UKC

Since the original has been archived ...

Felt a bit under the weather so just had a couple of short mountain biking days this weekend, Saturday we did the Bingley loop, this time in a clockwise direction which I don't think flows as well as the other way. Today I did a quick loop over to Earby and back which is starting to get a little boggy. Only 40Km for the weekend but enjoyable nonetheless.

In reply to Bob:

Took the MTB over the Mam Tor loop out of the Dark Peak Biking book, nice and boggy up on the sigletrack with around 6 meetings with the lush grass due to lack of speed !. Customary pint of Cider in Castleton before the cycle back up the broken road to the car.
Monday its up to Holmfirth for the Digby loop.

In reply to Bob: "Steady" chaingang (it is October after all) which ended up being just over 23mph average for 30 miles in the middle of a 50 miler.

Then today we set off with a group of 12 that had reduced to 5 by the top of Fleet Moss, where it was super-grim. So 4 of us turned back and had a tough ride back down the valley whilst one hard man carried on over to Hawes and back via something hilly and into a block headwind. 57 miles for me, which keeps up the 100 miles per weekend average.

In reply to Bob:

couple of hours in delamere forest on the mountain bike

In reply to Bob:

Fairly quick blast round Stanage on Saturday - or rather it would've been rather quick if one of our party hadn't managed to rip the cleats out of one shoe (possibly more on this later once they've returned the shoes to the shop in question - it appears the threads failed on the metal plate the cleat screws into... and the shoe's plastic baseplate also then failed!!!!) then I had a pinch flat. Luckily the weather was pretty damn good, but it's definitely showing signs that it's time to stick to the more 'all weather' rides.

Btw - I've only ever done the Bingley loop (and variants therefore) in a clockwise direction, but I see what you mean.

PP.

In reply to tim000:

Winter transition.

Cyclocross bike is a cyclocross bike again after being a road hybrid. Did 2 miles today before thinking fu#k it.defeated by the weather

Was doing 30 odd miles a night a few weeks ago ,and now hardly any.

So ,Tacx turbo thingy and road bike(house for the winter) are on the way.

I'm not getting my desired exercise levels,and I'm not liking it . Need a fix.

In reply to Bob:

Grabbed 90 minutes of cycling up the hills of west Sheffield and battling with infinite headwinds, unhelpful traffic lights and plenty of idiot drivers this morning. Fun times.

In reply to Bob:

Did my first Audax around Bala on Saturday. Hooked....no stress, nice 45 mins tea stop, lovely views, good company. Plus it was on my new bike so an all round cracker....

In reply to Bob:

50 miles in a group of five around the Surrey Hills. Filthy - ended up with a Belgian tan and a bike that looked like I'd been cyclo-crossing

In reply to Bob:
Saturday was a pleasant 35 mile bimble around local Cheshire lanes, with a short diversion into Shropshire to climb the only significant hill (a mere pimple) near to me. On Sunday I ventured south for a 47 mile trip into Shropshire. The first 12 miles or so were a battle into the headwind, but things soon improved when I turned south. Despite having cycled the route before, I managed to get slightly lost, which resulted in a 2 mile backtrack to avoid cycling down a busy main road. On the homeward leg the rain gods managed to soak me with a brief, but intense shower, about 4 miles from home. Although Shropshire is basically mostly rolling countryside, Garmin reckoned that I had done 689m of ascent.

In reply to Bob:

Closest I got to biking this weekend was a bit of shopping on eBay for a seat/trailor for my daughter - which gives rise to thoughts of "do I really want to bolt a bike seat to the lightweight frame of my old Trek mountain bike, saved specifically for this purpose, or should I use the N+1 rule to get a new, cheap bike with a stronger frame?"

In reply to Bob:

Did the Exmoor beast sportive. Route not as good as it used to be but still a nice ride. Value for money, mmm, not so sure but then again maybe the Dartmoor classic and Moor2Sea are just amazing. The wind was awful but on the whole a nice day out.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Or a child back tandem, mine is super awesome and so much better to ride than any other bike with a tag along.

N+1, go on.

Toby

In reply to Toby_W:

At 9-months old, she's not quite up to my tandem yet

Just not sure I want a child seat clamped to triple butted True Temper tubing!

