Anyone familiar with the jacobs ladder route that's featured on a few websites? I'm hopiing to get out that way late afternoon on Friday and wondering if I head out how much time I should allow to ride it. Ideally I'm after a ride of about 2hrs. Is there also anyway to shortcut out if it gets too late?

Any alternative routes around edale I can look at?

What is the route exactly? Last Jacobs ride I did was about 6 hours…

If you're thinking of the Jacob's/Roych Clough/Rushup Edge/Chapel Gate loop then 2-3 hours. It's not long, but I can't think of any bits that aren't going either up or downhill… And there aren't really any shortcuts.

If you want a ride that you can adjust for time starting in Edale, you could head up to Hollins Cross and mess on the descents and climbs around there or loop over to Cavedale or Rushup Edge.

go up Jacobs and round that way is Well under 3hrs

yeah 2-3 hrs if your average fitness.

its this route i'm looking at…

http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/routes/1-the-peak-district/15-jacobs-ladder.html

or

http://www.flattyresmtbroutes.com/HayfieldLoopAlt.html

which looks the same but rides the opposite direction – what direction is best?

I'd allow about 4 hours for that ride allowing for stopping for snacks and a bit of faffing about. I personally prefer to relish my time in the Peak rather than hammer it round (which I recon would take me about 2 1/2 hours).

As for direction both is good but I'd advise to check the wind direction as Rushup Edge with a tailwind is vastly better in either direction (and really no fun at all east to west into the prevailing wind, if there's a strong westerly I'd go up Chapel Gate). The Jacobs climb/descent is steeper so not as wind affected.

I would second the 4 hour timescale. I'd always ride DOWN jacob's ladder into Edale personally.

I am also riding the same route on Friday with 4 others starting from Edale going anti-clockwise at circa 10 am . We have allowed 4 hrs as we are not particularly fit…..

We are then hoping to do a Ladybower loop afterwards if we all survive.

Wave if you see us – 2 fat blokes, 2 thin blokes and my 18 year old son!

Dave

Why not ride from Edale, up Jacobs Ladder then after an hours riding, turn round and retrace the route. That way you get to go down it as well.

re gavtheoldskater – i love that first route. i start in hayfield, cos i live in manchester and head south first (saving jacob's ladder for the end). if you're short of time you can come down chapel gate, but you won't be.

on sunday i started there late (about 3pm) and added cavedale/castleton/hope/hope cross (and that loop down to the snake pass road and back up) and then up edale to finish and jacob's ladder and it took 4.5 hrs. i'm not mega fast, just normal. but the paths are great at the moment. dry and dusty. starting late is great, you get the trails to yourself – a real luxury in the peaks.

the right turn to kinder reservoir when riding down off jacob's ladder is easily missed (if you go that way round….)

w