did that I would probably get off my return train a couple of stops early and make the distance up to 100 km over here.

GPX viewer

Ah! My apologies, didn't notice that the attachment was a GPX file

 

[ColinJ]

Now that I have done my Cheshire ride, my attention returns to this one! I will post a list of possible riders in the next few days. Some of my non-CC pals may want to join us but they haven't got back to me yet.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

As for the Humber Bridge ride date...

5th & 26th of August are possibles at the moment

Sorry - due to family matters, the 26th is no longer possible for me.