For the first time this year I am off for a camping trip on my bike. I'm using my old second hand Dawes Galaxy bike but now it has butterfly bars and a new set of Ortlieb panniers. The panniers are waterproof and much easier to fit on the bike than my old Karrimor panniers. The bars give a good choice of hand position giving an opportunity to change position on a long ride. They are wider giving better control of the bike with loaded panniers. The brake levers also give a better grip for breaking. The weather forecast had been all over the place. The on-line version was for overcast and occasional rain. It turned out to be rain most of the way and some of it was torrential.

On the rainy climb to Saddleworth Moor

Emley Moor TV transmitter mast
on the descent to Holmfirth

I left home at 7:30am in light drizzle with a welcome tail wind. By the time I reached Adlington I had to stop and put my waterproof top on and shoe covers. Going through Bolton the traffic was very heavy but normal for the rush hour. Another first for today is to use my Garmin GPS unit to assist with navigation. After Bolton I would be on roads I'd never cycled on before so needed some help. Carrying sections of the rout printed on A4 sheets of paper isn't much use when it's pouring with rain. The method I was using was to use pre-designated points on the computer and uploading them to the GPS. Previous trials showed that 3 point per junction worked well. One just before the junction or turn, the next at the junction and the third just after so I knew I was on the right route if there were several options.

With the GPS mounted on the bars the system worked very well. After Bolton I cycled through Radcliffe and in to Middleton. The gentle rain now turned torrential so I stopped to use an awning by the Bingo Hall to shelter while the worst rain passed. Then it was of to Chadderton and Oldham but here my plan had to be amended as the one-way system isn't shown on the map and I had to detour the no-entries. I left Oldham on the A669 to Greenfield. Over the summit I started my descent but had to stop when I found a bus shelter where I could shelter from another torrential downpour. There was a complex junction in Greenfield to get me on the A635 to Saddleworth Moor and Holmfirth.

Holmfirth

Sheffield tramlines

The very dark clouds in the valley ahead didn't look good. As I climbed I found myself cycling under any tree that would provide some sort of shelter. Below me to the right were a series of reservoirs in the Ashway Gap terrain. I was dreading leaving the trees and heading out in to the open moor, torrential rain and thick mist. As I climbed the name Saddleworth Moor started to a affect me with its terrible associations with the Moors Murder case with Myra Hindley and Ian Brady in 1965. Just the thought of cycling on the same road as they drove to dispose of the murdered children was very depressing. The rain and mist fitted my mood. Over the summit the descent towards Holmfirth was a welcome relief from the climb with a full load. I crossed the line of the Pennine Way where I'd walked towards Edale a couple of years ago (not doing the whole route).

Thankfully the rain stopped and the weather was bright as I reached Holmfirth. I stopped briefly in the town to take a few snaps before leaving on the climb of the B6106. I was enjoying the ride until I reached the A616 where the volume and speed of the traffic made cycling uncomfortable. It was interesting crossing the river Don as there was a high bridge carrying the footpath overhead. My complaints about the A616 were nothing when I got to the continuation of the road where it reaches the A628. It was full of huge lorries doing motorway speeds on a narrow A road. I would advise any cyclist to avoid it. I was so thankful to reach the turn off to Stocksbridge and the relatively quiet road. I followed the road to the outskirts of Sheffield and the suburb of Hillsborough.

Sheffield tram

That’s another name with unpleasant associations. I came across a cycling hazard I hadn't experienced in decades; tramlines. I didn’t know Sheffield had trams and cycling by the tracks meant crossing them at the most oblique angle possible. The rain started again and as I climbed out of the valley I had to stop twice to shelter from the torrents falling from on high. As I climbed out of the most recent downpour I was amazed to see the road was completely dry as no rain had fallen there so far. I continued my climb to my planned camp at the Fiddlers Elbow above Heathersage. The summit car part was busy so I walked up a soggy depression on the opposite side of the road to camp.