In reply to Toby_W:

I did the 65 mile version of the Exmoor beauty a few years back, and the wind and rain were horrific. That was when it still starting and finishing from Minehead, and pretty much the whole 25-30 mile leg out from Minehead to the descent back to Simonsbath was into gale force headwind and rain. There were points we were struggling to maintain 10 mph, joyful ride that was. Would like a crack at the beast but conditions that day kind of put me off!

In reply to Bob: 45km in blistering heat for the last day in Gran Canaria. Did a loop of the very pleasant Ayagures/Cima Pedro Gonzalez route. Nice way to finish off q great week on some brilliant cycling roads.

In reply to Bob:

Tough Trough Sportive on Saturday and it certainly lived up to its name, 70miles 6000ft of ascent. It was a windy day and it started of with a bit of rain but it brightened up during the day. Some good climbs including the Trough, Waddington fell, Jubilee tower and Tatham Fell. We did Waddington from the Clitheroe side which i found easier than the opposite way but i preferred it from the other side. Really enjoyed the ride up Tatham though.

In reply to Bob:

Looked like I'd been MTBing on road on sat, but 55miles done around Leics/Northants with a visit to Lyddington/Stoke dry hill which is one of my old faves and always a pleasure when back in UK! Followed by club run on Sunday in shirt sleeves and cake in the sun!

In reply to Bob:

First time out for a fortnight since coming back from Mallorca - with a lot of eating, drinking and sitting on my @rse in the car. Yesterdays blustery conditions were a shock to the system - though I did get up Stoney Lane without resorting to the 29t and felt reasonably strong at the top. Now that the clocks have changed it's time to dig the dreaded turbo out of its summer hibernation if I want any midweek rides!

In reply to Bob:
Chaingang Saturday and with a bit of tactical sitting in managed to still be with the front group at the death, when things start to get a bit choppy approaching the town sign sprint - had a scary moment when I had a slight touch of wheels at about 30mph but thankfully stayed upright. Another 50 miles at about 20mph average.

Then led the club ride yesterday - Ilkley do have a bit of a habit of being Wharfedale-centric, so decided to broaden their horizons with a cunning way to Ribblesdale via Barlick and Paythorne. Also helpful that the wind was hooning out of the west, so hardly had to pedal coming back. 60 miles and stayed dry.

In reply to andy:

Went for a club MTB ride (I know!) on Saturday over to Settle. Heading down over the polished limestone bedrock on Stockdale Lane in the horizontal dryness that hadn't been forecast was "interesting" especially when the aforementioned "dryness" also clouded up my glasses A couple of PBs as well so not all bad. Things have gone very muddy over the last couple of weeks, did a night ride round Gargrave and East Marton on Thursday night which was a bog-fest.

Didn't do anything yesterday - was in CBA mode

In reply to Bob:

Last weekend did my first ever cyclocross race at Bingham and finished in the top half which pleased me! It did teach me that I need a light gear than 42x17 so have ordered an 18 to see if that helps enough or if I have to reassess my drive train properly.

Last Sunday did a dark peak trilogy of Cave Dale (failed to clean, I was rubbish) the Beast and Hagg farm plus a few others.

Yesterday went exploring some woods in Derbyshire that were steep, rooty, rocky, slippery and great fun.

In reply to Guy:

Braveheart Sportive in stupid weather. c20mph headwind uphill into hailstones....what's not to like. 84 miles. David Millar was the star guest.

In reply to Bob:

Linked up with a couple of new guys on Strava. Thought I'd go out beat some of their segment time's as a statement of intent friendly competition and all that .... unfortunately it stayed firmly in the realms of thought!

In reply to Bob:

Back in my winter home in the sun...a little too much sun!
Just completed a 500km course in 4 days but the heat was just unbelievable at times.
Saturday at 2pm found me on a monster 7km climb in 42C of sun....never again!

It did leave me nicely at the top of the UKC Strava group for distance and hours by quite some margin however

In reply to Bob:

36 miles of mountain biking from Sheffield to Ladybower and back - some lovely autumn colours and a stunning sunset.

However going down through Stanage plantation with my confidence shot after a recent crash wasn't such a good idea!

In reply to Bob:

Got completely drenched doing 60 miles around Surrey Hills on Sunday morning. I took my shoes off at the cafe and wrung my socks out before replacing them and going in. Nice.

