Hang a left

[steveindenmark]

On the way to work there is a small tree covered layby on a back country road. In the past 15 years I have passed it dozens of times and paid it no attention. As I passed by yesterday I noticed there was a wooden bench and table in the lay by and what I thought was an entrance leading into a field. I went to have a look. The entrance turned into a sheltered path that went on for about 2km through the countryside. There were benches, ponds and even a bbq pit. It opens up a whole new interesting route for my commute.
If you are passing a track you have seen lots of times. Take the time to go and have a look. It may surpise you 😁

 

[biggs682]

Nice find
There are a few like that around here but I wouldn't feel comfortable taking one of my retro road bikes down them so I leave them for the old Marin MTB ride's .

 

[DaveReading]

While we're locked down, I enjoy scouring the local OS maps for roads and tracks that I've never been down before. The white ones are the most interesting, although it's only the ones with red dots that are guaranteed not to be private.

Fortuately I've got 32c tyres on my tourer, so I'm not restricted to tarmac surfaces, and you can never tell from the map what you're going to encounter.

 

[sleuthey]

On the way to work there is a small tree covered layby on a back country road. In the past 15 years I have passed it dozens of times and paid it no attention. As I passed by yesterday I noticed there was a wooden bench and table in the lay by and what I thought was an entrance leading into a field. I went to have a look. The entrance turned into a sheltered path that went on for about 2km through the countryside. There were benches, ponds and even a bbq pit. It opens up a whole new interesting route for my commute.
If you are passing a track you have seen lots of times. Take the time to go and have a look. It may surpise you 😁 View attachment 522641

View attachment 522640

Are you now kicking yourself that you didn’t sniff it out a few years ago?!

 

[steveindenmark]

Are you now kicking yourself that you didn’t sniff it out a few years ago?!

No. Its always good to find a new track 😁

 

[ColinJ]

If you are passing a track you have seen lots of times. Take the time to go and have a look. It may surprise you 😁

Now, there's a coincidence...

I was looking at my local OS maps late last night and spotted something that I hadn't really noticed before. I have cycled or walked nearly everywhere in a 10 km radius of here but I thought I would see if I could find anywhere interesting that I had neglected.

I found a really nice little lane which climbs up steeply until it comes out onto open moorland with great views. (A Streetview car had been up there so I have a good idea of what to expect).

The lane eventually comes to a dead end, which is why I had never bothered to go up there before. What I hadn't noticed is that there is a good bridleway continuing after a gate. It eventually becomes part of the Pennine Bridleway and continues down to a quiet road that I do ride regularly. (I did that quiet road a few days ago and spotted someone going up the Pennine Bridleway.)

I searched for info on this 3 km (2 mile) gem and found a report posted by a local cycling club a couple of months ago. They had done an interesting tour of local steep dead-end climbs and this was one of them. They said that the bridleway was gravelly but could be ridden with care on a road bike so I intend to go and check it out.

It would be ideal for my CX bike but coronavirus has stopped me getting its dodgy fork replaced and I would rather not take the risk of a catastrophic failure so I will use my road bike instead. If the surface deteriorates too much then I'll turn back and descend the road instead. I don't intend stopping on the climb so I will grab some screenshots from Streetview for that bit, but I will take some photos on the bridleway. I'll post a report in 'Your Ride Today' and link to it from this thread.

PS Streetview showed a loose border collie running towards the car from a farm. I'll have to watch out for him/her!

 

[ColinJ]

I've been thinking... In theory, I should be allowed to ride up that road but it is very narrow and I can anticipate hostility from locals resenting me intruding into their seclusion in these virally-troubled times. The road doesn't go anywhere other than to their properties plus a bridleway taking me back towards the road I'd have started out on...

I'll leave my ride until the lockdown is a lot less locked down than it is now!

 

[ColinJ]

OTOH, I can't wait!