The one with Steep, Rocky, Snow, Ice & A Sheep Dog.
Ride Date: 03/03/2015
Distance: 13 miles
Route: Chapel Gate, Rushup Edge, Roych Clough, Coldwell Clough & Jacob's Ladder.
Weather: Temperature - 1°C, Wind - 20mph →, Humidity - 85%, Conditions - Sunny.
Riders : Jake & Matt
A nice mid week opportunity for a ride, with everyone else stuck at work Myself and Matt opted for the all weather kinder loop & met at Edale for an early 8am start. It was freezing cold, but the forecast was dry & sunny, so wrapped up well we headed out along the road towards the first climb of the day, up Chapel Gate, it's a tough climb that gets steeper before levelling out again over the top where we came to the first descent of the day, the famous Rushup Edge, it's a trail now embroiled in controversy as Derbyshire County Council have seen fit to attempt to resurface it without consultation with any of the parties that use it, but great work from Peak District MTB , Ride Sheffield & Keeper of the Peak has seen the work stopped for time being, with a view to having it returned to it's former state, or at the very least maintained in a correct manner. Anyway it was partly down to the aforementioned "repairs" that I had my only tumble of the day early on in the descent with my front wheel somehow getting locked into the apple size stones they have spread over the trail. The rest of the descent was still tough going with some very deep frozen snow which was stubbornly hanging about due to the sunken nature of the trail.
As we approached the road, we swung right and followed the trail around the hill and onto the day's second big down into Roych Clough, this was where the steepness started, with big steps, cobbles and rocks it had the lot, starting out technical and finishing fast through a stream it was great fun, this led onto the climb up Mount Famine, one of those climbs that is strangely satisfying, where you just plod away, picking your line and you are soon at the top.
Time for a breather at the top, despite a biting wind, we were able to take shelter behind the steep banks of the trail, once refreshed we started the fast descent into Coldwell Clough, staring of shallow and icy, then becoming steeper as it dropped down through fields of cattle, giving us occasional drainage bars to skip over & the only splashes of mud we saw all day. This led us into the nemesis of the ride, the killer 2 mile climb to Edale Cross and the pot of gold that is Jacob's Ladder. The climb starts out badly with more of the classic Council resurfacing, it's steep and tough to ride on, it's even tough to walk on. Once past this section, it flattens slightly and goes back to the natural rocky retain, again it's tough, but it is ridable, it's a bit like the climb on Cut Gate out of Langsett, where you get that feeling of triumph as you clear a particularly tricky bit without dabbing. The final bit of the climb was perhaps the most difficult, with lots of sheet ice making grip with tyre or sole almost impossible.
The climb was worth it though as we were faced with Jacob's Ladder and the huge, long drop back to Edale. It starts out very, very steep, it's "I'm going over the bars" steep, not only that it throws in steps, rocks & snow, just to spice it up even more. It mellows very slightly in the middle, where we had a short pause as Matt had a blow out, it was then back on with it where the trail turns more to a rocky single track before a sharp left and even rockier between two stone walls down to the bottom. You now feel the descent in every muscle of your body, it's an exhilarating ride down, the views, if you can take your eyes off the trail for long enough, are stunning too!
This left a fast blast down farm tracks to the road, my turn for a puncture on this section, then a steady ride back on tarmac to Edale, where we were even treated to a pro sheepdog in action.
Time for lunch, a trip to the Old Hall Hotel at Hope where I had some very nice Tibshelf sausages with mash, all washed down with a pint of Castle Rock Harvest Pale
All in a superb winter route, almost no wet and superb trails & views, certainly one we'll do again.
Distance: 13 miles
Route: Chapel Gate, Rushup Edge, Roych Clough, Coldwell Clough & Jacob's Ladder.
Weather: Temperature - 1°C, Wind - 20mph →, Humidity - 85%, Conditions - Sunny.
Riders : Jake & Matt
A nice mid week opportunity for a ride, with everyone else stuck at work Myself and Matt opted for the all weather kinder loop & met at Edale for an early 8am start. It was freezing cold, but the forecast was dry & sunny, so wrapped up well we headed out along the road towards the first climb of the day, up Chapel Gate, it's a tough climb that gets steeper before levelling out again over the top where we came to the first descent of the day, the famous Rushup Edge, it's a trail now embroiled in controversy as Derbyshire County Council have seen fit to attempt to resurface it without consultation with any of the parties that use it, but great work from Peak District MTB , Ride Sheffield & Keeper of the Peak has seen the work stopped for time being, with a view to having it returned to it's former state, or at the very least maintained in a correct manner. Anyway it was partly down to the aforementioned "repairs" that I had my only tumble of the day early on in the descent with my front wheel somehow getting locked into the apple size stones they have spread over the trail. The rest of the descent was still tough going with some very deep frozen snow which was stubbornly hanging about due to the sunken nature of the trail.
As we approached the road, we swung right and followed the trail around the hill and onto the day's second big down into Roych Clough, this was where the steepness started, with big steps, cobbles and rocks it had the lot, starting out technical and finishing fast through a stream it was great fun, this led onto the climb up Mount Famine, one of those climbs that is strangely satisfying, where you just plod away, picking your line and you are soon at the top.
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| The summit of Mount Famine |
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| On the way up to Edale Cross |
Time for lunch, a trip to the Old Hall Hotel at Hope where I had some very nice Tibshelf sausages with mash, all washed down with a pint of Castle Rock Harvest Pale
All in a superb winter route, almost no wet and superb trails & views, certainly one we'll do again.
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