What's the easiest way to gain height?

Easier to ride up Rake Head past Alf Kymes breakers yard on the east side of Cowpe res.

What about the path going NNE from SD842205 before turning roughly E to the RMR?

Looks like a decent path on Google Earth.

That's also another route I've used if it's the same one I'm thinking about. It goes past the Buck and an old mill, and then through a farm yard with devil dogs if I remember rightly. 🙂

A good quick evening ride is to set off from Owd Betts car park and up to the turbines, down to Waughs well, a lap and a half of Cragg quarry, back up to the turbines and then fly back down to Owd betts.

Some of it's a bit cheeky though. 🙂

I'm not sure I like the sound of 'devil dogs'.

if your going from the edenfield side you could also use fecit brow as an up , or [ better still ] down to vary it up at tad

No devil dogs, go up the road to the end of the tarmac, onto the dirt track, through a gate, into the farmyard full of scrap, immediate left up another track, follow through to Rooley Moor road.

if your going from the edenfield side you could also use fecit brow as an up , or [ better still ] down to vary it up at tad

Thanks for the heads up on this when we met at the inaugural ride. Rode up last night from Shuttleworth, past the Fisherman's Retreat and up Fecit 'Brew'. Very nice ascent followed by a cracking bit of track down past Waugh's Well. Four laps of Cragg and then down along Sand Beds Lane (path) to Edenfield.

Perfect weather, clearing to a crisp blue, blue sky. On top of the world and almost on my doorstep :))))

The track up through the farm isn’t a bridlepath and is walkers only as a no cycling sign testifies, so better to head up the Mary Towley Loop if you’re brave enough, or past Alf Kyme’s as mentioned earlier.