yorkshire dales
T.C.
Posts: 495
colud anyone suggest a 5-6 hour ride possibly starting from kirkby lonsdake taking in buttertubs pass please cheers
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What sort of speed would you average in Dales type terrain? Do you like very quiet roads with some very steep climbs, or would you rather stick to easier/busier roads?T.C. wrote:colud anyone suggest a 5-6 hour ride possibly starting from kirkby lonsdake taking in buttertubs pass please cheers0 -
Lots of possibilities, but how about......
A683 (South) out of KL, turn left in Melling for Wennington, then via High & Low Bentham for Clapham.
Turn right on A65 for a short stretch then left via Wharfe to Helwith Bridge.
Turn left and continue via Horton to Ribblehead where turn right for Hawes.
Then via the Buttertubs to Thwaite.
Turn left to Keld and continue to Nateby.
Turn left to Garsdale head. If you haven't already had enough either go over the "Coal Road" then down Dentdale, left at Gawthrop to Bardon, or (easier), down Garsdale to Sedbergh then return on the A683.
PS, The north side of the Buttertubs is harder (IMHO), so if if you are looking to maximise your climbing pleasure you might want to reverse the ride..
Dave0 -
cheers , Dave l how many miles is that looks great , colin , i don't know if you read my post last month , but i wasn't happy in the lakes 25% hills , i would be looking to average 14 - 15 ! , it just looks a nice area and it's a change from home , i'm trying to do different areas of uk0
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T.C. wrote:cheers , Dave l how many miles......
About 85ish for the longer but easier Garsdale alternative.
PS, Even though the route contains sections of A road, these are usually not too busy, though the A65 is generally worth avoiding.
The route would generally be tougher if reversed, as in addition to the Buttertubs being tougher from the North, there would be 2 other quite hard climbs. (The major height gain is more gradual on the route as originally described)..
Dave0 -
I like:
Kirky Lonsadle - Dent
Dent - Garsdale Head
Garsdale Head - Nateby
Nateby - Keld
Keld - Hawes
Hawes - Garsdale Head
Garsdale Head - Cowgill
Cowgill - Thorrnton
Thornton - Kirky Lonsdale
Hilly huh. Do it!0 -
64 MILE KILLER:-
Keld - Thwaite - Buttertubs - Hawes - Fleetmoss - Kettlewell - Park Rash - West Witton - Askrigg - Oxnop - Thwaite - Keld.
Dales are hard cycling...Park Rash is very steep(30% at start)....but its a lovely hard route....Buttertubs IMO much harder from Thwaite than from Simonstone.
Other route I did.(70 miler)
Kirby Stephen - Lamps Moss - Keld - Tan Hill - Langthwaite - Healaugh - Fleaks Moss - Askrigg - Hawes - Newby Head - Cowgill - Coal Road - Garsdale Head - B6259 back to Kirby Stephen.
Not as difficult as 1st run but still a fair challenge.....the gradients are not quite so fierce as the 1st route but the climbs are long and hard with 20% ramps etc...the Coal Road being the steepest at around 25% to start with....0 -
I had read it but I didn't remember that you were the author. I remember thinking at the time that you are about the same size as me, and wondering about your gearing. I'm a great believer in using as low a gear as necessary to get up steep hills. I know that some people can get up almost any hill on almost any ratio but I'm not one of them, and without undergoing surgery I never will be***. I'll stick to using a triple with a 30 tooth small ring and a 28 tooth big sprocket. I can get up 25% gradients on that combination and I did Park Rash with its 30% start last year on 30/26. From the sound of your other rides you are actually probably a better climber than me.T.C. wrote:cheers , Dave l how many miles is that looks great , colin , i don't know if you read my post last month , but i wasn't happy in the lakes 25% hills , i would be looking to average 14 - 15 ! , it just looks a nice area and it's a change from home , i'm trying to do different areas of uk
Having read your Lakes post again, I wonder whether your real problem is fear of falling. There is a climb in this area called Mytholm Steeps which has a difficult first section acting as a prelude to a 25% ramp. I tried to ride that when I first got back into cycling but fell on the tight bend at the top. I had a clipless pedal moment and failed to unclip in time. I've got up that climb several times since then so I know that I can do it, but I failed on a recent event in the rain when my fear of falling returned due to the slipperiness of the road surface. I decided to bail out while I knew that I could rather than risk a fall by really going for it.
One thing that I'm trying is to switch from Look shoes/pedals to road SPD. The trouble with Look is that even if you manage an emergency unclipping on a monster gradient, there is still the very real risk of the cleat slipping when you put your foot down. I'm having difficulty finding a comfortable SPD shoe/pedal combination at the moment but I'll report back in another thread if/when I do.
Getting back to your original question - I would have recommended some of the routes mentioned above but those old 25% gradients are still going to crop up from time to time!
Oh, another thing - Kirkby Lonsdale is Motorcycling Mecca. I couldn't believe how many bikers were up there the first time I went through. Most of them are okay of course, but watch out for the odd born-again idiot.
*** I injured my left foot years ago by catching it in a deep pothole when out running. Ever snce then it has been prone to terrible cramps and sore achilles if I put too much pressure on it so I can't handle the forces needed to turn high climbing gears on steep hills. I have a good pair of lungs on me so I transfer the climbing load as much as possible onto my cardio-vascular system by using a higher cadence and so foot/leg strength is less of an issue.0 -
cheers for all replies i'm on night shift will investigate properly tomorrow0
