The Wakefield Wheel

#wakefield #cycling #offroadcycling #gravel #oakleyjawbreaker
A post-Kathleen Monday round of the Wakefield Wheel

[@michaeldenton2581]

Another fine Vlog Gordon 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻….Had me chuckling at “Pugsley”, another reference for the older generation 😁… Very brave of you to be in short sleeves, I’m still finding it hard to get out without the thermals still 😆

[@clippingin1593]

I rode the first 13 miles off-camera wearing armwarmers and stashed them in the rucsac when I started the circuit.This type of ride is a bit slower and more sheltered than our typical road rides so the windchill isn't as noticeable. When I did the recce on 2nd April I used road-gear and felt really over-dressed. I was really pleased with the inventiveness of the Wheel - one to go back to. Cheers Mick.

[@stevemccarthy6350]

Thanks for sharing your ride Gordon, a very nice route.

[@clippingin1593]

Thanks Steve. It's an area I know as a roadie but I had no idea there were so many great trails and quiet lanes to be linked up.

[@angusmacruary2488]

Nice ride, Gordon. Good to see what can be done when "the authorities" put their mind to it.

[@clippingin1593]

Thanks, Angus. I like these inventive routes in slightly unexpected areas. Sections can be ridden as self-contained traffic-free instalments with safe-parking or you can take it on as an all-in-one challenge. I'm not sure when Wakefield Council backed it - I don't remember it in the 2000s - but it's nice to be on an 'official route' in some of the shared use areas.

[@andrew300169]

It is nice that view (11:45) of Emley moor, I followed 1/2 variation on this and it’s really pleasant route on a mid week summer’s evening.

[@clippingin1593]

The GoPro doesn't do it justice but it's a great landscape and one more pleasant surprise on this route. As I said in the outro, I like these concepts of local gems - there's a treasure trove of cycling to be had in some very surprising places.

[@nickfitzpatrick5302]

A lovely drop of mud here and there 😁

[@clippingin1593]

There's no shortage of it, Nick! This has to be the most prolonged wet autumn/winter for a long time. Good circuit though, I had no idea there were so many quiet lanes and bridleways in that area.

[@zippyisking]

Did this ride for the 2nd time this weekend and for anyone thinking about it I'd say do it it is a fantastic ride.

[@clippingin1593]

It's a brilliant route, isn't it? Lots of clever planning and creativity. I mentioned that I did it 'on sight' as a recce on 2nd April and was so impressed, plus in a few weeks the mud around Wintersett should be down to manageable levels.

[@beckywareing3956]

I'll try this route on the grav sometime, looks OK for one straight from the door, as in I'll bike to Featherstone start it from there, thanks for sharing, I'll take a nosey at your Strava and devise a route! 😃

[@clippingin1593]

Great stuff. On 2nd April I was half-expecting broad tarmac cycle ways but there's so much variety over the 36 miles. Really well signed too - happy cycling!

[@ianhope769]

A classic route. There is also the 'Wonder of Wakefield' circular route and an (unofficial) Wakey 'Road' Wheel route. Btw, it's not the route of a culvert (at Stanley) , but an old mineral railway line.

[@clippingin1593]

I don't remember hearing about the Wheel in the 2000s but it's nicely put together. I saw the overlapping signs for WoW in a few places. I saw the remains of the old tracks crossing the road just after I'd mentioned 'culverts' and realised it must be a sledway/tramway or mineral line - I'll look into the local history when I get a chance.

[@andrew300169]

@@clippingin1593Adventureme has some great local history on the railways and mining that many of these cycle ways are based on

[@onemorecyclist]

'Concept rides' often throw up some cracking days out on the bike and a bit of a 'challenge completed' feeling at the end of the ride. Great stuff!

[@clippingin1593]

Finding this route has been a treat for me. In the early 2000s I used to train with the lads in that area but that's a different style of riding and I had no idea there were so many surrounding trails and tracks - although some of them might be the result of more recent landscaping and outdoor leisure planning.

[@markwhitham1169]

Thanks for this, I’ve been looking for a new route from Rothwell to do on my gravel bike

[@clippingin1593]

Cheers Mark, I'm glad it's inspired you to give it a go. I was so impressed by the variety of landscapes and riding surfaces. You're ideally placed in Rothwell too - happy riding!

