Jacobs Ladder

Did something similar to this http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/routes/1-the-peak-district/15-jacobs-ladder.html the other day but set off from hayfield.

Wow, what a ride! It was the first time I’ve ridden in the peaks and I was impressed. The only trouble was the climbs! They were so long I ended up pushing quite a few of them. The downs were worth it but I don’t make a habit of pushing my bike.

Anyone fit enough to do those climbs without stops? It took us about 5 and a half hours to do that ride, only 18 miles but 3500 ft of climbing.

someone will be along soon to tell you they did it in under 2 hours 😛

took me about 4 and a half with a few stops

3hrs :-/

It’s a great ride – it is what I call the ‘standard’ Jacobs Ladder route (although the opening bit up Snake Path can be cut out).

I’ve ridden it a few times and never taken less than 4.5 hours. There is no shame in this for a couple of reasons:

a) I am there ‘for the day’ and want to enjoy the ride, the scenery, and a café/lunch stop, a bit of a sit down and rest every now and then (particularly to compose my thoughts for the Ladder descent). I don’t want to ruin my day by being totally and utterly knackered.

b) I don’t give a shit how quick other people can beast themselves around the loop.

So, bearing this in mind, it is a great day out! I am neither fit enough nor technically adept enough to climb to Edale Cross on the bike. I am probably technically adept enough for all the other climbs, but not fit enough. Doesn’t stop me enjoying it – that’s the reason I’ve ridden it six or seven time……..

I tend to judge rides by the climbing more than the distance. 3500ft is a good old ride if you ask me and would take me a similar time.

Took us 5 hours too but we had done 40 miles the previous day with 5k foot of climbing.

Great ride though. I especially enjoyed that ‘double drop’ right at the top of the ladder, just to ease you into the rest of the descent!

have cleaned all the climbs on that link yep, usually just with stops at the gates, thats about it

if you use strava a guy at my lbs shop has 2nd fastest time up (out of about 1000+) with no dabs, which is insanely fast (was on a 29er carbon HT mind) but still rapid…

we’ve done it a few times at night and cleaned the climbs seperately (obviosuly for the gates)

you have to be fittish to do it, but its just not losing grip moreso the key, also depends where your from

3500ft is pretty much a standard ride height climb wise for us around there so its not really any different to any other loop, but i can see how it may be quite painful if your a southern pansy 😉

climbing up jacobs is another matter all together, not many have done that in one go, a handful at most, thats really tough not only steepness but the rockfest for traction

Speed is relative round there – can vary wildly depending on conditions.
Nice ride that, it’s pretty much regarded as one of the Classic UK routes. Variations on a theme of it crop up every few months in magazine ride guides along with the pretty much permanent argument of which way round is best to ride it. 😉
(I prefer going anti-clockwise, I think the route as a whole rides better that way)

I prefer most of it anticlockwise, just wish I could clean more of Jacobs as a climb.

So for a more continuous ride – I used to go clockwise more often.

Good for you Oscillate Wildly.

It’s not an aggressive “I don’t give a shit about how fast others can do the loop” from me – it’s just a genuine statement of fact.

I have neither the time (lame but true) nor motivation (true but lame) to get fit enough to ride that lot in less than 4.5 hours. Same goes for cleaning the climbs. I would love to be able to do it one day, but I honestly can’t see a time when I would be able/motivated enough to get fit enough to do either.

But don’t worry – it doesn’t keep me awake at night (not much does) – in fact riding my bike is one of the things that I enjoy most!

😆 jesus, calm down precious 😉 ….

he asked the question if anyones cleaned the climbs without stops, was just answering that, as i once upon a time could never imagine getting up some of them in one go, you get there eventually if your persistent etc

im not having a dig at anyone, sadly i dont always get all day to ride for 6hrs plus, so being fitter helps me keep the time down, which im happy with….i dont blame you for taking your time if you have it, good on you, theres nowt better than stopping to take the scenery in with pics etc, its a great area for that

i used to watch and think jesus how fit are some people to clean stuff like those climbs, never imagining id be anywhere near it without dying in the process, but the more you ride the stronger you get if you just keep doing it

plus as said above its a cracking loop

The climb up the back of Jacob’s Ladder is terrible now.

