Hebden Bridge / Marsden / Holmfirth / Emley Moor - Sunday, May 23rd

[ColinJ]

I've got final permission for this (on the 2nd). The missus thinks she might join us for the Holmfirth loop all being well (baby sitters permitting).

10am start is much more civilised

That's good! Yeah, 08:00 was a bit much for anybody having to travel, and even for me just living down the road from the rendezvous point.

Snow in May is still entirely possible.

Don't - we spotted snow on the west-facing slopes of the distant hills in the Yorkshire Dales last Sunday!






One thing I should mention chaps... er, I feel like I might be coming down with a cold. It would be better if I didn't ride my bike this weekend but £25 has been stumped up for the Brian Robinson Challenge on Sunday so I feel that I ought to at least have a go.

I'll be riding up through Greetland to Outlane and if I get up there and doubt that I am well enough to do the ride, I'll turn round and head for home.

What I'm worried about is that I might feel okay in the morning but 111 very hilly miles later I might have done myself in completely! That could potentially put me out of action for the 2nd. I normally get over bugs pretty quickly but I caught 2 stinkers last year which took me a total of 6 weeks to recover from.

I'll do my best to make the 2nd but if I can't make it I'll give you plenty of notice. Hopefully the ride could still go ahead without me. With the later start, I might be able to persuade svendo to catch the train over and be navigator - he has a GPS and I could send him the route.

With a bit of luck this wheeziness and sore throat will not amount to much and I'll be okay to do the ride anyway.

 

[ColinJ]

What's the TIC car park? Not sure where you mean there.

Er, the car park of the T-ourist I-nformation C-entre!

My lowest gear is a 34/25 so about 36". Can be a slog sometimes round here.

That's why I changed my 12-23 cassette to a 13-26 and eventually to a 14-28!

June up here..

Noooooooooooooooo! Actually, I rode over Holme Moss in June 2007 on the way down to Coventry in one of the few dry spells that summer and it was really cold. I wore arm and leg warmers all day and my gilet hardly came off.

 

[Chrisc]

Er, the car park of the T-ourist I-nformation C-entre!


That's why I changed my 12-23 cassette to a 13-26 and eventually to a 14-28!


Noooooooooooooooo! Actually, I rode over Holme Moss in June 2007 on the way down to Coventry in one of the few dry spells that summer and it was really cold. I wore arm and leg warmers all day and my gilet hardly came off.

Ah, that not for the TIC it's the library car park. But yep, it;s on the left rather than the right.

Hope you get over the bug. I've been riding with a chest infection and cough for a fortnight now and it won't begger off. Maybe the riding isn't helping but I'd be less happy sitting indoors watching the sun shine with my bike idle in the garage.

Yes, I'm thinking about the 12-29 I found and a chain whip at the mo. Can get up everything I've tried with a bit of standing up now tho. Will try Jagger Lane in the morning and see how far I get!

 

[ColinJ]

Ah, that not for the TIC it's the library car park. But yep, it;s on the left rather than the right.

Oh - I was just looking at Google Maps satellite images and spotted another car park and assumed that it was for the T.I.C.

Hope you get over the bug. I've been riding with a chest infection and cough for a fortnight now and it won't begger off. Maybe the riding isn't helping but I'd be less happy sitting indoors watching the sun shine with my bike idle in the garage.

I've forced myself to stay off the bike since last Sunday despite the sunshine but I've been out for a couple of walks instead. I'll do another walk tomorrow to my mate's party near Cragg Vale and back. That will be about 5 or 6 miles total with a hill to go up so I'll get to stretch my legs without too much exertion.

It's a bit frustrating being healthy all the way through the winter and then starting to feel ill when the sunshine finally appears. No point in pre-judging it though; I could be perfectly okay in a couple of days time.

I felt guilty last year when I had to cancel a couple of really nice forum rides because my health and fitness let me down. I hope it doesn't happen this time. If it was a nice flat ride somewhere like Cheshire I wouldn't be worried but tackling hard stuff like Scapegoat Hill isn't advisable when below par (which of course is what you've been doing! )

 

[Chrisc]

Noooooooooooooooo! Actually, I rode over Holme Moss in June 2007 on the way down to Coventry in one of the few dry spells that summer and it was really cold. I wore arm and leg warmers all day and my gilet hardly came off.

I tend to strip the goose fat and brown paper shirt off no later than mid July but it goes right back on early Sept.

