So wanted a half decent ride today, usaly ride around edale but dont want to over do it and keep riding the same bits. Planned to do fox houses to stanage and back but a quick search found its standing room only at the weekend. So as its cold went up cutgate from fairhomes, not too bad but it'll be boggy soon and by the time i got back to the car was fed up with asking walkers to move to one side, to be fair i think they were just as fed up of moving over for bikers.
So where is there thats fairly quiet and not a bog fest. Thought of around middle moor? But dont realy know. Any suggestions?
You'll be wanting somewhere away from a car park & before 9am if you want quiet
Pindale, hope cross & the beast were dry enough yesterday
First sunny day in ages too, it was bound to be busy as hell. I'm hoping the forecast rain and wind puts everyone off tomorrow so we get a nice quiet Kinder Loop. With an early start and assuming we don't get blown away we should be half-way round before most of the ski-pole brigade show up.
Kinder Loop is about as glop-free as you're likely to get, apart from the bit over Rushup (which I would have cut out anyway only they've gone and shut Chapel Gate apparently, grumble grumble sodding 4x4s grumble moan).
Fancy the kinder loop tomorrow myself. Is Chapel Gate properly shut or is it just a couple of cones at the bottom and a no entry sign?
Normally do edale rushup pidale roman road jaggers and back or the kinder loop backwards(up jacobs ladder).
If i feel energetic i'll start from ladybower and up hagg side, do usaly like to be on the bike by 9 but even the kinder loop has been busy latley.
Is Chapel Gate properly shut or is it just a couple of cones at the bottom and a no entry sign?
Dunno. Should be able to tell you by about dinner time tomorrow... 🙂
What's the alternative if it's closed?
Is it possible to go to Hollins cross, Mam tor, and across Rushup edge instead?
There's a couple of routes up to Hollins Cross from Greenlands you can take - might be pushing the length of them as last time I did them they were wrecked. That was a couple of months back though so possibly they've solidified.
You could just get on the road up to Mam nick - let's you take a butchers at Chapel Gate to see what's going on there, if it's out of commission just spin up the tarmac.
"fox houses to stanage and back "
Wasn't bad today, dry going, even devils elbow/pipers hause in blackamoor were mostly dry
There were people out all over but nothing to think about trying to get past/etc
Only properly busy bit was stanage edge/plantation. Made it there a bit earlier than I thought I would/have done in the past. Waited 5 minutes for some 'congestion' to die down and got a fairly clear run
Start before 9. Ive never asked anyone to step aside whatever that means.
First decent days weather after 3 weeks of snow and rain, so it was going to be busy wherever you went.
The Fox House/ Stanedge loop isn't usually too bad for traffic. Sometimes a little busy at the top of Stanedge, but they don't venture too far from the car park. There's some nice little singletrack runs through Blackamoor woods which are worth exploring.
Ive never asked anyone to step aside whatever that means.
Saying "excuse me" so i dont run over people? Normaly just to warn them so they dont jump a mile even when going really slow.
I did think for some reason cut gate would be quiet, don't know why as its got a car park at each end.
For the record, Chapel Gate isn't shut. No signage at either end, no works being carried out, saw about 20 or so 4x4s coming down when we went up there. Presumably they postponed the repairs due to the snow the other week, I dunno.
What condition was it in? We went up a few weeks ago and it was starting to get mushy, the top was a wade around the bog.
What condition was it in?
Today: icy and frozen. Sloppy bog at the top where the 4x4s have done the most damage was a bit grim, but ridable round the edges, no need to wade. It will probably be a bit mushier when it all defrosts again though.