Holme MOSS - best day & best time of day?

tonysj

Hi All,

Myself and a small group of friends, of varying ability but nothing other than a few sportive rides, fancy doing Holme Moss next week on a Wednesday late afternoon around 4pm.
One of the group has said the A road/Holme Moss is heavy with HGVs and other traffic at this time so can anyone who has done this ride suggest suitable times when traffic should be lighter or give me some idea of what the traffic is likely to be like at different times of the day etc.

Regards.

Tony.

cougie

The a road at the bottom will be heavy most of the time I think but if you come from Glossop it's only a mile or two you're on it ?

peat

Any weekday at 4pm is going to be busy. It'll be a nicer ride if you do it very early (before 7am), in the middle of the day or after 6/7pm.

sniper68

HGVs aren't allowed on Holme Moss.IIRC 7.5T is the limit.Woodhead Pass from the Glossop end IS extremely busy with all traffic as it's the main Trans-Pennine route from North Sheffield-Manchester.The Holmfirth side can be busy but Holme Moss itself is usually OK apart from weekends.Whenever I've done it I've climbed from Holmfirth(the better climb IMO)got to the summit and turned around.I have descended down to Woodhead on a Sportive but I was only on Woodhead for 150yards before turning off.Hellish road for cycling.'d avoid it if possible.
Where is your start finish?

tonysj

I'm travelling from Chesterfield. Derbyshire so we're meeting at Millhouse Green to park. Holmfirth on a B road then up and over HM to Glossop have a coffee/cake and ride the same route back over Holme Moss to our cars.

sniper68

You can avoid most of Woodhead pass if you ride along Torside to Glossop(nice ride too)When you drop off Holme Moss turn right then left after about 0.7 miles.Then retrace the same route back to the bottom of The Moss.Loads of options from Millhouse Green to Holmfirth and back.I do 90% of my riding on the hills between Millhouse and Holmfirth.

tonysj

Sniper68 wrote:

You can avoid most of Woodhead pass if you ride along Torside to Glossop(nice ride too)When you drop off Holme Moss turn right then left after about 0.7 miles.Then retrace the same route back to the bottom of The Moss.Loads of options from Millhouse Green to Holmfirth and back.I do 90% of my riding on the hills between Millhouse and Holmfirth.

Yes thats the route we intend to take between the 2 reservoirs to Glossop , is it likely to be heavy uncomfortable traffic from Holmfirth over HM to Woodhead ? Im OK with it but 1 of the lads had a nasty incident with a lorry a couple of years ago and hes a little nervous if theres heavy traffic

mfin

I'd avoid going up there on 6th July 2014, it will be full of complete tw*ts blocking each others view of you by holding their iPads out in the middle of the road instead of taking in the atmosphere and bothering to watch what's going on.

sniper68

TonySJ wrote:

Yes thats the route we intend to take between the 2 reservoirs to Glossop , is it likely to be heavy uncomfortable traffic from Holmfirth over HM to Woodhead ? Im OK with it but 1 of the lads had a nasty incident with a lorry a couple of years ago and hes a little nervous if theres heavy traffic

There's likely to be Cars and Motorbikes and maybe the odd 7.5tonner but I've never see the Moss stupidly busy midweek.Sundays you tend to get the Sportscar/bike racers.You'll probably see more traffic on the short stretch of Woodhead than you will on Holme Moss.
It's definitely one to do but by no means the best climb around there

tonysj

Id be interested in other routes as below ; )

It's definitely one to do but by no means the best climb around there

Regards
Tony.

sniper68

The Isle of Skye road between Greenfield and Holmfirth,similar feel to Holme Moss but better views.
Jackson Bridge.Used in Hill climbing...quite brutal 15-20% which rarely relents.
Meltham to Wassenden Head...another steep scenic climb.
Castle Hill.
Buckstones.
Holmebridge to the Isle of Skye road past Digly res.
Vinyard to Arrunden(Holmebridge to Cartworth moor)Brutal.

If you're riding HM this weds you're in for a nice warm day.I've only ever done it in wet,grim,windy weather!

Rigga

Moss is a local climb of mine, I've never seen much traffic on it, as others have said it's woodhead Road that is hellish for traffic but you shouldn't be on that too long if you're going to Glossop.

rolf_f

Sniper68 wrote:

Whenever I've done it I've climbed from Holmfirth(the better climb IMO)got to the summit and turned around.I have descended down to Woodhead on a Sportive but I was only on Woodhead for 150yards before turning off.Hellish road for cycling.'d avoid it if possible.
Where is your start finish?

Feels more epic from Woodhead side IMO - like an Alpine climb. More sense of achievement too and the descent to Holmfirth is more fun than that to Woodhead.

tonysj

Thanks guys. I will check those route options out ; )
Regards.
Tony.

sloppyschleckonds

mfin wrote:

I'd avoid going up there on 6th July 2014, it will be full of complete tw*ts blocking each others view of you by holding their iPads out in the middle of the road instead of taking in the atmosphere and bothering to watch what's going on.

Bikeradar organised ride?

amrushton

that right turn onto the Glossop road (A628) is awful. The oncoming traffic is partly obscured by the bend. Woodhead is fantastic descending toward Glossop from the top (Goddard Lane) as you can keep pace or go faster than the traffic. Sniper68 above has some good roads. The climb out of Holmfirth (A635) then turning to Meltham and left over Wessenden Head is certainly a leg tester.