[Closed] mary townley loop

I'm normally a little quicker on my second lap

Its years since we did it (on xc hard tails)but about 8 hours rings a bell?? Though I'd like to think my timing is out. Twas a great day out. Infact why have I not done it since?

8 hours, but it was not nice.........wont ever do it again.

I did it in 9hrs straight but that was with a pub stop for lunch. It's tough in one day (or so i thought at the time) but seeing as i've just done the C2C in a day then maybe i need to redo the MTL to see which i think is actually the toughest on me!

About 10 hours, with a group, in winter, in the muck. Had to peddle downhill to keep moving.
You'll love it!

many gates better in a group
IIRC terrahawk and mr sparkle did it in a shockingly low time. race time is circa 4 hours again iirc
6-10 hours is average so I am told..also told it is horrible also going to do it this year.

Time will depend how much pain you're in from the tat, but it took 10h with two of us on 100mm HTs and an early crash (over the bars after a mistimed bunnyhop over a water bar N of Holme Chapel) resulting in having to go very slowly the rest of the way - we'd probably have abandoned if the weather hadn't been in our favour.

I reckon it could be done faster with a group of 3-4+ (so you could get a good gate routine going). I believe the course record (IIRC on a carbon Zaskar, during the [url= http://www.rpmrt.org.uk/eventdetail.php?EventID=5 ]Pendle Mountain Rescue fundraiser[/url] when all the gates are marshalled) is about 4h30.

Aside from some horrible bits (namely the bit to the East of the canal at Bottomley, which can be bypassed by going along the towpath & then picking up the Bridleway S at the Summit pub) it's all fairly fast going.

The answer to what tyres is Panaracer Fire XC Pro USTs.

Andy

Just don't do it, it really is crappy riding, compared to a long loop of your own creation and it passes through some of the most depressingly repressive countryside Britain has to offer. If u ignore this advice then make sure the sun is shining

actually my son is doing it with his mates,,, dunno if i shud attempt it or not lol

that will be me ! well i heard from some website it said 7 hours is a good time if you can do it in 7 but people have done it in 4... so it says

Not showing off but I have done it in 4hrs and reckon it could easily be done in 3hr.30

perhaps done but hardly easily ..you make break a sweat at 14mph average off road

its a tough route ,I am lot fitter now than when I did it in 4hrs so I know 3hrs 30 is easily capable

I think I did it in about 7 hours, but with about 6.15 of actual riding.

4hrs 36min (dunno what the 'riding time' was) - but that was immediately after a 37mile off road ride over there and followed by another 37 mile (off road again) ride home 🙂

The ride there/back was better (though if you pretend its a miniature long distance trail it's OK) 😀

I did it, it took a long time. With a group of 3 or 4 quick riders, one who knows the route, non-racers could get round in 5hours-ish I reckon, 3 or 4 to take turns opening the stupid amount of gates in the NW corner, someone who knows the route cos I lost [i]atleast[/i] an hour with map checks/wrong turns - pity the route on my map didn't match the sign posted route - mucho confusion.

But yeah not a stellar ride, box ticking excercise I think.

My best time is 6hrs 53mins with minimal stoppage and I was knackered at the end. I think 4hrs 2mins is the fastest recorded time in recent years. personally I think direction makes a difference, anti clockwise has some nasty climbs in it but they're steep and shortish leaving you with longer downhills which allow you to make up time, 2 examples are the climb up from Cowpe followed by the descent on Rooley Moor Road and the climb upto and descent from Gorple Stones.