GIVEN that bridleways are out of bounds, the planning for this month's bike ride took a little longer than usual. In the end I settled on a route around Bronte Country from a book by Richard Peace.
I began in Haworth, turning right out of the car park to leave the heart of the village as the natural finale to the ride. Deciding not to dip down to Oxenhope, as the book prescribes, I headed upwards. On the tops of the moors, puffy old anoraks billowed on farm washing lines and, at the start of every footpath, a closure notice hammered on to a signpost fluttered forlornly in the breeze.
"It's all right for you. You can stay on the roads!," called a die-hard walker, his boots unmuddied. Later, as I overtook a couple walking, I overhead one say to the other: "That's what we'll have to do next week". Indeed. For cyclists, the lack of access within the countryside need not be a problem.
Soon I was racing down the first of many hills, this one culminating at Lower Laithe Reservoir. Ignoring the Wuthering Heights freehouse - there would be ample opportunity to immerse myself in all things Bronte later, I thought - I pressed on to Oldfield. On the map the village appears to be nothing more than a straggle of houses but actually includes a large Victorian school, antique shop and premises selling "Oven Redi - Ostriches for Christmas". At least, that's what was painted on a sign in a field notably empty of head-burying birds. Nothing like planning in advance.
Soon I was cycling along either side of a second valley: Newsholme Dean. The views over the moors were again superb, even if the rural aspect of the ride was occasionally spoilt by burnt out cars beside the road. On the hill tops in the distance, the arms of wind turbines whirred continuously as if waiting forever to be rescued.
Another plunge downwards took me through Goose Eye, a village centred around a mill, parts of which are being converted into stylish-looking accommodation. The village's peculiar name inspired a beer of the same name brewed nearby at Keighley.
Beer was on my mind as I completed the final - and longest of all - push up the hill that took me back to Haworth. As planned, I entered at the top of the main street beside The Old White Horse, leaving me to complete the route by wheeling my bike down the cobbles.
Hordes of tourists ate fish and chips, sat outside tea rooms and browsed souvenir shops. 'Whitby without the sea' is how I've heard Haworth described and, on the day I was there, that was apt. Curiously - and rather like that other literary shrine at Stratford-upon-Avon - the village attracts a disproportionate number of overseas visitors compared to Brits. Even some of the footpath signs are bilingual - in English as well as Japanese. Tired and already familiar with the local attractions, I didn't linger.
The book recommends that you tie in the cycle ride with a journey on the Keighley & Worth Steam Railway. A nice idea but an ice cream away from the tourists was the ideal sign-off for me.
Biking Country: The West Yorkshire Cycleway by Richard Peace is published by Hillside Publications. Price £4.99.
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