Hope Pre Peaks

Statistics

 

Distance: 85KM off and on road

Elevation: 1800m of climbing

The Hope Pre-Peaks event is organised by the Hope technology bikes in Barnoldswick. It is inspired by the Three Peaks Cyclocross; The 3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross is staged in the Yorkshire Dales National Park every year at the end of September. It is the toughest and biggest Cyclo-Cross event in the UK!

Given the toughness of the 3 Peaks, the hope factory aimed to organise an event equally as tough, either as a warm-up for the big event or as a taster for those not lucky enough to get an entry to the Peaks. I can definitely vouch that the route was tough!

This was the third year of the event and the pre-peaks route takes in some of the best scenery in the Yorkshire Dales with a healthy mix of roads, tracks and paths along the route. It takes riders out from our Barnoldswick HOPE Factory, over Weets Hill directly towards the Yorkshire Dales and back, via a few “testing” climbs. As happens in the Yorkshire Dales on the Three Peaks Cyclocross race, competitors will have to carry their bikes on several of the climbs and paths as well as using local roads on the transitions. Riders will have the choice of whether to tackle to route on a CX bike or mountain bike – both will have their pros and cons. Unfortunately, my new cyclocross bike was in for repair due to not changing gears; thus, I had the comfier option of the mountain be and Alan had the purist choice of the cyclocross bike (It was a 50/50 split between mountain and cyclocross bike.

 I was even treated by some nutritious Feed Stations along the route(it’s the simple things you appreciate when you never pay for an event; I definitely wanted to get value for money and make the most of them; I just had to be careful with my temperamental stomach, thus I mainly used my carbohydrate drink for the whole ride)  There were TWO Feed Stations around the routes:  The First Feed Station at Long Preston @ 25km.  The Second Feed Station close to Lea Farm @ 58km.. On the Route there was an additional opportunity to top up your water bottles at Kilnsey (near a popular fell race) – close to the start of Mastiles Lane and the King/Queen of the Mountain (KOM/QOM) Sector. Unfortunately, I wheelspin on the KOM section and it was off-road so I had to surrender to walking with my bike up the hill along with every other fellow ride beside me; I was gutted as I knew I could have gotten up it on my cyclocross bike and probably make a good time.

Malham Tarn. We went over the hill just behind it to the right followed by a long 15min descent to the valley.

The final section of the routes follows sections of the Canal Side Trail between Gargrave and Barnoldswick towards the end of the ride. (later did I know I was drafting behind a fellow bob graham friend on the canal. He set off earlier and completed the route in 40 additional minutes to us.)

Once the route was completed, we rehydrated with a cup of a tea, was presented by an Awesome goodie bag and had an in-depth tour around the factory; it highlighted their ultimate precision of CNC bike products

To conclude, it was one epic ride. The scenery was stunning. The terrain was challenging and the atmosphere was fantastic. A ride that I will certainly be doing again!