PART 1: Starting on the edge of York and heading East, the route is flat and smooth until Knaresborough where the first small hills appear. Straight into Harrogate then the slow climb past the Radar station at Menwith Hill. The fun starts with a fast downhill section into another decent climb up the Cote de Blubberhouses and onto the moors at the top. A long fast descent to Addingham and then smooth and flowing through Silsden and the flat section before Keighley. Next comes Haworth and real Bronte Country and fittingly, it’s all ups and downs and twists and turns. A long climb up the exposed Oxenhope Moor then down into Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd and the climb up the England’s longest continuous gradient: 300 metres over 8.9 Kms! Distance so far 103.5 kms.