Here are the best Calderdale bike rides to help you recover from Christmas

Cycling is one of the best ways to recover from the excesses of the festive period and blow away those cobwebs, and what better place is there to get on your bike than in Calderdale.

The team behind West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s £60m CityConnect programme has chosen the top bike ride routes to give a go before the New Year.

Cyclists who are a fan of hills should try this valley ride.

Hebden Bridge Great Descents is everything a classic mountain bike route should be: great trails, great views, testing climbs followed by exhilarating descents and a good pub at the end.

Starting at the cycle friendly Stubbing Wharf Pub Hebden Bridge this short mountain bike ride features some of the best descents in the area.

This ride features four great descents, the first of which is located in the Ragley area and is made up of single track, loose rock and twisting corners and can feature shallow streams in parts.

Another one of the climbs is the ‘Blue Pig’. The first part of the climb up to Hepstonstall village is tricky before you ride over the cobbled streets.

This cycle route takes in some wonderful sites including Hardcastle Craggs and ‘Mini Stoodley’ ending back at the Stubbing Wharf Pub.

For those who want a bit of a challenge then look no further ‘Ronde Van Calderdale’.

The route is steep, with cobbled climbs over 75 miles, as well as some of the most fearsome sections of road in the country.

The route includes the appropriately named ‘Shibden Wall’, part of the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire, one of the most brutal climbs a cyclist could face.

It also travels through Pecket Well, another destination visited by the Tour de Yorkshire, this time in 2018.

The route finishes on Halifax’s Trooper Lane, with cobbles and gradients of more than 25 per cent.

The RVC is considered one of the toughest bike rides in the country, and it’s right on our doorstep.

Other routes to try include the CityConnect Bradford Leeds Cycle Superhighway and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal towpath. These are both great options for those who don’t feel like tackling the many hills of Calderdale.