Velofondista 200km Audax

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Route Sheet

on August 11, 2021

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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 s

Link for GPS file download

Velofondista Route Sheet / The Overview: Slaithwaite to Colne: It starts with 40km of remote Pennine moorland with steep climbs, twisty descents, wandering sheep and gravel on the road. The views are amazing and there are reservoirs galore. Colne to Broughton: The next 45km are on quiet country lanes , gentle climbs but some of the descents are narrow and twisty. The only thing to spoil it may be a person in a 4x4 coming the other way. Also: horses. Broughton to the A580 at Lane Head: This 45km is urban A- and B- roads . There will be motorists but the cycling can be very fast. Preston is fiddly to get through and Wigan can feel daunting, but is over quickly. There are a mix of cycle lanes, bus lanes and wide roads. However, there are pubs, cafes, supermarkets and petrol stations constantly giving plenty of refuelling options. A580 to Warburton Toll Bridge: 15km of open fields and wide views of farmland and hills . The roads get quieter and are a relief. The Toll Bridge is 12p

The Organiser's Ride Report

After a winter of looking at maps and checking out sections, I finally felt I had a route that would work, so on the last Bank Holiday of May 2021, I set off from Slaithwaite to test out my new Audax route. Here lies the memory of my legs... Velofondista's bicycle shop is next to the niche Empire Brewery on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Slaithwaite. After a very short flat ride past the brewery and bakery the route turns left and then turns vertical. The first climb is 210m in 3km, past Pole Moor onto the ridge between the Colne Valley and Calderdale. The views are amazing: to the east there is nowhere higher as far as the North Sea. If you have a Garmin with ClimbPro activated, you'll know that was hill 1 of 16. There is a short descent to Scammonden Reservoir and this involves a little gravel cycle path along the top of the dam which is fine for 23mm tyres. It is nice to be able to look back along the surface of the water while knowing that 5m to your right thunders the

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