I managed to sneak a day off today and as I am away all weekend with no hope of a ride, I planned a little outing for myself
I headed from home onto the top road and the downhill towards Holmfirth then onto Honley. The main road into Honley is a twisting narrow road and once the lights were green I went and for safety put myself in the middle of my lane. I wasn't going slow, in fact, I was out of the saddle pushing as there's a cheeky little bit that gets to over 13%. as the road widened I then pulled in to the side conscious that there were cars following me up the hill only for Mr BMW driver shouting out of his passenger window that he'd "had to follow me all the way from the traffic lights!" (all 0.1 miles!!).
I let him drive on and started my climb out of Honley up towards Meltham. I was still thinking about Mr BMW so headed up the wrong road from the roundabout so had to take a cheeky left then right to get back on route!
At the junction I waited to let a group of 8-10 MTB/Hybrid riders go past. They proved to be a useful focal point as we climbed up the hill (7-11%). I chuckled to myself as I passed one of the guys as I tried to maintain my own pace only to have him pass me back - whatever!
I then started the descent to Dunford Bridge and looking across the Holme valley my second ascent was in sight! What a view (iPhone shots but at least I remembered to take a couple of shots this time
)
You can see the road snaking up in the distance towards the transmitter mast
A small climb took me into Holme and I stopped at the local pub (no, not for a beer!) to grab a snack bar and a drink. From there the climb up to the top of Holme Moss looked a little daunting especially as this would only be my second attempt.
Refreshed I set off and dug deep to get to the top. I couldn't work out if the road markings telling you 1 1/4 miles / 1 mile etc. were motivating or torture but the 1/4 mile one was the best. I stopped at the top for a breather and a pat on the back. It would have been rude not to taken a quick phone shot.
At this point I had to decide whether to retrace my route back down or "go over the top" and head down to the Woodhead reservoir and the climb up to Dunford Bridge. I'd not cycled this route before but new that once I was on the A628 it'd be busy and I'd have to be careful. I headed this way, up for the challenge and had a strong climb up the hill with the vast majority of lorries and cars being considerate and giving me plenty of space / not trying to pass me on the narrow bits!
At the top I turned left and headed onto Dunford Bridge which is a great place to park up and join the Trans Pennine Trail if you fancy it (the trail was upgraded for the Tour Grand Depart and is a great family ride into Penistone)
From here it was a relatively straight forward route back towards home. I stopped at a point where I had to choose which route to take and a quick look at my distance travelled so far spurred me to turn right and head past Royds Farm Windmills and up the short but steep hill (according to Strava I managed to get a PB on this despite feeling a little tired!) and then back on myself on a parallel road to head towards home. I had planned an "add on" part to the route which would have been another 10 or 20 miles depending on how I felt but to be honest after those climbs today I didn't want to push myself too far and not enjoy it so headed for home and a nice hot shower!
Overall 32.7 mile and 3,563ft elevation.
https://www.strava.com/activities/394703246
. Anyway managed a late morning ride along a shortish route which made a change from the normal sunset/ dusk time of day that it normally gets tackled. Managed a good PR along this road for once, mainly due to fact that once round the bend in the distance , a ninety degree bend thereafter and a uphill stretch....
when I set off at 9am.
