reviews
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| Malham - Tour of Malhamdale - 11 May 2006 |
| Great route which as you explained was suprisingly quiet, the only people you see are farmers and like minded mountain bikers. Most of the route is on well made paths except a few fields with cows in which are a bit hard going as the ground is very boggy and uneven. Dont be put off by the initial climb out of Malham past Gordale Scar as the descent from Weets Top to Calton is amazing!!! Only gripe is the time it says this route will take, it says 2 - 2.5 hours, it took me and a few mates about 5 hours and were relatively fit. Best part of the ride was the post ride pint of Guiness in Malham on a gorgeous spring evening. |
| Malham - Tour of Malhamdale - 13 April 2007 |
| hi did this over easter and saw one other mountain biker all day - and he was lost at weets top. the descent from weets is top class fun. this is a great ride all round. got back into malham at 3pm after three and a half hours and the place was mobbed with sight-seers. thank good they dont venture much past the cove and gordale scar! |
| Malham - Tour of Malhamdale - 9 July 2007 |
| I arrived at Malham after the quite nasty rains of June/July. I picked the day because it had been dry for a few days and i thought this would be ample time to allow the bogs to be (relatively) dry. Oh dear. I will come to that in a bit... The initial climb past Gordale Scar is daunting (had to walk a little bit; need to get fitter!!) but is the decent from Weets top to Carlton just thrilling! The clay-based surface is superb and was good and dry when I did it. However, past the gate about a mile down you come to a boggy moor with cows in the field. Dear me, it was very wet and the puddles managed to soak my feet something chronic! After the trip through Carlton and Airton again you come to the fields just before you reach Bell Busk. These fields were badly flooded and I actually managed to get submerged past my pedals on one "puddle." Managed to reach Gargrave, but was informed not to continue due to flooding being even worse on my route. So, I followed the tarmac all the way back to Malham (I did get a little bit of a good downhill at the end, but nothing like from the North) and enjoyed a lovely pint at the local pub, with hordes of schoolchildren milling around me. I will definately return to the course as it was wonderfully quiet (I was trying the route on my own) and the views across Malham and the dales are quite breathtaking...but next time I will make sure its much much drier!! This still took me about 2 hours to complete but I was dissapointed not to go further. Up to 5 hours to complete this ride is about accurate so make sure you come well prepared and preferably with someone else! Doing the course on your own is nice, but it would have been better to have someone to talk to... |
| Malham - Tour of Malhamdale - 23 November 2007 |
| Well what Can I say about this route, I would say its one of the best. Its got everything roads, hills, grass, mud, stones etc. I did it the first time after the bad rain we had over the summer and it was hard going with the ground been very slippy, I did it in about 5 hours, The second time I did this route i got 3 puntures (7 hours!!!), less said about that the better. The 3rd time I went round no problems, did it in about 3.5 hours. Tomorrow 24/11/07 I Will be doing it again, trying to beat my record, Ive just bought myself some new Fox Forks so I am going to put them to the test. But I agree with some of the other reviews, like the route from weets top its great FUN!!. |
| Buckden – The 3 Valleys route - 17 February 2008 |
| You say the start is technical and requires fitness to clean and I agree. It is a brutal start and with hindsight I would probably start at Kettlewell to give a few miles warm up before the climb then you just pootle back to the car from Starbotton at the end. That said this is a superb ride with a whole host of varying terrain. Unfortunately for us it was misty on the tops until we descended into Coverdale but the remainder of the route was clear and sunny. Routefinding is easy and the last descent is worth all the hard work at the start. If you are fit you will ride it all if not you will push a bit but not too much. Have fun, we did. Best wishes from Weaver Valley Cycling Club. |
| Grassington - Barden Moor and Pasture - 15 December 2005 |
| I do love this route. The traverse of Barden Moor is an absolute classic - especially as the wind is usually behind you. A bit of a grunt to get up there but then you are high and descending for ages. |
| Grassington - Barden Moor and Pasture - 16 January 2006 |
| I will always love the climb up Rylstone Edge and have finally mananged the steep bit after the gate without dabbing. What has happened to the techno-singletrack at the top though? The sanitised trail section has consumed all but a small (but still the best) section - I know trail conservation and ease of access is important, but there is no challenge to it anymore! Highlight now is now the woods section down to Bolton Abbey and the switchback before the drop to the gate - lots of two wheel drift and worried walkers! |
| Grassington - Moors and Mines - 23 April 2006 |
| This route has everything good climbs, wicked decents,good technical routes and open moorland, I have walked this area for a long while but mountain biking it took it to another level, it was a good dry day but the moorland could get a bit wet,it also has a good start/ finish point with good pubs in the village, I will be trying this route again. |
| Grassington - Moors and Mines - 31 May 2006 |
| this is a classic trail. i agree with the previous reviewers - it has a bit of everything and some cracking views. i must confess to turning left at mastiles lane and cycling to the top to give an even longer decent |
| Hawes - Dodd Fell Circuit and the Roman Road - 3 June 2006 |
| A brilliantly hot day with clear blue skies and very few people about on the route. The climb up the Roman road is steady and the best of the climb, the most technical, is towards the top. The descent starts easily and then becomes rutted but taking the right turn across the fell gives an excellent descent down the Pennine Way. |
| Horton - Tour of Pen-y-Ghent - 25 August 2005 |
Last rode this route ten years ago and hadn't returned because of the mud on Foxup, but what a difference now. Some nice dry weather and a good bit of repair work and it was absolutely superb. Plenty of technical riding and lots of good quick surfaces. The views are fantastic and just a few walkers around. They're not joking about the descent to Helwith - it is quick grass and stone with plenty of ruts. Nearly lost it at one point when the front end couldn't make up its mind which way it wanted to go. |
| Malham - The Big One - 5 October 2006 |
| First the good news, the scenery on this route is absolutely top draw, probably as good as you can get in the dales. However if its technical downhill and single track you want this route is not for you. The climbs are off road, they are long and steep in places but rarely technical. In my opinion the best routes take you up hills on tarmac and down them off road. This route does the opposite. Time after time we seemed to burn off hard earned height on tarmac or grassy sloped descents. At the end of the ride we felt we’d done 5 hours up hill and 30 minutes downhill. The route is definitely worth its severe grading. We are a reasonably fit group and we usually do rides nearer the shorter end of the estimates but on this ride we were closer to the 5 hours, allow longer than this if you don’t usually do rides of this severity. In summary the route is challenging, we had a good day and enjoyed ourselves but we’ve done better routes. There is a great ride to be had somewhere in the Malham area but due to its non technical nature and dissapointing descents this route isn’t it, although I’d like to know what its like in reverse. |
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