How else to start this blog than with England’s longest continuous hill climb, Cragg Vale. This fantastic climb starts in Mytholmroyd (near Hebden Bridge) and winds its way up for 5.2 miles and 968ft toward Blackstone Edge Reservoir. I have done this hill climb five times now but the first time was for the annual Blazing Saddles Brompton Hill Climb event 2016. The event was over the weekend of the 15th-16th October and was very well attended by cyclists of all ages and dressed in a variety of outfits including an elderly gent with bagpipes…HARDCORE!
Having never done the climb before and mainly being used to riding around on my B on my own, I knew it would feel a bit strange but it was a brilliant morning. I hopped on a train from Leeds and after a very short warm-up, I located the start point and took a deep breath….
The lower section is very gentle and you start to wonder when the climb will get going but soon enough you start to feel the steeper middle section and before long, you are on your own with only the views for company (which is surely why we cycle anyway).
The messages of support were painted on the roads for the brave souls attempting the Brompton event and it definitely helped towards the end as the legs started to tire. I was pleased to clock a time of 29:22 and enjoyed it so much that I went straight back down and did the climb again.
I have recently done the climb twice with various members of the London Brompton Club and it really is a great climb to do with friends. So the next time you are in West Yorkshire then be sure to tick this classic off the list.
If you are lucky then the ice cream van might be waiting for you at the top.
Tall Man, Small Bike 