Hi colin will look into that for the summer months :-) is it on mainly quiet roads/ cannal paths??
Mainly on quiet roads. There was one bit that used a bridleway through the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I did that on my normal road bike and slithered about a bit on gravel. I think it uses 'The Lines' from Garforth and there are a few other short stretches of cycle path. There are one or two town centres to traverse which are obviously busy at peak times, and a few short stretches of busy road but over 90% is on nice, quiet roads.
The WYCR isn't well-publicised but many West Yorkshire Tourist Information Centres have copies of the free booklet if you ask them for it.
You may have noticed signs for the route and not known what they are - a white rose with the letters W.Y.C.R. surrounding it in the corners.
I've lifted a copy of the route description from the
Wakefield council website:
The West Yorkshire Cycle Route is a 150 mile circular route which roughly follows the West Yorkshire County Boundary. Primarily for leisure cycling the route is mainly on road and is intended for use by all roadworthy bicycles.
The route is signed in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, and is identified by the route logo, a white rose with green background.
Terrain varies greatly from the flat rolling farmlands in the northeast, rising quite steeply to the western sections in the Pennine hills.
The route reflects this contrast and each section is graded; easy, moderate or strenuous, according to the steepness of the section.
- Sections graded easy are predominantly flat and suitable for cyclists of all ages and abilities.
- Sections graded strenuous include steep climbs and will challenge even fit cyclists.
Ilkley to Hemsworth
Hemsworth to Ilkley
The really tough bits are in the west and the easy bits are in the east so if you split the route into north and south rides, you get a nice mix. If you split it west/east, one day would be really hard, the other much easier, and you wouldn't be able to start/finish from home. I think Castleford and Hebden Bridge are ideal start/finish points because you get the mix of difficulty and can use the train to get you to the start. I prefer to start with the train because it feels better riding towards home and not having to wait for a train when you are tired and sweaty!
http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/CultureAndLeisure/outdoors/Cycling/wycycle/iklytohemsworth.htm