On Sunday Brian, Damian, Pete and myself assembled at Brighouse to find that Pete was test driving his new "Hill-Man Hunter"; a handle bar mounted "sat nav" able, it would seem, to search out a route between any two fixed points with a guaranteed "altitude attained" not less than the height of Ben Nevis.
Our two fixed points happened to be Brighouse and Holmfirth returning via South Yorkshire to Brighouse. I can truly say we were pioneers, boldly going up hills no cyclists have gone up before (well not on a trip from Brighouse to Holmfirth).
After climbing the cols of Upper Heaton, Emley, and Thurstonland, with numerous shorter leg breakers thrown in along the way, we finally arrived at Holmfirth. Resisting the blandishments of the Wrinkled Stocking we pressed on over the hors category climb of Hade Edge to the bacon and egg feed station at Langsett.
We returned via Silkstone and High Hoyland, then climbed Emley once again, but this time from its southern flank, before retracing our steps back to Brighouse.
All good stuff – quality training for the Three Peaks!
Vicar