In reply to nniff:
Managed to avoid the showers this weekend, both rides fitted neatly in to the slots between weather systems

Saturday my wife and I did a gentle 100Km ride over to Chipping and back, accidentally incurring the wrath of Andy's brother by visiting the cafe there. Yesterday I went for a lumpy ride down to Hebden Bridge and back - 64Km with 1500 metres of climbing, a few PBs along the way. Both days were quite windy but it had definitely got cooler yesterday.

Did another nighttime MTB ride on Thursday as well - got very, very mucky.

Just over 320Km for the week which ain't shabby for the time of year.

In reply to Bob: Good mileage, Bobster.

Managed my first non-commute midweek ride for a while on Friday with a quick 20 mile before breakfast. Saturday was the usual chaingang, and it's clear that "steady October" was over on 1 November as the pace crept back up again. The 7.5m Strava segment from Otley to Harewood was done at an average speed of just under 29mph. Ouch. Total 50m at just over 20mph again.

Then Sunday I dragged my knackered legs out again and managed to find a place hiding in the bunch on our club run up the valley, where I sat up to Buckden then back to Grassington, when I had to cut off and tow a tiring mate back to Embsay on our own.

Another lovely morning today, so managed another 20 miler before breakfast - glorious up the Dale to day.

In reply to LastBoyScout:

This is what you want...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shetha/4695044148/

In reply to andy:

Have had three weeks of low mileage due to either weather or mechanicals (or indeed laziness) but most of those rides were mountain biking so tend to be shorter anyway.

Noticed you'd got a 20 mile primer in Just my normal commute this morning - today's the sort of day you wished you'd booked as holiday ...

In reply to Bob:

Second ride out on the bike and managed 76km in about 3hrs 20mins at 23kph with about 380m of ascent from Nottingham to Newark and various villages. Saw some lovely little places, valleys and views. Bliss. Still had to push the damn bike up the last 30 m of Georges Lane coming from Calverton back into Nottingham. Still a bit tentative on the descents and generally slow on any steep gradients, up or down.

New distance PB and first time in clipless pedals. Wishing I could get out today.

In reply to Bob:

SCC clubrun to Knott End yesterday with the A group. Nice flattish 75 mile ride at 16mph -- Just what I needed after the best part of 3 weeks off the bike. It's the time of year when our rides take on a more sociable nature and the racing guys are winding down.

In reply to Bob:

Took the proper bike out over the weekend, Sunday was a hung over cafe spin with a regular riding partner who also felt lazy.

Day off work today so blasted out another 50 miles with a friend as we begin winter base miles

In reply to Bob:

Went out on Friday evening with a guy I'd not ridden with before. it turns out he's quite fast. I nearly died, but I'm sure it was good for me. 32 hilly miles in 2 hours. Spent the rest of the weekend recovering.

In reply to Bob:

Did a (what turned out to be in the end) 66km hilly route through Cornish lanes with 'er indoors. 'Bout half way through she got her grumpy face on and started moaning it was too long, too hilly and that her hands were getting cramped on the brakes during descents. Not much conversation was had beyond that point , but we both made it home.

N

In reply to Bob:

A lumpy-ish ride round Gressingham and Wennington. A couple of still climbs with School Lane in Wray probably the best / hardest. Avoided all the bad weather and was home for lunch.

In reply to jayme:

Did a really great 100km sportive in Cheshire organised by Polocini on sunday, pre ride porridge, free tea and coffee, and an after ride curry and rice with a veg option, all at much less than the likes of Wiggle charge for their sportives. will definitely do a few more of their rides next year.

In reply to Bob:

I'm back. Again. Weeks and weeks off the bike and a really pleasant 40 miles around the north Cheshire lanes. Stopped for a remembrance service at one of the villages and a quick medicinal caffeine at Beeston Castle. Couple of days off this week so I had a ride around Penmachno yesterday and did the Cat & Fiddle and back via the Goyt valley and The Street. Cold, wet and really blustery on the Cat. Scary speed wobble on the descent down to the Goyt. Really odd, convinced I had a puncture or the wheel had magically come loose or something. Still can't explain it - combination of speed, roughish road and gusty sidewinds catching the rims maybe?

In reply to SteveRi:

Speed wobbles seem to be a result of strange harmonics in the frame and wheels , quite scary - apparently the best way to deal with them is to stand up and relax.

Saturday I went for a 80Km ride over Malham and round to Kettlewell, very wet On Sunday I went for another 80Km ride over to Waddington (nr Clitheroe), this time rather than having four layers I only needed one. Great county, great weather, great riding.

In reply to Bob:

Mm, I've had a brief one before. But this was more sustained and didn't go away with more or less brake ...which is hard to convince yourself to do when you're closer to 40mph, drifting across the road and heading towards a car! I'll try the standing thing. Definitely wasn't relaxed

In reply to SteveRi:

Weather on Sunday was perfect - cold with a slight breeze, but wall to wall sunshine. I set off on another bimble around the south Cheshire and north Shropshire lanes. Passed a couple of remembrance parades in the villages and stopped for a couple of minutes at 11 o'clock. On the homeward leg I glanced at the Garmin and realized I could probably extend the ride to 60miles by carrying on into Nantwich (Cheshire) and then following a slightly different route back home. I was 3km short when I got back, but this could easily be extended.

The point of all this is I shall be 60 in Feb. I have decided to have a birthday party, where it's compulsory for everyone to ride 60 miles. There will then be a meal in the pub (I am paying), but no starters and/or puddings allowed. I don't eat starters/puddings and have lost count of how many hours of my life I have lost waiting for other people to eat theirs. It's my birthday and I reserve the right to be a grumpy old git.

I'll probably arrange the ride in Feb. unless snow/ice conditions make it impossible. Wimps who don't like cold/wet conditions will just have to man (or woman) up!

In reply to Bob:
Chaingang saturday, which I very, very nearly sacked off the night before due to a crap forecast. As it was we got the required 50 miles in, with a quick coffee stop in Ilkley after the "breathing through your arse" section, and the Beeb's weather forecast, which said rain at 11, proved spot on. Some lazy blokes apparently went out over Arncliffe after dinner and got soaked.

Sunday was spent broadening Ilkley CC's horizons with some Lanky fun. Lumpy ride over to Sabden, over the Nick and back via Rimmington. Glorious:

http://vimeo.com/m/111355671

In reply to Bob:

SCC clubrun to Waddington last Sunday -- cafe was chokka so we ended up at Bashall Barn. -- A bit pricier - but service and grub was good-- Return via Bashall Eaves, Chipping & Inglewhite. The Bashall Eaves road surface is atrocious -- I doubt it will stand another hard winter -- potholes all over the place. We were thankful the roads were dry and could see them! Big ringing it back through Broughton - but that's where the 'elastic' snapped for Gary and me - so we grovelled the last 18 miles way home at a sedate pace. 6 miles from home it decided to rain. Typical. At least that's another 75 miles in the bank.

The coming Sunday is our annual jaunt through the Mersey Tunnel to the Eureka cafe -- another 120km plus ride. Just have to hope it stays reasonably dry.

In reply to Bob:

This weeks SCC outing saw a mixed group of getting on for 30 of us ( ages ranging from 12 to 72) make our annual pilgrimage through the Mersey Tunnel to the Eureka Cafe on the Wirral returning via Parkgate, and New Brighton Promenade before braving the Tunnel once more on the way home. Just under 80 miles at an average speed of around 15mph. Kudos to young James ( age 12!) who clocked up his longest ride to date and put some of his elders to shame on the climbs. He's going to be a future hard man!

In reply to Bob:

Cycled to Holme Pierrepont, raced in the vets category Cyclocross race, staggered home. That was a hard race, the course was fantastic apart from the claggy mud! You have to love on the limits riding. I crashed twice and had numerous saves when I thought I was going to be face down and spitting mud. I am still running too hard a gear 42x18 for this and need to invest in a 20t out back but saying that I finished higher than last time, knocking on the top third.

In reply to Bob:
Slightly less mental chaingang than usual due to it being the day after Ilkley CC's annual race-team curry night so most of the big hitters weren't out, but still 50 miles at an average of just under 20mph.

Then yesterday another annual tradition in the Cumbrian Cracker sportive - 57 miles from Grasmere down to Cartmel and back, riding with Bob of this parish. A small amount of hanging about early on then a straight run through after the lunch stop - 3:33 riding time and an overall time of 3:53 - average 16 and a bit mph, which is respectable with around 4000' climbing. Then food at Lucy's in Ambleside (disappointing) and darts in the Rule (I've not got any better in a year...).

In reply to Bob:

Cycled to Ellesmere (Shropshire). Still trying to work out a circular ride that doesn't involve backtracking, or ridiculous diversions just to avoid backtracking. The cafe next to the mere's sausage rolls are epic. I failed to finish my second one and had to take it with me. Typical dull November day, with steady drizzle on the homeward leg. Despite getting covered in mud I really enjoyed it. Had to cycle an extra 0.25km past my gate and back to make the ride just longer than 80km (50 miles).

In reply to wilkesley:

Saturday was a CBA day.

Sunday, as mentioned above, I did the Cumbrian Cracker Sportive with Andy and one or two (hundred) others. Much better weather than last year, got a good steady pace going with just a small team of four to the lunch stop and three afterwards (Andy & I don't have many mates) enlivened as usual by Andy pointing out the few scraps of land in South Cumbria not owned at one time by my family.

In reply to Bob:

A very long weekend for me this week. Had a couple of days in the Peak: an embarassing mechanical on the first afternoon led to saying "stuff it" (or words to that effect) and visiting Chatsworth House. The second day we did a loop around Calver which gave us chance to take in some of the sanitised trails in the area as well as meet a misery guts walker who wouldn't even say "good morning" - fortunately the next pair were.

Due to someone (cough, cough) double booking things, I had Saturday to myself so I headed south on the Pennine Bridleway and round the Widdop loop and back to give a solid 50Km off-road ride. The bit above Wycoller was very muddy and my kit needed a double rinsing before going in the washing machine.

Sunday we headed up to Stainforth and did a 41Km ride out of the VP Dales South book over to Littondale and back via Malham Tarn and the Settle Loop. I'd ridden most of this before but nearly always in the opposite direction so it felt fresh. Unfortunately the gloom of the previous few days had got to me so I didn't take a camera and typically the sun was out! A biting wind on the tops though. Pretty much an all weather route, just the climb out of Arncliffe Cote needing some pushing as you just span out on the wet grass and limestone.

Not surprisingly given the time of year it was all very quiet, I/we met very few other bikers or walkers, even the roads yesterday were nearly deserted.

In reply to Bob: Decided to take it (relatively) easy on the chaingang Saturday so when the split came I stayed in the second group - probably better training as you get to take all your turns instead of sitting a few out - still ended up with 50 miles at 19mph avarage.

The reason for trying to take it easy Saturday was Sunday's ICC "training ride", that was over Park Rash, Witton Steeps and back over Kidstones "the hard way". These aren't blisteringly fast rides but just utterly relentless - mate decided he needed to borrow my allen keys to drop his saddle half an inch, which resulted in an eyeballs out chase from Kilnsey to Kettlewell, then a fast finish back down the valley. 65 miles at just over 16mph, which with two tough climbs of about 2 miles each, is hard going (it is for a fat lad, anyway).

In reply to andy:

Coming back over Kidstones (and Fleet Moss for that matter) are like ramp tests: here's a couple of hundred metres at 3%, enjoy that? Let's up it to 4% for the next bit ... By the time you get to the final 20/25% section you are knackered.

In reply to Bob:

First time I've done it from that side - made the mistake of doing a five mile turn on the front from the turn off the main road - that's my excuse for getting dropped by a girl on the climb, anyway...

In reply to Bob:

Saturday was a short MTB route in Wensleydale with a couple of tough uphills (though I really shouldn't overtake road bikers on the steep bit of Buttertubs) and good decents though the forecast fine weather didn't materialise.

Having signed up for a very silly event (all will be revealed in due course when MRT are sent out to collect my desiccated remains) I decided to get some MTB distance work done. In to Skipton, along the canal to Gargrave, up to Airton then over Weets Top and down Mastiles to Kilnsey before heading back over Boss Moor to Hetton and then the canal back to Skipton. The hardest bit was the canal: off camber mud with a severe headwind on the way out. A total of 61Km of very muddy riding. All the becks are now flowing well and I got very wet feet which then got cold in the strong wind - warm socks on order from Wiggle.

In reply to Bob:

Snowdon on Weds - up Beris Path, down Rangers & Telegraph. Rangers in a oner, very cool riding (gave the techy bit at the bottom a good go but got spat off). Not been down the Rangers before, well impressed.

Peak Off Road MTB on Friday evening - lovely cold clear evening and starting to freeze the mud.

