The idea behind the ride

Thank you for showing an interest in the Velofondista 200km Audax from Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire. This blog is here to give you as much information as possible to help you decide whether to enter, to provide background information and share the route.

Slaithwaite... firstly it is pronounced 'slath-wait'... and if said fast enough (in a local dialect) sounds like 'slawit'. This little village is nestled in the Colne Valley, West Yorkshire.

When I moved here in February 2020 (to take up the role of Vicar of Marsden and Slaithwaite) I was struck by the hospitality, friendliness and community spirit of the people who live here. The villages of Marsden and Slaithwaite have a self-sufficiency which was developed when travel was less easy than these days. Although they developed from farming communities into industrial smoke filled places when the mills came, they have since recovered from that with a burgeoning small business / entrepreneurial ethic that is committed to supporting the local community. Farming survived and thrives on the hills and moorland that create a ever-present backdrop to any view.

Complementing the hospitality of the communities is the stunning scenery. The hills are laced with narrow roads that seem to climb vertically for the best part of 200m, often with cobbles (or setts) adding character to the road surface. Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the river Colne interweave along the valley bottom and are bounded by small reservoirs, small businesses and a delightful towpath full of walkers and cyclists intermittently in harmony.

I'll admit to having fallen in love with the people and the place and I'm honoured to be able to carry out the ministry of the Church of England in this place.

Part of my ministry is to walk lightly on God's good creation... so for the most part I cycle. I've found a new joy in ridiculously steep climbs and that every turn of the road opens out a folded landscape of hillside fields and yellow-grey stone houses. During the pandemic of 2020 I used my 'daily exercise' to cycle around the parishes and hold our place in prayer before God.

Cycling here hasn't been easy: I've had to learn to balance better as I struggle to lift my overweight middle age body against gravity with the gears I brought with me from the East Yorkshire Wolds. As I've begun to explore I wondered how it would ever be possible to develop an Audax here. 200km of these hills would break me, and yet I've loved organising audax for many years and I hoped I would find something suitable.

My hope behind the event I've created is to share with you the genuine experience of cycling around Slaithwaite and West Yorkshire, but in addition showing how we're linked into other places - the places long distance cyclists go for adventure. I have also hoped to make the event appeal to women who cycle long distances by considering the route carefully.

In the pages that follow I will explore some of the route details and share with you some photographs from around the region.