I did this ride in
October last year on the same morning as I rode up The Rake. Not sure
why it has taken me so long to do this write up. After tackling the
Rake I bought some food for the drive back home and then programmed
Sabden into my Sat Nav. It only took about 20 minutes to get there
and it was pleasing to see the built up urban sprawl and urban
motorways around Ramsbottom turn to a softer more rural setting.
As you drop down into
Sabden at one side of the valley you see the Nick of Pendle making
its way up the other side of the valley. It looks pretty fearsome
from a distance but it didn't prove to be quite so savage up close
and personal. I parked up at the top and made my way downhill with my
highspeed down hill coasting having to make do as a warmup. On a cold
day in October I perhaps unsurprisingly started the hill stone cold
and took it gentle to start with.
Near the top of the climb. A rare bend in the road.
The first part of the
hill is dead straight and there are a lot parked cars to deal with. I
wouldn't recommend trying this climb during a busy part of the day as
the road up it is a major traffic route. My climb was in fact
interupted by a couple of motorists arguing about who had right of
way. It didn't last long and didn't result in any violence so I was
on my way fairly quickly. Sadly that was the only really exciting
part about the climb. It isn't particularly rewarding to climb.
Once
you leave the outskirts of Sabden it gets more open and the gradient
eases,which it nice, but this climb didn't really enthuse me to try
my best; its just a ride up a relatively straight bit of road and as
a result I got a bit bored and backed off. I very slowly spun my way
up to the top, tried to take in the view on what was a bit of grey
day, got in the car and went home.
I even found the summit a little underwhelming.
I can imagine having the Nick of
Pendle right on your doorstep would be great for training and it must
have some dedicated fans but I was a bit unmoved by the whole thing.
Ah well, another hill ticked off the list and you won't have to wait
too long before you get to read my write up of the Cat and Fiddle
'cos I've just ridden it and its a great bit of road to tackle. Watch
this space.
