West Yorks Cycle Route

[ColinJ]

I've decided to save the Dales/Bowland ride for another time when a few of us can get together for it. I'm going to nip out on my mountain bike for a couple of hours this evening and perhaps do 3 hours on my Cannondale on the road tomorrow.

I haven't sorted out my Basso yet and there are too many chevrons on the map of the Dales/Bowland route for me to be happy on the Cannondale.

 

[colly]

Well I set out with all good intentions very early this morning anti-clockwise on the WYCR. It went really well and I made good time.
I got to the top of Oxenhope Moor and found the road pretty much blocked by ambulances, police and mountain rescue vehicals. This was about 7am.

Any Idea what that was all about Colin?

So that held me up for a bit but I got past and then my problems started. I missed the turn down to Hebden Bridge. Not sure if the sign was missing or not. Thinking I had gone too far down the hill I stopped, asked a local where the turn was.
He looked at the map and said ''Oh you need to be further down. Next right it is.''
I wasn't sure he was right but seeing as he was local I carried on, found a right turn and after looking at the map knew it wasn't the one. Well rather than crawling back up I though I would make for the valley bottom turned next right and eventually asked again which road led down to near the river. Another mis-direct and I finally ended up facing that large stone tower just outside Halifax. So I had to track the 7 miles up to Hebden Bridge.
No problem I thought. I will pick up the WYCR in Mytholmroyd.
Not as easy as it sounds. I spent an age looking for the right place constantly going up short sharp roads that looked (at least on the map) like they would connect. No chance. Up and down the Calder Valley Trail I ended up at one stage up to my arse in nettles in a wood.

I DID find route 68 (which I now know is the right one) but seeing as ALL the other signs had the white rose on with WYCR I didn't make the connection. I think that what threw me was that on my map it looks like the Calder Valley Trail and the WYCR are the same for a while.

Anyway to cut a long story short while looking for the route up and down all these little hills I managed to sort of jam my rear mech. Easy to free it up but from then on it wouldn't index properly no matter how much I adjusted it. So my gears were jumping and slipping every few turns of the cranks. The only sprocket that worked right was the large one at the back.

And we all know how amusing that is don't we?

I arrived in Hebden Bridge/Mytholmroyd as fresh as a daisy but by now I was getting really pi55ed off, I was an hour and a half behind schedule and was feeling decidedly un-fresh. So I took my bat and ball home as it were and cut for home. Reasoning that with dodgy gears for another 100 miles of ups and downs it was the wisest thing to do. So instead of making the whole route I only got about a 65 miles or so of it done.

Shame really, I was looking forward to the sections between Hebden Bridge, Scammonden
and Holmfirth. Maybe in August then.

Going between Steeton and Oxenhope Moor was hard going. No so much the hills as such more the fact that you would time and again go from steep downhill to steep up hill in about 10 yards. No chance of getting any rhythm.

Hill House Edge Lane to the telecoms tower out of Oxenhope? What a bugger! I bet you just love that one Colin.

So after a jerky ride home on the A58 I found I had done just under 100 so I added a small loop to take it over.

I was tired when I got back and I wondered how I would have fared trying for another 50 odd. Probably not very well.

 

[ColinJ]

Well I set out with all good intentions very early this morning anti-clockwise on the WYCR. It went really well and I made good time.
I got to the top of Oxenhope Moor and found the road pretty much blocked by ambulances, police and mountain rescue vehicals. This was about 7am.

Any Idea what that was all about Colin?

I can't find anything on the Halifax Courier website. I'll take another look tomorrow.

Hill House Edge Lane to the telecoms tower out of Oxenhope? What a bugger! I bet you just love that one Colin.

So after a jerky ride home on the A58 I found I had done just under 100 so I added a small loop to take it over.

I was tired when I got back and I wondered how I would have fared trying for another 50 odd. Probably not very well.

I wondered what you'd make of that one! Yes, it is a bit of toughie. I usually choose to do that stretch of road in the opposite direction because of that. Mind you, the climbs up to Wainstalls are pretty tough themselves.

I had a few seconds of thinking "Must contact colly to see if he is making his attempt on the WYCR because I could ride out to meet him and guide him round the local stuff" but then I realised that this would probably mean getting out of bed at about 06:00 so I quietly forgot about it... It's one thing to get up really early to tackle the whole thing, but it's another to do it just to tackle a load of steep hills that I ride all the time anyway...

It sounds to me like you might have worn your cassette out colly. Have you just put a new chain on but kept an old cassette? Quite often you'll end up with the problem of the new chain slipping on the most worn sprockets.

It's a pity about all the problems that you had, but good on you for trying and well done for getting the century in despite everything.

The weather was pretty good for an attempt today. I actually came back along part of the WYCR to Mytholmroyd at 20:30 which is about the time we'd probably have been doing it if we'd stuck to the original plan.

I sorted out the problem with the rear brake on the Cannondale and found riding it a lot easier today. I wonder how much of my exhaustion on the Red Rose Ride was due to that?

Anyway - fingers crossed for August.

PS What's the problem with just using the big sprocket - that's the easy one! When you are stuck in the smallest one and have to go up hills in that, that's what I call a problem!

 

[colly]

Just had a look at my rear mech and the body of it is split along the top edge where it bolts to the frame. Not much of a split but it means the whole mech flexes about.
The chain and cassette are pretty much new , only about 1000 miles, if that.

So a new mech is needed I am thinking.

 

[Alun]

PS What's the problem with just using the big sprocket - that's the easy one! When you are stuck in the smallest one and have to go up hills in that, that's what I call a problem!

Svendo never uses the big sprocket, or any with more than 17 teeth !

 

[ColinJ]

Svendo never uses the big sprocket, or any with more than 17 teeth !

Yeah!

I dream of how I was in 2001 when I hardly used the small chainring on my triple. I can't believe that I was climbing some of the stuff round here in 39/23. Mind you, I only weighed 11 st 10 lbs - that's over 40 lbs less than I do now!

I still haven't found out what was going on up on the moor. I hope they haven't found another body up there...!

 

[colly]

This is what happened to my rear mech.

It doesn't look like much of a crack but it sure makes a difference.

And this break by the pivot mount.

 

[RedBike]

I will take my hat off to you for attempting it.

 

[ColinJ]

This is what happened to my rear mech.
...
It doesn't look like much of a crack but it sure makes a difference.

I've never seen that happen before. It's those spline-ripping legs of yours...!

I don't know what happened to your original picture on the Mini North West Passage thread, but it has been replaced by an arab in a posh car!

 

[colly]

I don't know what happened to your original picture on the Mini North West Passage thread, but it has been replaced by an arab in a posh car!

How odd !! I am almost certainly pretty sure that I don't have a Merc. I will have a look in the morning to be sure.

 

[ColinJ]

Hi chaps.

I should just say that being realistic - there isn't any chance of me being able to do the WYCR in daylight in August and I don't want to do any of it in the dark, so I'm out - again! It's getting to be a bit of a habit now.

I'll put this down on the to-do list for next summer and will have to try harder than I have this year to be fit for it.

I might have a go at the postponed Malham ride if I feel up to it towards the end of August. If I decide to do that, I'll let you know. It's all down to how quickly I get fit after my recent illness, and what the weather is like in a couple of weeks time.

 

[colly]

I hate to say this but apart from 15 miles on Monday morning I haven't touch my bike since June .

The idea I could do the WYCR anytime soon is pie in the sky to be honest.

I'm sorry to say I am a surrender monkey of the first order.

I'm pi55ed off about it really because up until June I was doing ok on the century a monthy thingy..............well I've blown that as well.

Oh well ....there is always next year.