Dear Singletrack,

What is Sutton Bank like for playing around on bicycles off road? We mostly ride in the Peak District but fancy a change.

Any route recommendations? How does it hold up in the winter?

Love and hugs

F. Monkeycorps.

Worth looking at the MuddyBums site, when it’s up again.
The guy who run it is called Tony Harker and he wrote a book: North York Moors Mountain Biking: Moorland Trails

IIRC there are a couple of routes around Sutton Bank in the book.

May be a bit muddy at the mo.

Cool cheers – I was looking at the Vertebrate Moors book, is that the same one? My experience of the Moors is basically mud, mud and more mud, so I was kinda thinking it might be best to hold off and stick to rocks we know until the summer…

This is my neck of the woods.

Sutton Bank itself is tarmac (as you already knew) and is great if you want to overtake cars very fast (doing down, not up) :D.

It depends to an extent how far you’d be travelling to get to the area, there are a fair few routes around there if you know where to look, many of them loop round a few key runs so you can get a reasonable ride without ever being more than 3 or 4 miles from your starting point.
There will be a few muddy patches it’s generally not too bad providing you give it time to drain after heavy rains. If you link up between Sutton Bank, White Horse Bank and Boltby Woods there’s some pretty decent riding to be had.

Summer.

Aye I know Sutton Bank itself is tarmac, I meant more stuff in the immediate area – was looking at something like this route, but it doesn’t really give away much as to what it’s like.

It’ll be an hour and a half drive give or take, but we’re in Hull so pretty much anywhere is. We usually ride in the Dark Peak, just fancied a wee change!

My experience of riding around Sutton Bank is that you want to do it when its either warm and dry or frozen solid. I’d also want to do it with a local who could show you some cheeky stuff – the map seems riddled with it…

From Hull I’d be more inclined to go for the ‘safe’ option of Dalby (at least its weather proof at this time of year) or head to Calderdale which is similarly weather proof (ish).

That’s the book.
I’ve been out riding with the muddybums guys a couple of times, but generally much further into the Moors. Tony lives up near Middlesborough.

It’s a little bit further, but how about travelling up to The Dales Bike Centre and using one of their routes (Maps at the centre). Also the cake in the cafe is very good. Should be relatively good under tyre.
I’m up near York and it’s just over an hours drive.

Hmm, Calderdale. Never really ridden there… Could be an option. As could the Dales Bike Centre. Any route suggestions for either that’re reasonably weatherproof?

Calderdale – you could do something with loads of techno cheek in it as well as some glorious woodland and moors’y stuff starting from Copley (about 10 mins from the M62). I can mail you some details if you want?

Otherwise, head to Hebden (another 15/20 mins past Copley) and I’d probably reccommend the ‘classic’ ride that appears in the magazines but with a twist at the start and end. Hebden town centre > up to Heptonstall and do Blue Pig (or an ‘alternative’ descent to Hardcastle Craggs) > BW up to House Of Sh*t > loop across the tops on the BW towards Widdop > cross the dam at Widdop and up and down the Gorple Road to Hurstwood Res > maybe a quick lap of the trail there (starts just through the gate) > BW towards Long Causeway > road slog for a mile or so before dropping down and left into the BW to Whirlaw Stones > descent through the golf course and down to Eastwood (great descent) > instead of doing the ‘normal’ thing and going up to Mankinholes and slogging along London Road back to Hebden, stay in the valley and climb back up through the woods (Callis Wood?) back up to Blackshawhead > short road section to Slack and finish the ride doing something like Slack Tracks, the Zig Zags, Midgets Pit etc.

Cheers Davey, that sounds pretty good – I’ll dig out my OS’s tonight and have a look. Even if we don’t do it this weekend it’s definitely on the cards…

ps. willslater[at]gmail[dot]com if you wanted to send me exciting options 😀