SHIBDEN WALL

OVENDON, HALIFAX

Wow, what a climb. Hidden in the valleys north of Halifax is Lee Lane, or Shibden Wall as it came to be known after it played host to the Milk Race. Leave the flat valley and begin the climb over a small bridge. The lower slopes are paved and, although testing, are just the warm-up to what lies ahead. After a 1-in-4 sign, the road bends slightly to the left and brings you up to the cobbles, steep at first but manageable. Bending right, you then approach an incredible left-hand bend that’s all but vertical at its apex, forcing you wide on to a stretch of deteriorating stones with gaps just big enough to swallow a bike tyre. The surface improves outside a collection of houses further along, but once your past them, the gaps return. Take care to keep your wheels shy of the crevices as you bounce from stone to stone, island to island, up the consistently steep incline. Each jump takes you one step closer to the top.