Lancs to Lincs - route planning advice please

[mcshroom]

Peter. How about saving the bikehike route as a gpx file and then uploading it to somewhere like ridewithGPS or GPSies to display?

[Peter]

M, I have saved them both as gpx routes so Isuppose I could reload them and save them as files and try what you say.  Where do I find the programmes of which you speak (ridewithgps and gpsies) - are they downloads?  I don't do much other than type!

Peter

[mcshroom]

RidewithGPS - http://www.ridewithgps.com
GPSies - http://www.gpsies.com/upload.do

You may need to register with them to host a route, but i think you don't need to with GPSies

[Peter]

Ok, I'll get onto it, thanks!

[Peter]

Thanks, M, it works!

here's the one via Bury

http://ridewithgps.com/users/126803

more to follow

[snail]

Eek you're all lovely! My dates are:
Day 1, Haslingden>Glossop Saturday 1 Dec
Day 2 Glossop>Bolsover Sunday 2 Dec
Day 3 Bolsover>Corby Glen Monday 3rd.
Day 4 I pop to see a mate in Sleaford and Day 5 I endure the trains home.

I don't have any GPS capabilities so I will be spending this weekend with maps making route cards.

I always thought 10mph was pretty pants. I want to join our local CTC but I'm sure I saw the rides say they are 12-15mph, you see.

But YES!!! Sharneyford. I got up in one yesterday, and I have been trying to do that for about a year. I was whooping like a loon at the top.

REgarding using the Rochdale Canal. Anytime I've tried local canals it's been slow, boggy and a waste of time. Blackburn, Accrington, Rishton way - I just gave up. Would have been quicker to walk backwards. But I might do a recce and see what that end is like.

[Peter]

Snail, here, in my opinion, is the nicer of the two routes I've suggested to Rochdale:-

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1017073

I might well be able to ride on Dec 1st depending on when you want to start, so let me know if you'd like some company - also which route you want to try (it doesn't have to be one of mine!)

Peter

[pumpkin]

Worst part would be Haslingden > Glossop imo. You could go thro' to Oldham from Rochdale then to Stalybridge and down to Glossop OR just get the train from eg Mcr Piccadilly or Ashburys to Glossop and cut out the bad miles. Glossop station is right in the heart of the town and it's 30 mins from Mcr

[Peter]

Pumpkin, depending on how loaded up Snail is going to be, I may well suggest Rochdale to Oldham then Stalybridge.  It would be further but would cut out the big climb over to Denshaw.  It's urban but not city riding and would be fine as a "guided tour".

Peter

[Kim]

I always thought 10mph was pretty pants. I want to join our local CTC but I'm sure I saw the rides say they are 12-15mph, you see.

I can relate to that.

I think it's accepted wisdom that when planning touring-style rides and taking traffic, hills and faffing into account, planning to an average of 10mph is freakishly accurate more often than not.

I usually average about 11mph around here, somewhat faster if it's flat.  I'm not normally the slowest on a ride, though.  *shrug*

[Wowbagger]

10 mph when on a laden tourer is beyond my wildest dreams.

[Kim]

I find that a touring load makes very little difference to my overall speed, unless it forces me to walk up hills.

Hell, a 50kg trailer slows me down a lot less than I think it should.  It's bloody knackering, though.

[mcshroom]

For me I can do 10mph with B&B luggage but full camping gear drops the average to about 8mph. Then again for some reason I always have the camping gear when riding round hilly parts of Scotland so there may be other factors.

I find once you have the bike up to speed it's no more difficult to keep rolling along laden than unladen on the flat.

[Kim]

I find once you have the bike up to speed it's no more difficult to keep rolling along laden than unladen on the flat.

Full-size panniers make the Streetmachine appreciably less aerodynamic.  But when touring I spend very little time at speeds where that's a significant factor.

[snail]

I am bed-and-breakfasting so not too laden. I did the 45 miles up to Morecambe on a hybrid with my laptop in my panniers in 4 hours including cake stop but that is flat from Preston and I probably had the wind behind me! Coming back the long way to make it up to a 100km took me 8 hours.

I am so so so grateful and chuffed to have all this advice. Once I have folded myself up in maps this weekend, taking everyone's advice at once, I shall let you know my route and approx times for anyone who does fancy escorting me through their locality!

I'm really looking forward to this, it's one more milestone in proving an old consultant very wrong. (who told me I'd always feel tired, not to do too much, and just accept I was "ill". Pah! Crohn's disease my arse. As it were.)

[Wowbagger]

I think it is of the utmost importance to prove consultants wrong, for the right reasons. When I was first diagnosed with arthritis and very nervous of what I might, or might not, be able to achieve, I told the consultant that I did a lot of walking (before returning to cycling), and how far was now reasonable given the state of my ankles etc. "Not more than 2 miles" came the hesitant reply.

In other words, he didn't know what he was talking about and just picked a number out of the air. I quite often go out and walk 5 miles or more with no ill effects.

Tomorrow I have a rheumatology appointment. I shall go on my bike dressed for a day's cycling, and then go out and do 60 miles. I feel quite sorry for all the poor buggers who will be in the queue with me: they are quite definitely worse off than I am - quite a few of them will be in wheelchairs and I consider myself to be very fortunate - but I wonder just how many of them would be a lot more mobile if they'd made the decision early on that they were not going to let this bloody condition, and it is a total bastard when it gets a grip, stop them from enjoying themselves.

I'm going to be very interested in your route. I bottled out of cycling from Stalybridge to Burnley when I did my tour 3 years ago.

[cycleman]

my unloaded ave is around  7 to 8mph and down to around 6 mph loaded . but as long i i keep peddling i get there in the end

[snail]

Well, that's day one planned out. I've split it into 3 legs with decent stops. I'm going to bimble over to Rochdale on Saturday morning to explore how bad the hill is.
Leg 1 is Haslingden to Shaw, 16.5 miles then a stop for cake about 9.30, 10 am ish.
Leg 2 is Shaw to Stalybridge, 12 miles and I'll be there for dinner (midday) if I leave home at 7.30am.
Leg 3 is Stalybridge to Glossop, 8 miles, so I'll be there mid-afternoon.
Uploaded here: http://ridewithgps.com/users/126995

[Peter]

Snail, I've just looked at your crossing of Rochdale.  Because of road works, you will not be able to turn right after you have passed the town hall.  Here is what you do.  At the bottom of the long hill from Norden, turn right at the mini-roundabout, then immediately left onto Spotland Road.  Up the (easy, short) hill and go through the lights.  Filter left onto St Mary's Gate.  Carefully go right at the lights by the Ukrainian Church onto Molesworth Street.  Down and up to re-join your route at Milnrow Road (turn left at second set of lights).  You should be able to see this ok on your ridewith gps, if you zoom.  I might still be able to get you across from the end of Edenfield Road.  I'll let you know nearer the time.

Peter

[Peter]

Just looked at leg 2, now!  The climb from Shaw that you have chosen is FAR harder than the earlier climb from Newhey up Huddersfield Road and down into Denshaw.  The earlier clmb has a better descent, too and there can't be much in it in terms of distance.

Peter

[snail]

Peter, you are awesome. I knew there was a reason I was on here instead of working... thank you!