Legal or illegal - we are struggling for motivation and ideas. White peak is now out of bounds as is piss wet through!
Stanage plantation is an obvious one. Investigating frogatt tomorrow. Anyone got any good weather resistant routes that aren't sloppy as ****?
the typical JL to edale route finishing with hayfield campsite has been alright today.
bit much for a night ride tho
Just waiting for it all to freeze 🙂
aye - that will be better but until then, where?
Ladybower. took a mate down the beast for his first peaks ride last year. it was dark, and it was snowing.
Bloody good fun was had by all.
ladybower is muddy as ****!
Most everywhere is.
There are a few places in the woods (shhh).
If you can start and finish in Edale then JL loop won't be too much, long way from your end of the valley though.
Fairhomes, fire road, towards lockerbrook, down hagg, round the res, up permissive, along the ridge, down beast, up hagg, along lockerbrook, down screaming mile, home
All minimal grass stuff
podge has it.
I am keeper of the keeper of the peak
There are also a few other less well known loops that are fairly weatherproof but you'll have to get a map out for those
what direction?
I rode Fairholmes, flagstone climb and bomb holes to Whinstone Lee Tor, descent to Ladybower Inn, across the res and round the back to Thornhills, up Win Hill, across to Hope Cross, onwards and down Blackley Clough, up past Rowlee Farm to Lockerbrook then down to road and back to Fairholmes.
To be honest, it was massively shitty throughout and it's not going to improve for some time.
I'd perhaps opt to ride Fairholmes, fire road to A57, across bridge and dam to fire road opposite side of L'bower. Follow all the way back to A57. A57 to Rowlee farm. Up to Lockerbrook and down to road. Follow road to stepping stones. Follow fire road back to Fairholmes. A complete lap around the res'.
That's my depths of winter route. Simple. Non technical. Leg spinning distance route.
What direction for what?
Ha... Edale, up Chapel Gate - joyous - down Rushup trough, back lane across valley, round, down Pindale (or Cavedale if you have suicidal tendencies in the wet) Hope, Roman Road, so-called Beast, right at the bottom round the reservoir, up the very dull fireroad climb, through the wood, Roman Road, down Jaggers, road to Edale for a short leg spinner. Nothing's going to be mud free at the moment, there's mud at the top of Jacob's on the Hayfield side, which is novel, but most of that'll be okayish. Just think rocks.
Or the whole Jacob's shebang. Or, I could tell you more but then..
Favourite? Cut Gate in sub zero conditions, on ice tyres, with a layer of hard-packed nevé on top then home to fresh bread fishfinger sandwiches...
all seem a bit exposed for yorkshire/winter weather. head to the woods!
ashover is fairly weatherproof
all seem a bit exposed for yorkshire/winter weather. head to the woods!
I guess you either embrace winter or you nancy around in the trees. Or stay inside where it's warm and dry and comfortable watching telly on your turbo. Winter is what it is, you get more out of it if you accept that and enjoy the experience imho/ime/whatever.. 😉
Woods in winter are super slippery
I guess you either embrace winter or you nancy around in the trees.
ha ha!
i typically road ride rather than mtb at night so that is sans trees, but you get off the top of the climbs quicker.
riding mtb over stanage, hope cross etc. and thus nibbling round on the most exposed bits in deepest darkest winter at 5mph just aint that fun to me.
its not about embracing the winter its about being a bit socially responsible and not ****ing it up for everyone else and making it shitty!
making what shitty?
The great ****ing puddles and ruts
You're pissing in the puddles as you ride?!
Take a trowel & dig out a corner of the puddle to let it drain & reduce the amount of people widening the path by going round it
its not about embracing the winter its about being a bit socially responsible and not **** it up for everyone else and making it shitty!
I wasn't referring to your original post, just the one about riding in woods. Like I said, think rocky and you'll have more fun and less mud.
Also, to be honest, there isn't that much really muddy stuff in the Dark Peak, at least on the trails. Tends to be mostly sort of gritty sludge with the obvious exceptions being the grassy section along the top of Rushup and the Whinstone Lee Tor area.
Most other stuff stays reasonable and the majority of the puddles are pretty shallow with the exception of the odd tank-trap on the Roman Road.
Podge, do you really carry a trowel? You must stop an awful lot at this time of year?
I have been known to in summer, its too demanding in winter & you'd need more than a trowel for a lot of them
Plus I tend to ride lesser used trails in winter
ashover +1