"Everyday is like Sunday
Everyday is silent and grey "
Or at least it would be, you know, if it was still 1988 and Mountain Bikes hadn't really been invented yet, We would all be recovering from the bust and boom of the week under the death throes of Maggie's Britain......
As it is....... it's 2012 and Mountain bikes do exist (they kind of did back then, they were like road bikes but a bit harder looking), in fact the Smiths aren't the Smiths any more (it's a Morrissey and Marr thing) but as with all things legendary they make a comeback...... who would ever have thought the Stone Roses would reunite......... "Stop the world, stop the world I wanna get off"So just like James Brown we took it to the Bridge - Hebden Bridge.
7 rolled out, basking in the floods of spring sunshine, it was crisp underfoot and we were all aware there was a high chance of Ice up on the top of them there moors!
We set about the first climb of the day, literally a stones throw from the pub car park we had started from, no warm up here.
Draw deep breath. Lactic acid. Heart pounding. Anxious looks.
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| A little over 1000ft of Climbing in a little over 3 miles |
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| Hitting up Church Road leading to Colden Road |
With pulse's high and the front runners vying for top spot I took a back seat and looked at the bigger picture, you see this is the thing, riding in Hebden there is simply no flat bits.
Eventually we top out at the lesser known Jack Bridge, nestling high above Calderdale and make our way over to Gorple Low Reservoir via the tough Fold lane, which grabs you by the Granny ring and throws you up over Egypt on the infamous Mary Townley loop. Once up on the tops you can survey all you can see before hurtling down some great rocky bridleway
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| Fold Lane |
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| Egypt descent |
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."
We follow the Bridleway over the Damn wall and down the concrete strips, always wet here so plenty of ice to catch us out - we take it cautiously and dodge a few sheep on the way down. From here it's a bit of a schlep to Widdop Reservoir where we climb the Bridleway to our highest point at 1388ft, this is a steep technical section marred by ice and frozen tyre tracks from previous attempts at the ungainly gradient. It's tough and not made easier by the fact the wintry sun has started to thaw parts of the line, ice, slush, slip, traction seem to be the order up here - 2 of us are on the new Bontrager XR4 team issue tyres, 2.35 and we don't miss a beat, no dabs!
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| Steep!!! |
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| Top Of Widdop Northern Collective - Cyclehouse |
"I've glimpsed, I have tasted, fantastical places
My soul's an oasis, higher than the sun
I'm higher than the sun"
With a clear view of Pendle Hill and in the distance Whernside we all take the opportunity to savour our endeavour, group photo and much banter ensue as we leave our high point for a fast descent down to Hurstwood Reservoir, a popular place for outdoorsy people, great to know were not the only people using the land to it's potential. Blustering on we make heavy work of the short dig out to follow the churned up track to the Long Causeway. With each rev of the crank we feel our life force ebbing away......
Long faces are replaced with high jinx as we approach a fast flowing creek, a little higher than usual due to melt water and rain, 2 of us are upfront and boulder headlong into the fast flow, out the other side and awash with laughter we quickly stop, turn around and await the rest....
Opportune moment passes and no-one falls in - gutted.com (in a nice way).
We are joined by another group of riders - well I say joined they rode behind and didn't utter a word to us - Strange but not unique. We part ways and head off for the Pack Horse Trail.
A tertiary trail of undulation, mapped out in the first section by ancient cart track stones laid by men from Hebden all called "Jeb".
Boom, were on it, ice, mud, sketchy handling. It's all there, it's what we came for. Hidden dangers and mud to wash you out, 15 miles in and now the adrenalin really pumps. A chime of gears and increase in tempo as each of us finds the flow, railing frozen craggy cutties, drifting on the loose stuff and following the line carefully thrown down by the man in front.
Trust. Synchronicity. Ebb. Flow.Friends from the pub and girlfriends past ask
"I just don't get it, why do you get up mad early on a Sunday to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere to ride bikes that cost more than my first car?"The answer - Those four words.
To the people that ask...... "Everyday is like Sunday"
Dickie
Colin
Jay
Brian
Billy
Mike
Rick (me)
Distance 20.22 miles
Max elevation 1388ft Min elevation 70ft
Pics brought to you by the GoPro Hero cam fitted via chest harness
Ride info brought to you by the Garmin Edge 500 Gps
For more info on the route or product featured and used pop in store or drop me a line
Rick@Cyclehouse
CYCLEHOUSE
Unit 1 Portland Trade Park
Buckley Street
Warrington
WA2 7NS
t: 01925 575 999 (Sales) | 01925 576 555 (Workshop)
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