Having done most of the mtb challenges around calderdale/west yorkshire i thought i would give this one a go. I remember folk telling me it’s a tough challenge 30 miles of ups and downs. Sunday morning 13th May the sun was shining and there was a cool breeze, there looked to be at least 300 people who had turned up to ride. As usual me and my pal sat at the back for the start which kicks straight into a cracking climb up the cobbles and from then on it was over 4 hours (not the fastest) of riding and pushing (11 miles did not like the grassy field 🙁 We climbed over 4,000 feet and reached a max speed of 45 mph so not a bad day. It’s a fantastic route which I would advise all of you to do and the marshalling on the day with 4 feed stations was exemplary. The entry fee of £15 is a bargain and you won’t get better than that in Yorkshire. I’ll be back next year to ride under 4 hours and maybe reach a max speed of 50mph 😉 Well done to all who organised this fantastic event=Happy Days

I did it today aswell, was a cracking trail with some brilliant down hill sections but the up hills were murder.
After 8 miles my knee and back was screaming me to stop but a pushed on battling to pedal into head winds to come 4 hrs 5 min. I think without the wind it could of been 3.5hrs.

Also did it today , had a great ride , bloody hard ride but enjoyed it and managed to beat my 4 hr target .

organisers/marshalls if you’re ready this THANKYOU , very well done.

Really well organised and marshalled….

but…. is that all the area has to offer?

Some of the climbs were fun and challenging. But it seemed that most of the descending was on tarmac?!? I too hit my highest speeds ever on knobbly tyres (probably), but on tarmac. What’s the point in that?

It is what is is. There are allways a few grumbles about the course on here, but there’s always a big turnout. So I suppose like me, a lot appreciate the ‘physical’ challenge of the course and accept the tarmac as a good way to get the average speed up.

PS yes the wind was a bit challenging, but not sure it affected times as much as suggested above.

Most of the decent descents are too cheeky to do with 250+ groups of riders! What did you expect a quick sneak over the farmers wall, through his cow field, across the nature reserve,down through the woodland footpath and through Mrs Potters prize flowerbeds? You need to get out and explore if you want to find the good stuff round there! As a charity/fundraising challenge it’s always really good, well organized and marshalled.

the course was great, weaving through all though’s little hamlets, country tracks, quarry, open country rds. last 5miles was hard!

What did you expect a quick sneak over the farmers wall, through his cow field, across the nature reserve,down through the woodland footpath and through Mrs Potters prize flowerbeds?

Not exactly, but there was mention that we would be using some private land that we normally wouldn’t be allowed on.

Maybe I expected too much! Can’t see the point in using tarmac to

get the average speed up

!
Maybe run in the other direction would have been more fun? More off road descents and easier climbs for the folk that had to walk several sections of the climbs?

the course was great, weaving through all though’s little hamlets, country tracks, quarry, open country rds.

That description sounds lovely…… as a road/cx ride!

is that all the area has to offer?

No, obviously not. Yes the best stuff round here is mostly cheeky, but also I think part of the reason for doing so much downhill on tarmac is a safety one. Wessenden, for example, is a fast, smooth downhill, but it’s also a very popular weekend walkers’ route, and 300 cyclists of varying abilities battering down there on a sunny Sunday into the path of umpteen bobble-hatted ramblers is a sure-fire recipe for mayhem.

As for moaning about how steep the hills are, it is called the Colne Valley Mountain Bike Challenge, rather than the Colne Valley Mountain Bike Bimble… 😉

there was mention that we would be using some private land that we normally wouldn’t be allowed on.

The quarry section and the off-road bits around Marsden are footpaths/private land.

You wont catch me moaning about steep climbs…. I love ’em 🙂

Only that grassy one that I bailed on yesterday!

Ok… a little moan……. “If you are going to resort to walking up anything other than a smooth climb; get out of the ‘kin way for people who can ride it” 😉 Ta

Ok… a little moan……. “If you are going to resort to walking up anything other than a smooth climb; get out of the ‘kin way for people who can ride it”

Yeah, I’ll second that. I ended up dabbing about ten foot up the flipping cobbles at the start due to random gormlessness from people in front of me. It’s all part of the fun though, really, I chalk it up as good trackstand practice… 🙂

Just had a look at the results.

The guy who won was roughly 1hr 20 mins quicker than me…. and hes only ranked 143 in the UK. How quick would a propper pro have done it then ??!?