Good 3 day cycle tour in England..?

[ColinJ]

This looks incredible. Can't wait to see day 3 map/s. Love the different routes to the same place, as having the option and not having to decide beforehand would be useful on a challenging route like this.

So, do you reckon you are going to do this tough mini-tour then gus?

 

[Garz]

Colin is a great tour guide and regularly organises forum meet-ups. If your a Londoner then definitely get out and tackle some of this terrain, you wont regret it!

 

[ColinJ]

Colin is a great tour guide and regularly organises forum meet-ups.

Oh shucks, one just does one's best for one's fellow cyclists!


(Does that sound a bit posh? )

 

[gussington]

It's on! Looks mega but really looking forward to it. Just waiting for my mate Ed from Sheffield to give me dates (and waiting for my new bike!)

Found a decent local gym and been getting in some decent miles in London (aching lots while I write this) as wanna make sure I can not just ride it - but have enough in me to enjoy it too!

Really appreciate the thorough route info and all the help Colin. Would love to buy you a beer as we swing past on the tour

 

[ColinJ]

It's on! Looks mega but really looking forward to it. Just waiting for my mate Ed from Sheffield to give me dates (and waiting for my new bike!)

Found a decent local gym and been getting in some decent miles in London (aching lots while I write this) as wanna make sure I can not just ride it - but have enough in me to enjoy it too!

Excellent! I hope you get good weather for it.

Really appreciate the thorough route info and all the help Colin. Would love to buy you a beer as we swing past on the tour

Thanks! I'm trying to cut down on my beer intake, but I'm always partial to a coffee and/or a piece of cake! Post the dates up on here when they are decided and I'll see if I'm free then. If so, perhaps I could ride out to meet you on the way over from Sheffield?

The day 2 route from Hebden Bridge would make an excellent CycleChat forum ride. If you had no objections, a few of us could ride out to Slaidburn with you, call in at the Riverbank Tearooms, then ride back here. Of course, it's no problem if you'd prefer to stick to a quiet 2-man ride; I can always arrange a forum ride on that route for another day.

There are currently roadworks scheduled for Widdop Road which is early on the day 2 route but I think that pedestrian access will let you through. I ride up there a lot so I'll check for you before you set off. If there is a problem, I'll modify the day 2 route for you.

 

[gussington]

Always happy to have some more compnay while peddling - although with us being fully loaded you might find we're going a little slow for your liking!

 

[ColinJ]

Always happy to have some more compnay while peddling - although with us being fully loaded you might find we're going a little slow for your liking!

Unfortunately, I'll probably still be pretty heavily loaded myself then - with a beer belly - so I'd be riding pretty slowly too!

Once you've decided on the dates (I assume you will be doing Fri-Sun?) if I'm going to be free, I'll see if anybody fancies riding out with me to meet you on the Friday, and/or riding out to Slaidburn with us on the Saturday.

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm ... I just checked this thread to see if the tour had taken place and gussington hasn't been back on CycleChat since the end of March!

Oh well, I wonder if we will ever get to find out if gussington and pal did the ride?

It would be a pity if my hours of work on this mini-tour were wasted, so will somebody please tackle it and report back here!

 

[Garz]

If it failed then I think we (fellow CC'ers) owe it to Colin to do the mini-tour out of respect and intrigue.

 

[gussington]

Don't worry Colin - your effort is not going to go to waste! Have been finding it hard to find a weekend that both me and Ed can do - but we're still working on it. In all likelihood will be the last week of September, or the first couple of October.

As for days of the week we will tacke it, will definitely involve a weekend, but not sure whether we'll start Friday or go onto Monday.

Still looks seriously bloody hard - biut I have started clocking up a few more miles.

In fact - I'm cycling London to Brighton tomorrow to raise money for the charity I work for!

 

[ColinJ]

Don't worry Colin - your effort is not going to go to waste! Have been finding it hard to find a weekend that both me and Ed can do - but we're still working on it. In all likelihood will be the last week of September, or the first couple of October.

That's good news!

We recently did a forum ride in the Dales which took in Kingsdale, Deepdale and Dentdale as scheduled for Day 3 of your mini-tour. Having now seen them in good conditions, I can tell you that they are indeed very lovely.

The weather at the end of September or early October could be great or it could be horrible - I hope you get the good weather!

Points to note:

• When you get to the top of Kingsdale, the road just drops away below you and there is a fantastic view of Deepdale leading down to Dentdale.
• Er, when you get to the top of Kingsdale, the road just drops away below you! The descent is very steep, narrow, twisty and turny! Make sure your brakes are in good condition and descend with care.
• That road has several sets of gates across it! (At least 3, but it may have been more.) If conditions are murky, you may not see them until the last moment so keep your wits about you ...
• We liked the pub just after Cowgill on the way out of Dentdale. We didn't go into Dent itself because there a festival was taking place and the village was overflowing with tourists. Dent is a nice village though so it's worth calling in there.

 

[gussington]

As you slowly disclose the extra dangers and difficulty I do wonder if I might be taking the shorter versions of the days - but still really looking forward to it. Completeed the London to Brighton yesterday - total of over 75 miles including there and back (plus little bit of misdirection on my part)

Both myself and the bike seem to have come through relatively unscathed - and loving my bike (2011 Kona Sutra)

Am hoping I might be arrnaging dates today - so will let you know when I do.

 

[ColinJ]

As you slowly disclose the extra dangers and difficulty I do wonder if I might be taking the shorter versions of the days - but still really looking forward to it. Completeed the London to Brighton yesterday - total of over 75 miles including there and back (plus little bit of misdirection on my part)

Both myself and the bike seem to have come through relatively unscathed - and loving my bike (2011 Kona Sutra)

Am hoping I might be arrnaging dates today - so will let you know when I do.

You will have daylight until nearly 7pm at that time of year so if you set off reasonably early (before 10:00), you will have 9+ hours to complete your rides each day. As long as you eat and drink plenty, you should be okay!

If by some chance you do Sat-Mon and are planning it for the first weekend in October, then that will correspond to the Season of Mists audax which actually goes from Hebden Bridge to Slaidburn and back on Sunday 2nd, setting off at 09:00. That doesn't take the exact route that I gave you, but it is still a good one. A group of CycleChat riders usually get together for that event and you'd be welcome to come along with us to Slaidburn if you fancied that.

 

[Holy Warrior]

These routes sound mouth-watering, especially the dales day, also the hebden bridge day, way over my level atm though! When I was younger I did quite a bit of dales riding and it was awesome!

 

[blockend]

Some local colour for the Heptonstall stage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0118bgk