Cycling commuter conquers Pennine challenge

Keen cyclist Jon Corker climbs steep moorland roads, whizzes past reservoirs and negotiates busy city traffic during his mammoth trip from his home in Kirkburton, Huddersfield, to his office in Middleton, north Manchester.

His morning begins with a large bowl of cereal at 5am, before he hops on his bike, freewheels to the main road and then pedals down the A629 Penistone Road towards Huddersfield town centre.

From there, it's a steady four-mile climb up the A640 to Outlane before crossing the M62 at junction 23 and pushing on further up, past Nont Sarah's pub, and finally to the top of the Pennines at Buckstones.

Here, the 44-year-old allows himself a pause at the 1,500ft summit to sip some water and glance at the view.

His efforts are then rewarded with a steady descent down the A640 via Dowry Reservoir and into Denshaw, from where it's a left turn onto the A672 into Oldham.

From here, he starts to share a more familiar commuting experience – avoiding the queueing traffic, potholes and parked cars to negotiate the final five miles into Middleton.

Mr Corker, financial controller with security company Chubb, took up club biking five years ago with the Huddersfield Star Wheelers.

Now, however, with two children under the age of three he doesn't often get chance to join fellow members on their 70-mile Sunday bike rides.

Instead, he decided to fit his cycling into his working day and now completes the calf-burning commute over the Pennines at least once a week.

"I did the commute for the first time four years ago and have been doing it ever since, although I do it a lot less in the winter than I do in the summer for obvious reasons.

"It's a route I know well, so thought I'd give it a go and see how it went. The first two or three times it was quite tiring, but now I certainly don't come into work shattered or anything. In fact I tend to feel very awake and alive from the adrenaline.

"The quickest I ever did it in was one hour 27 minutes, but it can sometimes take more than half an hour longer than that due to the weather conditions, mainly the wind," he said.

"One of the hardest sections is the climb near the Nont Sarah's pub, as you're usually going into a head wind."

Mr Corker estimates he'll burn 3,000 calories through the day's rides – 1,500 each way – which means he "can eat a lot of cake".

"In the evening I go back normally by the same route, but in the event of bad weather I have an alternative route which is not quite as exposed.

"I actually prefer the evening ride, particularly the moorland stretch, as being quiet, ploughing along in your own bubble of light in almost perfect silence is heavenly after a tough day at the office.

"The only disadvantage is the extra 100m metres of climbing, which is all in the final mile," added Mr Corker.

He admits becoming "fixated by weather forecasts" and enjoying looking down on the M62.

"I allow a little schadenfreude if I see a traffic jam below me – any other day of the week and I'd be stuck in it," he said.

"If I'm late there will be occasional clusters of children beside remote farm houses waiting for the minibus that takes them to school.

"I usually get a wave from them – presumably they are thinking 'there goes that fool on a bike again'," said Mr Corker.

And, as yet, he confesses that he still hasn't heard of anyone else with such a challenging commute.

"I see the odd person who does similar distances, but usually they don't do as hilly a route.

"My colleagues think I'm nuts, but they've got used to it over the years," he said.