first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

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ChrisOntLancs
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first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by ChrisOntLancs »

hi, i'm posting this out of excitement mainly, i do have a few questions, but i'm mainly posting this because none of my friends cycle, and so far i've been losing them at "ride".

i've been planning my first long ride that would probably have seasoned tourers scoffing, but it's a bit of a milestone ride for me. i've had a few.. erm.. 'lifestyle errs' and the reason i'm so into cycling is because of the way improvement is delivered, if that makes sense?

anyway, my first and final leg will be a journey i've done plenty times, and obviously the train to hadfield shouldn't be so hard. i'm skipping east manchester just because i've never decided on a route and i want to cut out a lot of uncertainty.

hadfield is a very special place to me, there's a couple of landmarks i want to visit as i'm a fan of The League of Gentlemen, so if any fellow pilgrims have been i'd like to hear your stories. i'll then be stocking up on a few things before taking the trans pennine trail up to snakes pass, then onto windle edge (route 68) past winscar reservoir, all the way to holmfirth. i could go north after the reservoir but i prefer the look of the cycle route. as well as the quieter roads, the view just looks amazing.

on the way out of holmfirth i'm probably going to go straight south as the incline looks a little easier, but that's something i've just pondered so i'll have to 'internet' it.

SOoo i think i've picked a pretty good first effort here, what do you reckon?

OH and i'll be going on my hybrid, voodoo marasa. a road bike would probably be a more sensible choice but i feel like i can take this bike anywhere AND ride it home, where i'm not so sure about the road. i'm not ready to be doing super fast descents anyway.
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

The Trans Pennine Trail runs up parallel to Woodhead Pass not Snake Pass.
Any route out of Holmfirth involves hills especially if heading back Manchester way.Holme Moss,Isle of Skye Road etc.Not hard but long drags.I say not hard but if you're not a regular cyclist the two mentioned routes will come as a shock.Both Holme Moss and Isle of Skye Road(Greenfield Road)summits are 3-4 mile climbs from Holmfirth.
The TPT after Longdendale can be quite rough but doable on a Hybrid or CX/Gravel bike.
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ChrisOntLancs
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by ChrisOntLancs »

ibbo68 wrote:The Trans Pennine Trail runs up parallel to Woodhead Pass not Snake Pass.


actually that doesn't sound so far fetched, woodhead, like the reservoir it runs along :oops: i'll have to edit that.

great post though thanks. i am a regular cyclist, i'm just used to spreading the elevation out, with lots of mini descents so pacing wasnt so much of an issue. this is a much shorter route than i'm used to, so i'm hoping that evens it out. the roads heading straight south look more like my sort of climb, long and slow.

i'm sorry to have explained badly also (i should have really posted a route) i'll be taking a more indirect route, leaving the TPT a little later up goddard lane through dumford bridge.
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

Once you leave Dunford bridge and head over towards Hade Edge you have a few options.You can turn left and follow the narrow(and quieter) Roads past Snailsden Res and along Cartworth Moor or take the steep (main) road from Hade Edge to Holmfirth.I always take the former as it's more scenic.
On the route out I'd favour Isle of Skye road to Greenfield over Holme Moss.Again much more scenic and you avoid the busy Woodhead Pass.Droppng into Meltham the climbing back up to the Isle of Skye road via Wassenden Head is a way to add on a few scenic miles.
Spoilt for choice around there really!
My son and I did a loop around there from Diggle yesterday.
Last edited by 100%JR on 19 Jun 2017, 7:02pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ChrisOntLancs
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by ChrisOntLancs »

cheers for the input ibbo, you had me more or less sold on meltham as i was going to see how i felt when i got to holmfirth.

didn't even get to hadfield though as my bike was stolen at the ethiad :/
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

Really?
That stinks mate.
Did you leave it outside a cafe or something?
mig
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by mig »

bad luck about the bike.

whilst wessenden is scenic it is also rather hard..!
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

mig wrote:bad luck about the bike.

whilst wessenden is scenic it is also rather hard..!

From Meltham it's a bit of a test yes!
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ChrisOntLancs
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by ChrisOntLancs »

i left it at an inner city supermarket, deserve it really.

i don't plan on spending more than a week off the horse though 8)
mig
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by mig »

for many years i was involved with organising a TT from greenfield to meltham and back taking in some of these hills. on one occasion a rider from (IIRC) sussex entered and turned up with his fixed TT rig running 55 x 15 or so. god only knows what he did on wessenden head but he got round..!!
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ChrisOntLancs
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by ChrisOntLancs »

yeah it looks challenging haha, i have this problem where i see it on strava and just go for it, very rarely making it.

the good news is my next bike will probably be 2kg lighter and a little more aggressive with its position so when i get to this i'll be better equipped (with an extra bag of bananas/bottle of water)

i think i dodged a bullet on the weather too, it was a really nice day, but probably too nice for somebody like me.

cheers for your sympathy and advice, hope you've both been making the most of this weather! :)
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

mig wrote:for many years i was involved with organising a TT from greenfield to meltham and back taking in some of these hills. on one occasion a rider from (IIRC) sussex entered and turned up with his fixed TT rig running 55 x 15 or so. god only knows what he did on wessenden head but he got round..!!

We climbed up Isle of Skye Road and descended into Meltham.My son,who's 9,enjoyed the climb but was a bit tentative on the descent but it is quite steep and the cattle-grid halfway down didn't help!He wants to go back and climb up from Meltham next time. Luckily it was also really hot Sunday but he loved it,it could've been a different story in poor weather as it gets pretty grim up there.
mig
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by mig »

it's a good ride that. the thing is now though, as with many rural roads in the summer, they get very busy with high speed traffic and the isle of skye road is no different.
you could always carry on to the ford inn (the tour was pictured there a few years ago) and turn left down a very steep descent into meltham then left in the middle (as the kebab shop called something like meltham spice!) and try wessenden from the bottom. good luck!
100%JR
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Re: first milestone ride hadfield to holmfirth as well as leigh-manc... and back again.

Post by 100%JR »

We'll probably ride up to the Ford Inn from Holmfirth or park at Wassenden Head and ride a loop from there.
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