Holme Moss

No probs, PM your email address and I'll send the GPX file. (Guessing I can't attach it to a PM)

Thanks! Well I can't convey how brilliant Saturday's route was, and I reckon that without all the organization etc that we put into it, you could just park in pateley bridge and do a loop that took in all the best bits of day 1, maybe 110 miles. Let me know if you want the route details.

Well it was actually a 2-day event for the club, loosely based on routes for next year's Tour de France.

Stage 1, Saturday. Otley-York
(No-one wanted to start in Leeds city centre, and there were less logistics to sort if we didn't need a taxi transfer from the Harrogate TdF finish to York, hence Otley-York)
129 miles, 6,408ft climbing, via Skipton, Grassington, Aysgarth, Askrigg, Buttertubs, Grinton, up then eastwards next to the river Swale, down through Leyburn, Spennithorne Wood, Masham, across the A1M roundabout, Tollerton, Shipton, onto the cycle path and into York.

Stop in a hostel overnight, large bowls of pasta/sauce and a couple of beers, massive beakfast, then:

Stage 2
78 miles, 6,577ft climbing, via Wetherby, Otley, Menston, Bingley, Hayworth, Hebden Bridge, Cragg Vale, Rishworth, Saddleworth Rd, Slaithwaite, Meltham, Upperthong, Holmfirth. We heard afterwards about the snow sliding down onto the road in mini-avalanches. Basically, most of us had had enough by then and we had just one hour before the minibus would turn up to ferry our knackered bodies home, so this was cut short from the planned 98 miles.

Stunning scenery that could have been many an Alp (certainly on Saturday anyway), sunshine, no rain, only 2 punctures between 12 of us, and a funny sight of baby lambs in orange high-vis jackets.

Bikes were transferred from home (Manchester) in the van, and people in a minibus. We had a non-riding driver who cheerily followed us and was on hand with drinks, spares, a track pump/tools, chamois cream, lunches and more flapjacks, bars, gels and nutri-grains than you've ever seen, in addition to his presence making drivers think a little (must have looked very pro in all matching kit and two lines in front of the van) about how to overtake us rather than just charging past six inches away. We got less aggro throughout the weekend than a usual early Sunday club run on quieter roads.

No-one needed to use it as a broomwagon, and we had the best weekend ever. It cost £70 per head including all transport, hostel, fuel, evening meal, breakfast and a couple of bottles of whisky for non-riding helpers. (Puts the more expensive sportives into perspective)

In case you're wondering, my legs still ache!

Sorry for waffling...

A few cyclists did climb over them apparently, but I think we'd done enough by then, so I don't feel like we missed anything.

Small avalanches....lol. I did notice a piece of snow the size of an apple falling from what remains of the drifts on Sunday. Luckily nobody was killed although it is going to take weeks to uncover the village affected.

I'm supposed to be going up there on Sunday. We've got a support vehicle as well, so the roads need to be officially open. I'll keep an eye on this.

Thanks for posting.

Brave guy (or stupid) to be cycling/training on snow covered roads.

I bet the descent was fun. I hope he had his AG2R team shorts on.