This is a vital navigational point for the area - whether you've come down from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, tried to avoid Wakefield by going through Criggleston and Netherton, or made your way along the Calder and Hebble Navigation you will come through here. I took to the Navigation - although narrow at first the towpath is rideable in the dry and soon opens up. On reaching Savile Town, fooled by some green dots on the map I took the loop - mental note, follow the main canal next time.
However, I was soon back on course, stopping to berate some boys who were pulling bricks out of the wall and throwing them in the river - whether I made an impression on them in my Sustrans tabard I'm not sure, however, here you get the turn off to the Spen Valley Greenway. The bottom half of this hasn't receive its spring clean-up yet, and there was the odd bad boy around trying to get an illegal motorbike started, but in the main this is a fine route and I made good speed.
Things go pear-shaped when you reach the end of the SVG though. The trail comes to an end - if it didn't you would end up on the Bradford - Halifax railway - and although there are other sections of this route as you make you way into Bradford there are no temporary signs linking them. How about it Bradford Sustrans Rangers? I made a few exploratory trips and eventually made my way via Oakenshaw via a steep climb up to Brierley, and enjoyed a fast descent through Bowling Park, hampered only by a gaggle of park rangers gathered on the cycle path for a chat. once through the park however the signed route petered out in an alley strewn with broken glass - the true show-stopper for any cycle route. I completed my entry to Bradford with a run down the three-lane A642. Stopped for lunch in a square in town, but soon started getting harassed by drunks so it was time to move on.
As luck would have it Bradford F.C were at home and the traffic wasn't moving in Forster Square retail park, so I made my way along the imaginary cycle route - alleged to follow the route of the old Bradford Canal, but it's hard to spot. Stopped at Frizinghall for a station survey - no cycle stands here - and as a train was announced thought I might as well hop on and go to Keighley in hopes of a pint of Tim Taylors. The clientele on this train consisted mainly of cyclists - showing how important we are in filling trains on off-peak services however little thanks we get for it.
Enjoyed watching the Worth Valley steam train set off...
...then looked for a decent pub but no joy. So, headed for the canal and a fast run into Leeds (stopping for a pint of Cumberland Ale on the way) on a fine cycle route with the wind behind - bowling along at 18mph most of the way. It's beautifully clean and litter-free as well - congrats to whoever it is who keeps it that way.
Pirate boat on the Leeds-Liverpool canal
Came across a chav casualty who had done too much booze, and was lying on the towpath with his eyes open but not seeing anything. His pals had got him into the recovery position and seemed to have things under control, so I left them to it - I have to say I have no interest in whether chavs live or die, they have given me too much grief in the past for me to care. Anyway the paramedics were just along the way, rushing along with their stretcher - I wondered about the wisdom of leaving their ambulance in such an isolated spot for more Leeds chavs to trash though.
Stopping off at Leeds City station for a crayfish and rocket sandwich from Marks & Sparks - us affluent cyclists can afford that sort of thing, or is it just the money we save not buying petrol? -
and although I could easily have caught the 18:15 fast back to Sheffield was determined to end up back where I started.
So, found the start of the Trans-Pennine Trail - Leeds is making attempts to join the routes together but hasn't managed it just yet, any more than Sheffield has.
First impressions not good - I pictured myself zooming along brick cycleways beside swanky city-living apartments, but found myself bumping along a pitted towpath alongside a burnt-out warehouse. At least on the next section the authorities had the good grace to direct me back to the road - however after that there were some steep steps to negotiate before getting onto a good clear track along the Aire, and it is an impressive navigable river. With the wind behind I was getting up to the 18mph level once again. Had a strange encounter with another cyclist who just wouldn't move over and let me past no matter how much I shouted - when I eventually did overtake I gave him the fright of his life, turned out he was plugged into his ipod! He was going pretty fast himself, obviously not expecting a CTC Refugee on a fast tourer to outgun him.
Soon enough a route choice came up, and chatting to some locals explaining that I wanted to get to Wakefield I was bit dismayed when they said "well it's back there" - pointing back the way I had come!. That's the motorists mentality for you - although they were on bikes at the time. I took to the road anyway, although I found a very good section of relaid TPT between Methley and Bottom Boat, and with a stiff climb on the A642 found myself back in Wakefield, made it to Kirkgate with 72 miles on the clock and a quarter of an hour to go before the next chuffer (complete with jobsworth guard who was paranoid about having two bikes on a train with 5 other passengers) back to Sheffield and dinner with the Orc and his good lady wife.
All along the cycle route bits of this ride I saw loads of people out cycling, families, couples young and old, bunches of lads, women in pairs, as well as loads of people out jogging and walking - maybe some of them had come out in cars to enjoy these traffic-free routes, so what, who cares?
