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You have my sympathy for the spectacular level of ****tishness demonstrated by drivers passing you. In a 40 mile journey past Skipton towards Harrogate I didn't see a single safe or considerate overtake at any point.
Not a single driver (except me) bothered to move across into the other lane despite in many cases there being no oncoming traffic.
You'll be delighted to learn though that there was a police presence - admittedly a camera van parked in a lay-by conveniently positioned both for taking photos and buying bacon sandwiches.
What can you do when the police, council, and central government don't give a flying **** about simply terrible, dangerous driving? Makes no difference in an NSL area if you get ****ted by a car doing 59 or 66 mph.
Standard for the A65, I'm afraid. And I haven't a clue how anyone summons the inner fortitude to ride on it. I saw a group ride on it heading east at about 9.30 this morning and I can't imagine they were thinking kind thoughts about whoever had led them there.
The lanes alongside the 65/59 are often quite pleasant to ride in comparison, and don't really involve any more elevation, less in many cases as the trunk road finds every steep draggy hill and ploughs straight over it.
However, someone needed to have a word with the group of walkers heading along the tarmac, with their back to the approaching traffic, in the Austwick bends. Suicidal!
Yeah I'm not a nervous rider but I avoid the a65 as much as possible. Local rider got killed on it a few years ago and it's always seemed a pretty unpleasant place to ride.
All the other roads are great.
The A65 is a terrible road - why on earth anybody would want to ride or walk on it is beyond me. I used to ride it on a motorbike occasionally but gave up due to the high number of nobheads (of both a bike and car variety)....
Sadly Craven has some of the worst drivers around.
As Martin says, the lanes in and around the two main roads (A65 & A59) are pleasant and generally quiet - there's one or two rat runs and it's worth avoiding those like the Malham road on show day.
You wouldn’t get me riding a bike on the A65 !
Its a fast busy road full of idiots who have never driven around bends before
It's used by city-based drivers heading for Settle and beyond, what do you expect?
Around Gargrave/Skipton the canal towpath is an option too.
When I was very little we lived in Coniston Cold, facing onto the A65. There was a serious accident every 18 months or so, usually with at least one fatality. A post office van once ran into the front of our house (it had stopped on the roadside to visit the PO and a lorry ran into the back of it). It's a fairly horrible road, but it did teach me proper respect for traffic.
And as if by magic, out cycling yesterday and came across what looked like a fairly serious cyclist casualty on the A65 near clapham (ironically the bit where there's a parallel gravel path which we were using, it's a bit shit but only a short stretch and saves crossing the main road twice in the direction we were going). Police and plenty of people in attendance so we didn't stop to interfere and don't know how bad it was. Unusually large number of cyclists around for a Thursday afternoon in September, wonder if there was some event on.
I wouldn't ride on the a65 for a gold pig.
rode to staveley (lakes) a few week ago.
from skipton I followed a route up the left hand side of the a65 which was delightful.
Rode on it once years ago, not a nice experience!
@ton – do you have GPS track or a link?
sorry mate, I don't.
route was,
Carleton in craven, broughton, gargrave, airton, settle, giggleswick, eldroth, keasdon, wray, Hornby, gressingham, borwick, leylan conyers, storth, levens, brigsteer, crook, hawkshead brewery........... ;o)
A65. No thank you.
I want to see tomorrow.
Can send you a route from Arnside to Ingleton and back that has 50 yards of A65. Nice route of 50 miles or so. And quiet!
@ton – do you have GPS track or a link?
sorry mate, I don’t.
route was,
Carleton in craven, broughton, gargrave, airton, settle, giggleswick, eldroth, keasdon, wray, Hornby, gressingham, borwick, leylan conyers, storth, levens, brigsteer, crook, hawkshead brewery……….. ;o)
I joined the dots and got this - not ridden it, but looks a nice ride to my eyes:
https://www.plotaroute.com/route/694563
The only section that requires care on the above route is the short stretch of the A59 between Carleton and Broughton. The right turn onto the Broughton-Gargrave lane is a notorious accident blackspot. An alternative is to go up to Rylstone/ Hetton on the Grassington Road and across to Airton via Winterburn, but it's a toss-up really. Shit drivers everywhere around here.
I joined the dots and got this – not ridden it, but looks a nice ride to my eyes:
that is spot on mate. perfect days ride, with pretty much no traffic.
The only section that requires care on the above route is the short stretch of the A59 between Carleton and Broughton. The right turn onto the Broughton-Gargrave lane is a notorious accident blackspot. An alternative is to go up to Rylstone/ Hetton on the Grassington Road and across to Airton via Winterburn, but it’s a toss-up really. Shit drivers everywhere around here.
Worked at Broughton Hall for nearly 20 years so know this turn off well. At least the pub opposite is good 🙂
An alternative is to go up to Rylstone/ Hetton on the Grassington Road and across to Airton via Winterburn
Highly recommended - cycled on these roads many times as a teenager (we lived in Airton for a number of years). If you want to go off road, you can link with Malham from Winterburn/Bordley via Weets Top. I once went from Airton to Grassington by skateboard (but then I was a teenager whose first proper girlfriend lived there and hormones make you do odd things…)
Having just cycled through France, Germany and Holland using ride with gps to navigate my way I now realise just how bad the UK cycle infrastructure is. The A65 is a prime example.
Slightly OT but I think I might have a way of demonstrating to driver's what it feels like to be close passed at 60+.
Stopped for a drink of water on my way down the A3 this week in one of the narrowest lay-bys ever. Only about 2 feet wider than my car.
Got out to grab some water from the boot.
Now if you were stand by the driver's door in the layby with your back to the traffic for 20 minutes. That might give someone half an impression of what it's like to be repeatedly buzzed at those speeds.