[@christopherburns1701]

Hi Gordon, after viewing your ride around the Wakefield wheel I decided to give it a go, and like you a did a recon of the route and found some areas not well signposted, but I did find some better routes that I feel gave me a more enjoyable ride. For example after seeing your clip of riding down Dewsbury road and Wakefield road towards Ossett I made my way from Gawthorpe via minor roads and bike routes to the Calder and Hebble canal just outside Dewsbury. I think this was a less stress full section than the actual wheel route that I would have experienced. Like you It took me some time to clean the bike once home. The mud is sticky. Best wishes and keep posting your informative rides. Chris

[@clippingin1593]

Great comment, thanks Chris. That's a nice bit of route-customising for one of the few prolonged 'hectic' passages. For the video I thought I'd better stick to the official route but for a future run I was thinking of a similar downhill swoop to the valley floor from Gawthorpe top. Overall it's a very well-planned route from the Wakefield Cycling Forum and there'll be plenty of new things to see with each circuit. I don't know if you've already seen it, but a week or two after the Wheel, I posted a nice gravel/easy MTB route starting & finishing at Bretton Hall

[@christopherburns1701]

Hello Gordon, thank you for getting back to me, its very much appreciated. I did pick up your Bretton hall route as I look forward to clipping in. I think someone had been tampering with direction signs along the Chevet branch line section. Along the track where I think the farmer has filled a section of the cut, you come to the part where you drop back down into the cut. At the point before the drop if you followed the signs you'd turn left down a narrow walkers track and reach a stile. At that point I knew I'd made a mistake. But it's all the fun of exploring. Best wishes. Chris

[@christopherburns1701]

Hello Gordon, Just a quick message. With you not adding any content recently I thought I would reach out to you to see if you are fit and well and have not come down with Covid etc. Us cyclist most look after one another. Best wishes. Chris

[@clippingin1593]

@@christopherburns1701 Hello Christopher, thanks for the message. All's well but I'm run off my feet and having to fit in little rides where I can. Local circuits, short loops etc which keep me ticking over but nothing that I can make a video of. It's almost a month since the Emley/Holme Moss pair of videos, so I'll put something out at the weekend to let everyone know what's going on.

[@christopherburns1701]

@@clippingin1593 HI Gordon, glad to hear all is well. Look forward to your next post. Best wishes. Chris

[@DuncMcNutt]

That does look like a really good route. Wish we had something like that round here. Looks similar to the sort of riding I used to do as a kid locally growing up. Some really bad normal back road surfaces though it seemed.

[@clippingin1593]

Some of the worst tarmac belonged to unadopted or dead-end access roads. I know I had to be careful choosing lines on a couple of fast descents, especially with the 1.5" touring tyres. I suppose up there you can stitch together some ultra-quiet back routes. I remember riding for miles and not seeing a car on those seaside roads near Bowness, Glasson, Burgh-by-Sands.

[@mattjohn7700]

Brilliant route and video ,

[@clippingin1593]

Cheers Matt. It's an area I thought I knew fairly well (as a road cyclist) but last week's recce made me look at it afresh. I think there's quite a lot of post-colliery landscaping and re-wilding in the middle part of the route.

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

Thanks Gordon

[@terrymarlor-gage6214]

Need to try this on the G bike,looks great Gordon👍🚴‍♂️

[@clippingin1593]

Cheers Terry. It's a really nice route with long stretches of traffic-free pedalling. It certainly surprised me. There's plenty of parking at Pugneys & Wintersett to let you start and finish on the circuit.

[@toddfield4744]

Almost convinced me to buy a gravel bike Gordon

[@clippingin1593]

Be wary of hipsters with Oakley specs and gravel bikes, Todd! I've always enjoyed multi-surface rides and in the old days I'd run semi-slicks on my MTB. My gravel bike's been crocked since January & I spent the repair/replacement money on a heavy-duty MTB, so I'm back to the old solution.

[@adriansmith38]

Looked like a shared path alongside the busy road.

[@clippingin1593]

Alongside the Normanton bypass is definitely a shared path. I encountered a few walkers there during the unfilmed Easter Tuesday recce. Ride accordingly and fit a loud bell.

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

Brilliant.. I'll have to give this a try

[@clippingin1593]

There's lots of variety and for the most part it's traffic free. Pugneys & Wintersett have good car parking and would make a good base for the 36m.

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

GT Locations has everything Thanks for Ur Positives.

[@clippingin1593]

I like these cleverly devised routes with a little bit of everything. As a bonus there was so much 'new ground' for me in an area I thought I knew quite well!

[@hiworldstephensonultranate290]

Tuf friend died

[@ajollygoodchap]

If ever there was a case for more riders taking a look at the Sonder Camino, as sensible gravel bike option, then this ride is it. You'd gave it custom built on 700c, carbon fork, something like Riddlers or Gravelkings, single speed AND the all important FLAT BARS! You see this is the thing with this gravel bike trend, fad, farce...drop bars dont work for the application. The Camino as a frames lends itself well to either drops for the road or flats for the gravel, light off road, and tarmac connecting sections. Go on...treat yourself.

[@clippingin1593]

It looks like a good do-it-all bike for a fair price, and I see a Ti option too - oooh! My gravel bike took a bit of a tumble in January (cracked carbon fork, broken hydro caliper amongst other wounds) Fitting Marathons to the Rockhopper fills the gap for the time being.