Lumpy 82 km/51 mile forum ride from Mirfield, Sat, 21st Sept, 2024

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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
***** ColinJ's forum rider tag list *****
Fellow forum riders, I am planning yet another ride!

@colly, @neil_merseyside, @Sea of vapours, @Domus, @Julia9054, @Spiderweb, @Slioch, @EasyPeez, @Kestevan, @Venod, @Soltydog, @NorthernDave, @Buck, @si_c, @videoman, @FrothNinja, @GuyBoden, @Vantage, @Dadam

If anybody wants their name to be added to the list, let me know. :smile:

(If anybody wants their name to be removed, let me know, but... :cry:)

NB Make sure that you have enabled tag alerts in your account preferences - HERE (tick 'mentions you in a message')

(Yes, I know some are already signed up for this ride, or can't make it, but I copy and paste the list from one ride to the next so I don't want to edit it.)
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Advance notice... I am busy with holidays most of the next month but should be free on Sat, 21st Sept to tackle the hilly forum ride from Mirfield that I planned with the help of @Buck earlier this year.

Unfortunately, Buck injured his back and spent a long time off the bike, hence the delay. He has pretty much recovered now though and thinks that he should be okay for Sept 21st. So...

Start/finish at Mirfield railway station. Start time of 09:45, assuming that my train actually turns up on time! (NB: These days trains are often cancelled or held up so I might get delayed by up to an hour. Hopefully not!)

Distance 82 km/51 miles. Very lumpy, so not for hill-dodgers or anyone who hasn't tackled this distance before. We will probably take around 6 hours including a cafe stop in Penistone so also not for anybody who gets frustrated at that kind of casual, chatty pace. We won't leave anyone behind so we could be even slower than that!

I have done my best to avoid busy roads but we will have to cross them in several places. We only have to do a few short stretches of busy A and B road.

Some of the tiny lanes might have iffy surfaces but that seems to apply to half the roads in the UK right now, so what's new?! Just watch where you are going and use your brakes sensibly. Definitely do NOT do an Enric Mas..! :eek:



:okay:

Mirfield 82 route.png


Mirfield 82 profile.png


I am attaching a detailed GPX file, and also a TCX file for riders who prefer those. The TCX includes elevation data and announces turns 30 m in advance.

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This isn't a ride that I would want to tackle in poor weather conditions so I would check the forecast a couple of days before to decide whether to go ahead. A bit of drizzle would be ok. Torrential rain and/or lightning and/or gale force winds would not be! If the ride is called off this time I will reschedule it to spring 2025.
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If you are interested in joining us, post below.

GPX viewer
 

Attachments

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Buck

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Thanks @ColinJ - definitely heading int he right direction now.

It'll be a great ride and lots of beautiful scenery on the ride too !
 
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ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I will be back on my laptop tomorrow (Tuesday) so I will try to update the first post then.

I have just noticed that there are no trains between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge on September 21st. That isn't a showstopper - I can cycle between Tod and HB to catch the train the train to Mirfield. Ditto the other way. I would end up close to a metric century so I would do whatever was needed around Tod to complete it.
 
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First post updated with more details...

Oh, and paging @wiggydiggy - you expressed interest when the ride was mentioned a while back.

I did and I am interested but I'm working on my fitness, 35 miles is about my limit at the moment, I will let you know if I'm confident enough :okay:

I have just noticed that there are no trains between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge on September 21st.

Thats because of a bridge being replaced between Todmorden and Manchester. Theres no trains running on that line at all in Sept. Its messed my plans up a lot in Sept!

https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/engineering/castletonbridge
 
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ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I did and I am interested but I'm working on my fitness, 35 miles is about my limit at the moment, I will let you know if I'm confident enough :okay:
You could always just do the first part? @Buck might head for home rather than finish the entire loop. As you can see from the route map, there is a very handy shortcut for anybody who wants to do that.

Mind you, I'd hope that there were a least another couple of riders doing the whole ride or I'd end up as Colly-no-mates! :laugh:
 
@ColinJ Thanks for the share.

I think I'll go for this, I've got a 2 spare weekends coming up before this that I can practice on. Looking at the route theres several options I know of that can be used as a get out if I'm struggling. And it also doesn't seem to stray too far from the Penistone Line into Huddersfield so in an emergency I can do that.

Some of the route North of Denby Dale I'm a little familiar with, I was actually up by Emley Moor Transmitter a few weeks back and chanced upon the Emley Moor Agricultural show, this was as close as I could get though with paying £20 (!) to get in. Fingers crossed on the weather as theres some lovely scenary up there.



IMG-20240803-113733418.jpg
 
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Dadam

Über Member
Location
SW Leeds
Might take the train as I can get a direct one from Morley and it's only 15 min. What's the craic with bikes on trains on this line? Never travelled on a train with a bike. Trains for that day trainline.com alternate between 2 bike spaces (reservation required) and reservation not required. If I turned up to one of the 2 spaces trains on a Saturday without a res would they make me wait for the next one or is it more relaxed.
 
Might take the train as I can get a direct one from Morley and it's only 15 min. What's the craic with bikes on trains on this line? Never travelled on a train with a bike. Trains for that day trainline.com alternate between 2 bike spaces (reservation required) and reservation not required. If I turned up to one of the 2 spaces trains on a Saturday without a res would they make me wait for the next one or is it more relaxed.

Book direct with Northern on their website or app and no reservation required. Transpennine trains do need a reservation.

Sats though it should be ok 🤞
 
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ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Trains can be unreliable so I suggest booking a bike reservation on the the 09:08 TransPennine train. If that gets cancelled then you could (hopefully!) just hop on the 09:22 Northern train instead.

Best not to buy your ticket until the Friday though in case bad weather causes a postponement. In that eventuality, if we had fabulous mid-October weather I might consider doing the ride then but otherwise we'll do it next spring.
 

Dadam

Über Member
Location
SW Leeds
OK colour me confused. How would I know (if it wasn't for Colin's post) which ones are TransPennine and which are Northern? It doesn't say on the trainline.com, and the Northern website, which also shows the 9:08, has pre-selected the off-peak day return ticket. This states only valid for Transpennine Express services! :scratch:
I don't get trains very often (does it show?)... now I remember why!

I'll check things out on the Friday.
 
OK colour me confused. How would I know (if it wasn't for Colin's post) which ones are TransPennine and which are Northern? It doesn't say on the trainline.com, and the Northern website, which also shows the 9:08, has pre-selected the off-peak day return ticket. This states only valid for Transpennine Express services! :scratch:
I don't get trains very often (does it show?)... now I remember why!

I'll check things out on the Friday.

On the Northern and Trainline website you have to click on the 'Changes' link underneath the time of the train and it will show the operator and whether a reservation is required. You can also change the ticket type by scrolling down and it should show the options, thats where you choose the return you actually want.
 
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ColinJ

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
*BUMP*

The weather is all over the place this year so anything could be happening on the 21st! Hopefully, conditions will be favourable for us to go ahead. It would be nice to get a nice sunny forum ride in while the trees are still green.

It would also be nice to boost our numbers a bit! Doesn't anybody else fancy joining us? It should be a good ride, and we don't bite***.




*** We would probably be prepared to if offered enough money, but so far nobody has requested that! :laugh:
 
@ColinJ

Apoligies I've got other plans now on the 21st and won't be able to make this, I had been out on a few rides of 35-55 mile to get ready so bit disapointed but thats how it goes. Good luck with the weather next week!
 
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