Now then. I’ve been forced (forced I say) to take tomorrow off work and I want a ride to do. I was going to get a train down to Hebden Bridge and just start improvising but I thought I’d ask for some recommendations if anyone’s got any.
Stipulations:
[list]
[*]Off-road, natch[/*]
[*]It has to start either from Menston or from a railway station.
[/*][*]It has to finish either in Menston or at a train station[/*]
[*]Long-ish please: 60km plus and a decent bit of climbing. [/*]
[*]some good long hills, I want to regret the whole thing for at least 50% of the ride.[/*]
[*]Some techy stuff, up and downhill but ideally nothing heinous descent-wise 75km in where I’m likely to just kill myself.[/*]
[*]As little as possible from the Bingley bash. It’s a good route but I ride it a lot.[/*]
[/list]

So go on then, what would you do?

Your weird 😉

I can assure you that normally I ride little piddly rides then consume more pie and cake than I can conceivably justify however right now I have two family sized tiramasus in the fridge and need to justify eating both tomorrow night. This requires extensive ridage.

Can you get the train up to Settle and do some ride that ends up in Skipton? Or even Ilkley to Settle ? Not even sure if all possible offroad but I imagine a lot would be.

Done it before, Settle – stocks lane to Threshfield, Linton to Cracoe, Rylstone to Bolton Abbey, Back along the road to Addingham and along the top of the moor. It’s a good ride and a possibility.

Actually, it occurs that from Bolton Abbey you could probably head up to Rocking Moor and back through Swinsty to Otley. A quick blast on the Chevin to finish…

How about this. Not ridden up there for a while but used to be okay…

Menston to Otley Chevin
Otley Chevin to Yeadon fountain (where there are the two his & chip shops on either side of the crossroads)
Yeadon Fountain up Bayton Lane and onto the moor overlooking the airport.
Follow the narrow route around the airport. Down to Scotland Lane.
Scotland Lane down the bridleway that crosses the railway line just before it goes into Bramhope tunnel and up the other side to Cookridge.
Turn left at the main road for a couple of hundred yards and turn right down a track that leads onto a bridleway that crosses some golf course.
Cross the golf course and into Golden Acre Park
Through Golden Acre Park, coming out bar that hotel.
Down side of the hotel on bridleway.
Comes out on a road – turn leftish.
Turn left again on the south side of a quarry along a bridleway.
Bridleway comes out onto Creskeld Lane – turn right then left to continue on bridleway into Bramhope.
Bramhope a660 turn right and right again down track going downhill to Pool
left up a track to top of Pool Bank
Into Danefield Wood.

Ride around Danefield until you have worn yourself out

Back through the Chevin and down to Menston.

Rachel (originally from Yeadon)

Hebden Bridge is mostly techy so yes you ARE likely to kill yourself 😉

Rachel,
That a great ride – apart from the airport path, that’s officially the worst cheeky trail in the world – and one I’ve done all of, though not all together in one loop.

Cheers,
Sam

FunkyDunc Wins. Train to settle and ride back. http://app.strava.com/activities/13836924

Quick conditions report: Stocks Lane to Threshfield is all fine although the flies on the start of the climb are right shits.

Rylstone to halton heights is, as usual, mostly fine but with some very deep churning mud pools and a lot of underwater riding.

Halton Heights to Bolton Abbey is a **** nightmare, various ten foot wide, foot deep muddy holes that stop your bike dead and try to pitch you over the bars. A couple of super slippery muddy steep bits which were fun though.

Lemonysam – you’re right about the airport path. It was the place I finally decided to go tubeless! 🙂

Rachel

Halton Heights to Bolton Abbey is a **** nightmare, various ten foot wide, foot deep muddy holes that stop your bike dead and try to pitch you over the bars

I know at least one of these. I presume just after the super slippery muddy steep bit! Went in up to the axle last time through. Deeper than it looks…

Lot of rain last night – I think you caught it at the worst possible moment.

Yup, That’s the bad boy. Then you jump back on the bike and another innocuous looking one 50m later does the same.

I hadn’t realised how much rain there’d been., it was dry-ish when I got up in Menston so I assumed it had just been a bit of drizzle. I was wrong.