Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Ride Reports => Topic started by: Kim on 22 April, 2019, 05:49:21 pm
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(I originally wrote this for print in the ALC bulletin (http://lightweightcampers.org.uk/), hence limited wordcount and translation to Firkin/Furlong/Fortnight/Fahrenheit units.)
A hilly loop from Skipton via Malham and Arncliffe, April 2019
Having cycled to the Easter meet on my recumbent touring bike, I decided to take the opportunity on the Friday to re-visit the area around Malham. My previous experience of cycling in the area was of short MTB rides in the depths of winter, where the dominant feature was wind-chill. This time, it would be all about the heat.
I set off from the Niffany Farm campsite and headed into Skipton, which was busy with the market in full swing. The route out of Skipton on the B6265 was uphill, and my Garmin GPS 'helpfully' suggested a detour through a residential street that was even steeper, but thankfully less busy. I rejoined the Grassington Road at the A65 roundabout, and followed it for a gently rolling few kilometres alongside the railway to Rylstone. I took the turn-off to Hetton and followed the undulating lanes through Airton and Kirkby Malham, before descending into Malham itself.
Malham was even busier than Skipton, with tourists everywhere and marshals directing drivers to park in a field. Fortunately the Muddy Boots cafe wasn't too busy, and I was able to obtain a generous portion of cake, and seat (indoors out of the sun) in which to eat it. As I was chatting with a fellow cyclist who'd had the same idea, I noticed a crowd forming outside; eventually realising that it was people admiring my bike.
Suitably refreshed, I set off to tackle The Steep Bit: Having brake-squealingly descended Cove Road previously, I reckoned that the Malham Rakes route to the Tarn would be a less severe way to obtain the required elevation. There was no shortage of encouragement from walkers as I winched my way to the top in my 19" bottom gear, stopping only for a photo of the Cove.
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/skipton2019/2019_04_19_12_57_27.sized.jpg)
Malham Cove viewed from Malham Rakes
Eventually I reached the top, and was able to achieve a cooling breeze on the flat(ish) roads around Malham Tarn.
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/skipton2019/2019_04_19_13_34_03.sized.jpg)
Malham Tarn viewed from the west
I then followed the road to Arncliffe, which featured the kind of high-speed descending that recumbent riders love - without too many wandering sheep! Unfortunately what goes down must come up, and taking one look at the double-chevron climb at Nab End, I decided to stop in the shade and let a car pass before tackling it. A hard sweaty grind later, and I was rewarded with a spectacular view of the scar on the other side of the valley, and a smooth descent into Arncliffe.
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/skipton2019/2019_04_19_14_07_23.sized.jpg)
View from the cattle grid at Nab End towards Arncliffe
Clicky for panorama (http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/skipton2019/2019_04_19_14_08_36.jpg)
The (relatively) flat route along the valley to Threshfield came as a welcome relief, as I was starting to feel the effects of the sun by this point, and it was good to be making decent progress. Re-joining the B6265, I headed back to Skipton, this time without the residential detour, as motor traffic is so much less intimidating when you're able to maintain a decent speed downhill.
My Garmin reports 65km (40 miles) in a little over 4 hours, with a total of 1132m (3714ft) of climbing. (https://www.strava.com/activities/2302394710)
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Sound.
A nice read.
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:thumbsup:
Good write up, Kim.
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Honourable mention (which didn't make the final edit) to the couple I passed on the descent to Arncliffe, who were twiddling up the hill on Bromptons. One of my previous descents of Cove Road was where I learned to fear the combination of Brompton brakes and multi-chevron descents. Hopefully they manged to stop before the gravelly right-angle turn into a closed gate, before doing it all again. Chapeau!
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What's a 19" gear in real speak?
J
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What's a 19" gear in real speak?
1.6. The inches/metres/attoparsecs are misleading as the bike has 155mm cranks.
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What's a 19" gear in real speak?
1.6. The inches are misleading as the bike has 155mm cranks.
What units?
J
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What units?
Gain ratios have no units.
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What units?
Gain ratios have no units.
Fair point, well played.
What's that in MoD ?
J
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What units?
Gain ratios have no units.
Fair point, well played.
What's that in MoD ?
1.5m, but it feels slightly higher on account of the crank length.
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Nice photos, good words. A pleasant way to pretend to be somewhere else for a short time.
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What a lovely report. Thanks Kim :thumbsup: