Digging deeper into the world of extended rides there was one route in particular that whooped back ‘hey look at me!’ Tracing a line along the very spine of England the Pennine Bridleway had my number and it had me on speed dial.. my days out were about to get substantially longer.
The Pennine Bridleway (PBW) is a variation on the better know Pennine Way (PW) and takes a route that is cool with bikes and horses. Ticking the route on a horse sounded romantic but it would take forever and involve so much complicated logistics. I was sticking to my bike.
The challenge of the time appeared to be the Pennine Bridleway double, that is starting at its southern end, riding north and then returning back south to where you started. 193 miles with about 7,700 metres of ascent. At first it was really confusing because the northern point of the PBW was just north of Hebden Bridge when everyone knows the PW ends on the Scottish border at Kirk Yetholm.
It turns out there was a northern section to the PBW that was still in development, so for now the recognised challenge was the southern section from Middleton Top to Summit, a giro around the Mary Townley loop before returning to Middleton Top. Now that was clear all I had to do was ride it. Conveniently Harveys made a map that covered the entire outing so I didn’t need to go through the palaver of splicing together screenshots of OS maps.
The first section follows the High Peak Trail, it is flat and a good way to ease into the ride, it wasn’t until the 25km point that things started to get interesting. The first obstacle was short and sharp, Chee Dale cut a deep gouge through the landscape and it was down one side and immediately up the other. Muscles now proper warmed up.
My first stop was about 6 hrs in, a small shop in Charlesworth on the outskirts of Glossop and boy it was much needed. Up to this point I had been conserving water, not physically if you know what I mean, just discreetly supping from my drink bottle, but now I could drown myself without repercussions. The next session involved a lot of road work before heading back out on to the moors north of Tintwistle.
Knowing that the route had been done in under 24 hours gave me a frame of reference for the trip, well not really, just because Mo Farah can run a sub 30 minute 10,000 metres doesn’t really indicate what I can do it in! Ideally I wanted to get just over half way on the first day, two thirds would be great and coast home on Sunday. I was carrying bivvy gear and food fully expecting to be sleeping out.
This section up to Summit was about 40km and was an area where I had never ridden before. The views were vast and impressive, the terrain was constantly up and down, the course profile testifies that there were very few flat respites. I passed many reservoirs and very few habitations, it really felt I was away from it all.
The pub was the perfect spot to take on board a cola, it was crisp, sparkly and refreshing. I filled up my water bottle and stashed another behind a rock before setting out around the loop.
I knew how steep the hills were around here from driving up to Ed Oxleys place so I wasn’t relishing the thought on a bike.
Widdop reservoir was serene in the evening sun, it marked the end of my northward direction of travel, from here I would turn west and then south back home. It was a great moral boost, and infact the section after Hebden Bridge had not been quite as bad as I expected.
The track traversed west, I was enjoying this. I passed the point where the bridleway will eventually continue northwards.
My bivvy was improvised, just shy of Waterfoot. It wasn’t searched out, it was right where I stopped on the path. I figured no one would be passing now, except perhaps another Pennine Bridlewayer, and I would be gone early in the morning.
I slept soundly for around 6 hrs, although I had hoped to finish the MTL before bivvying it was a good choice. I was moving slowly in the dark and this section was probably more technical than the rest of the route. Anyway it had started to drag.
It took a while to warm up my legs, striking camp before everything dries out is the worst thing about divvying, balancing on your mat trying not to get everything covered in mildew.
Still, there was a terrific cloud inversion on the Top of Leach, it is always a joy to experience the wonders of nature, and here I was alone at 8 in the morning soaking it all in.
The hill was completely covered in flagstones and quite the bumpiest descent I had done. With no suspension I did my best to absorb the pounding.
With the loop completed I was back on familiar ground. I just had to retrace my steps. In my head the route was broken down into sections which deducted the final 30km of the Peak Trail as it was flat!
In my enthusiasm I missed a right turn on the crest of the hill. It took me a while with the map to relocate myself and understand my error. I hadn’t travelled any less distance or even made a short cut, but I sure wasn’t going to climb back up the hill for the sake of purity. I rolled down the road to rejoin the bridleway.
Hayfield was a welcome break, I dove in the corner shop and got some supplies, a couple of pints of cool milk and a cheese and onion pasty. Regeneration time. The climb out of Hayfield is steep, I knew I wouldn’t be able to ride it so I took my time, sitting in the sun and watching the tourists enjoying a lazy Sunday.
The constant beating had really started to take its toll. Fatigue was creeping, every rock was felt. This was turning out to be a true boneshaker of a ride.
This is a section I have ridden a couple of times and never really enjoyed it, even when fresh. In either direction there is a long shuddering descent followed by a long stoney climb, still I was getting closer to home.
It was actually a relief to get back on tarmac, I whizzed down the hill thinking it was all downhill from here. I had obviously forgot the next section was also downhill coming the other way, it was a bit of a slog, but hey, I was closer to home than the previous paragraph!
And then I had done it, I was at the end of my challenge, at least all of it apart from the final stretch of the High Peak Trail, but who counts that bit even if they were the most stretched out km’s I have ridden!