Was up there on Sunday and it’s like trying to ride on a rocky beach!

used to be a fun challenge with the ruts etc, now it’s just a soul destroying squirmy mess 🙁

jesus, calm down precious ….

Couldn’t be calmer 😕

I’ve done the climb up to Edale Cross from Coldwell Clough (a couple of years back), and it’s an absolute stinker. It’s all ridable, which makes it all the more irritating when you have to stop before you vomit

It’s a terrific technical challenge.
We don’t usually drop down into Hayfield though – some good cheekies around that bit.
Shame they’ve destroyed the double-track up to the start of back of Jacob’s proper though – makes it a trudge.

I’ve cleaned the back of Jacobs once or twice – can’t take any of it for granted.

Front of Jacobs is harder these days – the very bottom part used to be straightforward but can now easily catch you out. If I get past the first bend, then I can get to the cobbles at the top. I’ve never managed the top 10-15 yards though 🙁 Only person I know who has done it is Nick Craig.

I enjoy the climb up to Hollins Cross. One of my favs and usually clean. Just checked Strava and my time isn’t very fast though (7mins).
http://app.strava.com/segments/1239813

Its a great loop and which direction to do it in is a right can of worms. Ridden it both ways, started in different locations, added in some extra at either end, daytime, evening, sunshine, rain etc.. and it always makes you grin and wince so great effort.

I’ve only cleaned the climb up from Hayfield side once and it was tough, more so running 1×9 on an old fashioned 26″ (Do I get extra COCK points??! ;-)). Was up there a few weeks back on an evening ride and as above the climb up to Kinder Low is just a slog and a half on its own now its been re-surfaced. Personally I preferred the ruts of old, but its done and you either don’t ride it any more or get used to it

The climb up the back of Jacob’s Ladder is terrible now.

Was up there on Sunday and it’s like trying to ride on a rocky beach!

used to be a fun challenge with the ruts etc, now it’s just a soul destroying squirmy mess

Long time coming though – the farmer & mountain rescue needed it re-surfacing..

That’s pretty much the standard Jacobs loop, usually done from Hayfield
A good extension is to drop off Hollins X into Castleton; up Pindale; down Cavedale; up the broken road and back to Hollins X & Mam Tor.

carlos – Member
Its a great loop and which direction to do it in is a right can of worms. Ridden it both ways, started in different locations, added in some extra at either end, daytime, evening, sunshine, rain etc.. and it always makes you grin and wince so great effort.

I’ve only cleaned the climb up from Hayfield side once and it was tough, more so running 1×9 on an old fashioned 26″ (Do I get extra COCK points??! ;-)). Was up there a few weeks back on an evening ride and as above the climb up to Kinder Low is just a slog and a half on its own now its been re-surfaced. Personally I preferred the ruts of old, but its done and you either don’t ride it any more or get used to it

i’ve just noticed its the hayfield side of it, ive not done that as a climb to kinder low, only as a descent 😆

so i take that back ive not done some of that stuff tbh, i thought it was just the standard loop up the now re-surfaced sections now up to kinder low (me and carlos have cleared that before with only gate stops from memory (i think i was with you?!?)….obviously if there still the climbs your on about solely then its still as above

it also depends on the route your doing, gunning it on a night ride (when we cleared it) was much easier than say a 30 miler day time route, given your only doing half the distance/not as knackered when you get to it

OP I have done a similar ride from Edale clockwise less bit into Hayfield and it was 4.5 hours (although after a 3.5 hr drive so not the freshest). Anyone cleaning the climb to Hollins Cross from Eadale get’s a chapeau from me.

What has happened to the double track up to Jacobs, just rutted or “remade”

from what carlos was saying the other week its been resurfaced in a bad way….last time i did it (whcih was a while back) it was rutted and not much different than years ago, i believe its been resurfaced but its not actually as easy get momentum on anymore, not sure on the surfacing etc thats been put down, but the words slog suggest its not like it used to be to me

What has happened to the double track up to Jacobs, just rutted or “remade”

Fist sized grit stone pieces.