Sat - short family MTB ride at Ladybower,

At then end of the family ride managed to lose it on black ice on the road, went down very hard - hurt wrist, hurt pride and broken phone.

In reply to ChrisJD:

Still not done Snowden on a bike, given the forecast it will be next year at least.

In reply to ChrisJD:

Did 43 miles on the HT and had a few scares on ice, both on and off road. Almost had to bin it coming down roper hill near redmires, and again at the bottom of Stanage causeway - not that I was anywhere near your KOM ! Then Bamford, shatton, eyam, Baslow and a glorious sunset ride along Curbar and Froggatt.

I do love it when the ground is frozen, but it does get the sphincter twitching at times!

In reply to Bob:

Did it in 1990 on a 2 ton fully rigid with rim brakes. It was rubbish. Had to push half of the way up, and about a quarter of the way down. That was before the restrictions, got lots of support on the way up, and scowls on the way down - except from those who'd seen me suffering

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Looks like you did a cracker of a ride on Sat - great long link up of some classic Peak trails.

Love riding on frozen ground as well - but it has its exciting moments for sure

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Rigid - applauds effort!

Not much has changed on the way up from Beris on the walk/ride split, though was expecting to ride a lot less than we actually did pedal up.

Have to say how friendly/supportive the vast majority of the (few we saw) walkers were up and down (though I could feel a small collective scowl from the walkers right at the top). Had a couple of jaw-drop-open looks on the way down from the very small handful of walkers coming up the Rangers

Did Snowdon a couple of times back in the 90s after work in Summer (full sus !) - up Miners, push up zig zags, (would't do that route up nowadays though given sensitivity) and then down the Beris tourist path.

In reply to Bob:

Is this thing still on? Just shy of 100km and 5500' in pretty chilly conditions over the Bwlch, Worlds End, Horseshoe Pass. One bust shifter, one bust spoke, one puncture, lots of mincing, a few falls on the ice. Shamefully poor average speed. Enjoyed that

In reply to SteveRi:

If folk are still riding then yes, it's still on!

Did quite a few rides over the hols but this was today - http://app.strava.com/activities/236722520 - a cool and damp ride round Grizedale Forest. On New Year's Eve we did a ride around Whitbarrow Scar - http://app.strava.com/activities/234959120 - somewhat amazingly visiting places I'd never been before despite growing up just two miles away!

In reply to Bob:

Weekend of two really different rides. Saturday went out on the MTB from New Mills, up around Roman Lakes, Strines, Marple, soaked to the skin, mud splashed places mud has no right to be.

Sunday went out from Hope on the mountain bike in glorious winter sunshine on frozen dry trails. Simply amazing ride, up the Roman Road, along Jaggers, up Chapel Gate and back to Hope via Mam Tor. Then there was coffee.

In reply to Bob:

A frosty one yesterday -- It was a bit sketchy getting from Leyland out on to the A59 at Tarleton, but once there it was OK. The clubrun went up to Scorton via Preston and the main A6. The frost had lifted by then, so came back across the Fylde via Great Eccleston. About 67 miles.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

Leyland eh - wonder if you have any tips for me? I occasionally ride from Cheshire to my mum's in Lancaster. I always have a slightly miserable between about Leyland and Bilsborrow - I followed a blue sign cycle route into Preston last time, but it was a bit erratic. Save me from the grimness of the A6!

In reply to SteveRi:

Depends upon which road you're approaching Leyland on. Our club heads north of the Ribble most Sundays, and attempts to avoid the A6 wherever possible - though parts of Preston are unavoidable.

We normally cross the Ribble on the A59 from Penwortham, then there are a number of routes that take you to Bilsborrow via Woodplumpton. ( via the docks and Lea - more scenic, or via Tom Benson Way - shorter but busier) If you're heading on to Lancaster there are also the lanes across the flat lands of The Fylde which can take you from St Michaels to Lancaster . There are so many lanes over the Fylde it's easy to take the wrong turning - but difficult to get lost!

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

Thanks, I'll take a peek. I'm normally coming up Parbold Hill and then across N through Eccleston and beyond. Love the stretch E of the M6 beyond Preston and happy from there. As you were, thread returned!

In reply to SteveRi:

Unless you really want to do the main road climb of Parbold Hill, the best way would be to take the lanes https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Lancaster+Ln%2FB5246&daddr=53.641222...