yes, amid the sun -moted boughs we witness a sad string of condors PUSHING up some cobbles, for today was the pave ride, the epic cobbled classic in which all that Calderdale's finest smoothbacked gritstone ascents could throw at us we would throw right back, through gritted teeth, refusing the slope any hint of weakness .... but some had not read the script, and were only too ready to cave in at the merest hint of an incline, so here we have the first capitulation, leaving Luddenden ....

.... oh and look, here is another one, leaving Hebden Bridge this time, and the sun still shines, warming the backs of those (non)riding without shame ...... well I must admit they do a few climbs earlier in the day, after a few shorter cobbled warm ups over Brighouse way (which means I have no real idea where they actually were), we came to a couple of twisting ascents that were actually quite involving,

the first long n'steep one up to a scabby dry ski run saw Damien go back home to ogle his Zipp wheels rather than continue to submit to the ignominy of riding a bloody mountain bike any further,

the second up to Mt Tabor found Graham starting to bonk (legacy issues from a surfeit of fell running),

the third instituted the earlier mentioned walking routine ... which lasted until Heptonstall's Towngate Tearooms from whence, replete with bellyfuls of mushroom, bacon, egg and tomato 'on white', I cannot imagine the cobble-climbing became any more accomplished ...