Edale Rd 3 by RichSeipp[/url], on Flickr

Easy enough to ride up it, care needed descending at speed though.

Fist sized grit stone pieces.

😯

Perhaps that could be MTB optimised by scraping a line of singletrack up it ?

In fairness I only got about halfway up before walking 😳 for a bit, looks ok to walk on

yep thats the climb im on about too – plus it gets much steeper after that gate (and harder traction wise)

it does kinda look easier to climb up now that before when it was rutted, but before you could avoid the ruts etc, now i guess your just ploughing ovre large rocks

either way its still a tough climb from the very bottom to the top of jacobs

That resurfacing only goes a 100m past the gate though right?
They haven’t taken it further up in the last couple of months have they?

That resurfacing only goes a 100m past the gate though right?
They haven’t taken it further up in the last couple of months have they?

That’s the exact same question I have…………

Please say the vandalism hasn’t extended any further towards Edale Cross……………

It seemed like most of the way up when I did it a month ago, but my memory may be hazy. It was certainly difficult to ride up on the 1×10 rigid bike – just steep enough to be tiring the legs, easy on a good surface, but the size of pebbles on the new surface would randomly deposit you at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. Every. Few. Meters.

Easy enough to ride up it, care needed descending at speed though.

Always confuses me when they do trail maintenance like that, to make a path ‘safer’.

OK, you’re less likely to turn your ankle walking up it, but the chances of a rider having a high-speed crash have just increased massively. 😕

it does kinda look easier to climb up now that before when it was rutted, but before you could avoid the ruts etc, now i guess your just ploughing ovre large rocks

We’ll do it as an evening ride in the next few weeks if you fancy?

And yeah, it was me when you cleaned it, I did it with Flash and Fingy one Sat as part of a long loop from Marple to Edale and back via South Head, Lantern Pike etc..

It’s been resurfaced to improve access for the farmer & make life easier for mountain rescue, not to turn it into a trail centre.

I’m not sure anyone has answered the question about how far up the ‘improvement’ goes. How far past the junction with the bridleway that comes in from Kinderlow End does it extend? Last time I did it, it only went a few yards past that, and the really wild part of the climb was still untouched.

The improvement goes just past the Kinder Low BW turn off.

Edale rd 5 by RichSeipp[/url], on Flickr

phew

phew

My thoughts exactly. I prefer to ride the Snake Path and Middle Moor bit as well, so no riding on that shit for me!

In my defence to the time taken, we did have 3 punctures and a mechanical! Top ride, but having only had the chance to go out once a fortnight recently it highlighted my lack of fitness.

It wasn’t too technical on the climbs for me, just too long. I could attack a section and clean it, but turning the corner to face much more uphill was a killer!

And that resurfaced section is indeed horrible. I see why they have done it, but as a climb it is incredibly sapping, those stones are very loose.

I think we lost the most time on the first climb up from hayfield, think it took us nearly an hour (not sure if that includes the stop at the top).

Kudos to those who have cleaned any of those climbs! Makes Mastiles and Horse Head Moor look tame.

Oscillatewildly – how dare you! Lancashire lad through and through! Haha.

Not willy waving, just answering the OP, did the loop opposite way, plus the Shooting Cabin section and ride to /from My parents house in Birch Vale in 2.22. The ride up Jacob’s is a lot tougher than it was, especially the lower section which I can no longer ride. I miss the Peak District 🙁

It’s been resurfaced to improve access for the farmer & make life easier for mountain rescue, not to turn it into a trail centre.

Fair enough – that makes sense.

Who suggested it was to make the Peaks a trail centre though? I missed that bit.

Did that ride (clockwise) last week after doing the Ladybower/Drs Gate/Cut gate loop in the morning. Knackered with a capital “F” at the end. 😉

That’s a fair effort johnnystorm!