 

[Kestevan]

Soft get. Are you a southerner or summat

I've been commuting in shorts since the end of March.
It's a well known fact you can spot a Yorkshire cyclist by the pale blue colour of his legs and the uncontrollable wobble caused by the early stages of hypothermia.

Although, to be honest, the fact it was snowing when I left my mums on Monday morning was a bit of a shock.....

 

[PaulB]

I fancy that one. I'm off to Cyprus tomorrow getting some serious training in and I'll be back on 5th so the 9th should be alright. I'll let you know for definite on 7th.

 

[Chrisc]

Soft get. Are you a southerner or summat

I've been commuting in shorts since the end of March.
It's a well known fact you can spot a Yorkshire cyclist by the pale blue colour of his legs and the uncontrollable wobble caused by the early stages of hypothermia.

Although, to be honest, the fact it was snowing when I left my mums on Monday morning was a bit of a shock.....

Ha! My legs have been blue a while. End of March? Waited till it was tropical eh? I ride all winter in shorts, not got any long pants!!

 

[Chrisc]

Colin,
I just rode the route from new mill to emley. Two nasty bits but OK. The last climb to the mast is impressive as you approach, up a bit then up up and up again. Didn't quite make it in one, needed a break about 300 yards to go. First time up it's difficult to gauge your effort as there's a turn near the top and I had no idea what went on round it so bailed and had a minute. OK after that tho.
You're riding from the lowest point to the highest in just under three miles so it's a decent climb.

 

[ColinJ]

Colin,
I just rode the route from new mill to emley. Two nasty bits but OK. The last climb to the mast is impressive as you approach, up a bit then up up and up again. Didn't quite make it in one, needed a break about 300 yards to go. First time up it's difficult to gauge your effort as there's a turn near the top and I had no idea what went on round it so bailed and had a minute. OK after that tho.
You're riding from the lowest point to the highest in just under three miles so it's a decent climb.

Excellent - that's what I was hoping for!

 

[Chrisc]

Excellent - that's what I was hoping for!

It's about 2/3 of a Holme Moss and so am happy to have almost made it on my 34/25. This means I should top out Holme Moss with just three short rests on my current cassette!

 

[ColinJ]

It's about 2/3 of a Holme Moss and so am happy to have almost made it on my 34/25. This means I should top out Holme Moss with just three short rests on my current cassette!

I had to stop 3 or 4 times on Holme Moss to stretch my back on the Brian Robinson Challenge last year. It wasn't so much being tired as having a back that was seizing up. The climb of Wessenden Head had weakened it and Holme Moss finished it off!

 

[dan_bo]

I had to stop 3 or 4 times on Holme Moss to stretch my back on the Brian Robinson Challenge last year. It wasn't so much being tired as having a back that was seizing up. The climb of Wessenden Head had weakened it and Holme Moss finished it off!

I reckon wessie head is the tougher of the two climbs. Its been a while since I did both in series!

 

[ColinJ]

I reckon wessie head is the tougher of the two climbs. Its been a while since I did both in series!

I agree. I just checked the stats again and Wessenden Head is a relentless 8.75% for 3 km (264 m height gain in 3 km). There is no respite.

Flipping heck - I just looked up some tough French mountain climbs for comparison...

Alpe d'Huez gains 1090m in 13 km, average gradient 8.7%
Col du Tourmalet (west) gains 1405 m in 18 km, average gradient 7.4%
Col du Tourmalet (east) gains 1258 m in 17 km, average gradient 7.4%
Mont Ventoux from Bedoin gains 1612 m in 21.5 km, average gradient 7.6%

Those put WH in perspective, and that's without even taking thin air and extreme temperatures into account!

I certainly won't be visiting the Alps or the Pyrenees until I'm a lot fitter than I am now!

 

[Chrisc]

I agree. I just checked the stats again and Wessenden Head is a relentless 8.75% for 3 km (264 m height gain in 3 km). There is no respite.

Flipping heck - I just looked up some tough French mountain climbs for comparison...

Alpe d'Huez gains 1090m in 13 km, average gradient 8.7%
Col du Tourmalet (west) gains 1405 m in 18 km, average gradient 7.4%
Col du Tourmalet (east) gains 1258 m in 17 km, average gradient 7.4%
Mont Ventoux from Bedoin gains 1612 m in 21.5 km, average gradient 7.6%

Those put WH in perspective, and that's without even taking thin air and extreme temperatures into account!

I certainly won't be visiting the Alps or the Pyrenees until I'm a lot fitter than I am now!

Yep, those TDF climbs are scary as hell. How do they do that?