The next ride is a real flat route, so if you have been umming and ahhring about getting on your bike this will be a good one to 'cut your teeth' and to get you started. Meeting at the Moorings car park at 1400. We will ride the canal towards Halifax. This section is mainly tarmac and the destination is the The Shears Inn at Paris Gates. The route is 3.6 miles to The Shears where we can enjoy some liquid refreshment before heading back. 3.6 miles back and we will have covered over 7 miles. Non-drivers can take advantage of another refreshment stop at the end :) If you wanted a real easy Sunday you have the local businesses in Sowerby Bridge to collect a take away and bottle of wine to reward yourself once you get home and get the fire on. If you want to attend join our group on Strava and click 'I'm In' :) https://www.strava.com/clubs/243167 www.familycycleclub.com
To see images of the trail please read my previous post.
Getting there is going to take about an hour, so allow enough time to get there for 1400.
Use the google map link below and your phone/sat nav should give you a better idea on where the carpark is located.
The path is flat but does have some gradients that are shallow and short.
The path is very sandy so be prepared for lots of grating and grinding noises coming from your bikes and spray on your clothes.
The weather tomorrow is meant to be very wet. Wrap up to keep warm and dry!
Halfway at the turning point we are stopping for tea/coffee/sweets from our van but feel free to bring as much food/drink and bribery food you think your family needs :)
As you will be getting very sandy/muddy/wet I would suggest bringing a change of clothes.
After we have finished the ride and got back to the cars we are going to drive back over Holme Moss and stop at The Fleece Inn for a drink if anyone would care to join us you will be more that welcome.
Today we did a recce ride for the FCC on Sunday 15th January at 1400. Getting There We went right over the tops through Slaithwaite etc and up over Holme Moss which might be the best way if you are coming from the Halifax area. From Halifax it is about 25 miles / 1 hour. When you get up and over Holme Moss at the junction at the bottom of the hill turn left towards Sheffield. Follow this road for a couple of mile and the carpark is a right turning once the road centre marking turns from a solid white line to a broken white line. The link to the google map is here. Route Description This is not a loop, it is a there and back ride. The total length of the ride is 8.2 mile. After 3.1 miles (out) 6.2 miles (back) we go past a carpark where you can find a toilet should you need to stop. It took us about 40 minutes to do the 4.1 miles to do the first half, I would image this will be about an hour with little ones. When we get to our one way distance (half way) there is a main road to cross and we are hoping to offer a cup of tea/coffee and sweet snacks. Parents should take care with their children when crossing this road. Then it is just a case of riding the 4.1 miles back to the carpark we started from. Just as a point of interest the trail follows an old railway line and we ride through what was an old station platform and you can see an old railway tunnel that cuts through the hill and would bring you out in Sheffield if you were permitted to use it. A video to describe the carpark is here.
The condition of the path is similar to if you were to cycle around Ogden. It is quite boggy/sandy and for little legs this could be quite tiring. The path is quite flat but there are some gradients to take you up over and across some roads etc to rejoin the path. A video here that I filmed to show the path. The images below will also help show preview the route.
Images of the carpark so you know if you are in the right place.
Images of trail condition
Images of gradients
Images of the views on offer. Even better without the fog!
This is the road we will need to cross to get to our tea and sweet delights
Some Guidance Advice
Getting there is going to take about an hour, so allow enough time to get there for 1400.
Use the google map link above and your phone/sat nav should give you a better idea on where the carpark is located.
The path is flat but does have some gradients that are shallow and short.
The path is very sandy so be prepared for lots of grating and grinding noises coming from your bikes and spray on your clothes.
The weather Wednesday-Friday next week is forecast to be horrible, but Saturday and Sunday are meant to be nice and sunny. But it will be cold, make sure you and your young uns are well wrapped up in layers. If you are used to cycling fast to get warmed up that is not going to happen so make sure you are nice and cosy so you wont mind the slower pace to take in the views.
Halfway round to mark the turning point we are hoping to offer you some tea/coffee/sweets from our van but feel free to bring as much food/drink and bribery food you think your family needs :)
Umm I was awake in the early hours of this morning to the sound of wind and rain bashing down. I thought this is not going to be a good start to the FCC first ride. But I know you cannot wait for the weather to be nice in this country or you would stay locked up most of the time. We had to get up early to drop one of Eva's friends off that had a slept over. So by the time we got up to Craggies our feet and hands were already numb! We got the bikes ready and awaited the Duffy clan. They arrived with little Minnie and Alfie. The youngest of our riders being pulled along in a WeeHoo trailer and if you have not seen a WeeHoo they are amazing if you have kids too young to cycle a distance. They can handle proper rough stuff and single track because they only have the one wheel. Have a look on this link. https://rideweehoo.com/. Alfie was performing tricks whilst Minnie was getting covered in layers before she got settled in her chariot. We got our stuff together and set off in the head wind and rain. We were determined to make this club a success so we had smiles on our faces. As we rode along with only the one car to bother us the whole ride we talked about our Christmas and how we could develop the club. Eva my little stoker on my tandem kept the wheels turning and I felt like I did not have to do a thing. Good job Eva! Alfie did a good job on his bike getting up the hills without gears and appreciated the downhills even more. We did 4.5 miles which is long enough in this weather when you young ones with you that are not pedalling. But you know what? we were out, in nature, with the family which is what it is all about. We got back to the van and Rachael had done a beautiful thing by packing flasks of tea, cake, mince pies. Once we got back to the warmth of a beautiful real fire we had coffee and little shot of celebratory Port. Thank you to Ryan, Kate, Alfie, Minnie, Rachael and Eva. The next meeting is 15th Jan at a beautiful location in the Landendale Trail Forest. Please check the route and event details on our Stava Page: https://www.strava.com/clubs/243167and click to state if you are attending and also look at our club website on www.familycycleclub.com.
