CQ22-Digital

gradient starts to dwindle down to something
more manageable. A right of way crosses the
road and it broadens out for just a little bit to
accommodate a gate on the left and the layby on
the right.
Once you’re past that you’re about halfway and
the scale of the valley becomes apparent. Look
up and ahead and pick out the road as it snakes in
and out with the contours of the hills, but slowly
turns to the right. Put in a few more watts and suck
down some water. Don’t look back and over your
right shoulder for as long as you can resist.
When you do look, drink it in. This is the best
climb in the country. See the water far below now
and the towns of Mossley and Uppermill in the
background, hemmed in by the hills that obscure
the city’s scruffiest outer reaches.
One more turn to make and you can drag your
attention back to the tarmac in front of your wheel.
It rolls out in front for miles, all the way down to
Holmfirth, or Slaithwaite, or Masham or Meltham
and a hundred other glorious climbs.
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