K4 Tour of Yorkshire
Together with the club chairman, 3 members of K4 have just returned from a visit to Yorkshire in which they clocked up 180 miles and 15,000 feet of tough climbing over 4 days.
Left to right: Andy Mackay, Paul Grout (Chairman) & Jon Hawker
At the foot of Buttertubs
From their accommodation at the base of the infamous Buttertubs pass (described by Tour de France organiser Christian Prudhomme as the “Alpe d’Huez of Yorkshire”) Paul Grout, Paul Brown, Andy Mackay and Jon Hawker crested the 1700 feet climb twice (once in each direction), particularly enjoying the 17% section which started just outside their front door, and the devilish 25% sections near the top. However, it wasn’t only the climbs that were challenging: as K4’s Co-ordinator Paul Brown observed “We’ll never forget the descent of Park Rash into Kettlewell, where the road drops by 230 metres at 25% on narrow hairpins, and our brakes were squealing for most of the way down.”
Other highlights included the climb under the viaduct at Dentdale, the long but beautiful pull to the top of Coverdale and (at the special request of the club chairman) the ride up to England’s highest pub at Tan Hill.
Paul Brown on the Tan Hill climb
Although not for the faint-hearted, this is a trip the participants would recommend to anyone. If you are interested in copies of the routes, contact Paul Brown.
