I have a week off teaching, so I am spending a week in Yorkshire, with my parents.
Today I cycled 70 miles to Otley, Pately Bridge, Lofthouse and Burnsall. It is very hilly; in particular greenhow hill out of Pately Bridge is really tough. It has about 4 sections of 16-20%. After 10 minutes of climbing the gradient flattens a little, but with a strong headwind it was still very tiring by the end. Earlier in the ride, I also climbed Norwood Edge from Otley towards Pateley Bridge.
There is a good cycling road from Pately Bridge to Lofthouse. This road is rolling and takes in the beautiful Nidderdale Valley, which is characterised by the above picture. At Lofthouse there is a very sharp climb over to Masham or you could visit ‘How Steen Gorge’ a series of caves. I decided to race up a river valley to Scar House reservoir. It took 15 minutes, but the gradient is always very gradual.
The good thing about cycling in Nidderdale is that it is not quite as popular and busy as the Yorkshire Dales – a National Park; but, the scenery is still pretty good.
The only thing to reiterate is that, if you are looking for flat roads, Nidderdale is not the place to go.
Photo by hchackley flickr
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