FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - suggestions for 2011 please

[StuAff]

I should have made clear at the outset - southwest routes are not top of my personal list. One of the merits of going north or to Wales is that you see people that you would probably never see on a London ride - for reasons of time and expense. There's also the Exmouth Exodus....

That doesn't stop people organising their own rides, but doing a ride away from London is a bit of an effort, not least because I have to ride the route at least twice beforehand, so I'm sort of pre-disposed towards more far-flung parts.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/uk.pdf

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/trainoperators.pdf - they've rather mucked this up in producing the 2010 version, but it is useful. If you trace your way around the coast you can see why Mike's choice of Cleethorpes was so clever - very few coastal towns are as well connected.

Morecambe is a strong contender - there's a train to London (with changes) every half hour - and trains from Lancaster to Leeds are plentiful. And, yes, I have spent time perusing train timetables, but it's a personal thing and I don't want to talk about it.......

Good point about making rides elsewhere the priority. Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire, Lancashire...all sound good to me. For myself, whichever start point it is- HPC, Minster, wherever else- is a trek in itself, and I take that as read. It's very much worth the bother! But I would say that there are plenty of places in the south & southwest we could go, and haven't been yet. Variety is the spice of life.....

 

[threebikesmcginty]

If somebody explained rough distance requirements, and what sort of stops are needed at what stage of the ride, we might be able to come up with helpful suggestions.

Read the OP T!

 

[AKA Bob]

If we are leaving the 'orange glow' of London behind! Why don't we consider doing some of the following?

Barnstable to Plymouth via the Tarka Trail and Granite Way before crossing Dartmoor.

Southampton to Brighton (a ride along the coast!)

Maybe a weekend away in France cycling between Calais and Ouistreham or if we are feeling brave even Cherborg? We may even consider a day light ride!!!

 

[Aperitif]

All SMRbtLs are in the daylight, Bob. Along with the early dawn of the Night Rides - part of the 'raison d'etre'...

 

[StuAff]

If we are leaving the 'orange glow' of London behind! Why don't we consider doing some of the following?

Barnstable to Plymouth via the Tarka Trail and Granite Way before crossing Dartmoor.

Southampton to Brighton (a ride along the coast!)

Maybe a weekend away in France cycling between Calais and Ouistreham or if we are feeling brave even Cherborg? We may even consider a day light ride!!!

Southampton to Brighton? Could work. Shame they haven't got anything like the Spinnaker though (that would be a good start point!). As for Cherbourg, there's a handy ferry port two miles away from me.....

 

[mcshroom]

Barnstaple to Plymouth via the Tarka Trail and Granite Way before crossing Dartmoor.

I'd love this ride, but the trains from Exeter to Barnstaple were all pacers last time I travelled on the line and could only carry 2 bikes (it's hard to fit two on those really) and aren't very frequent. The frequency and capacity of trains would also rule out Whitehaven and Workington as end points. (despite There being a couple very nice routes from Carlisle or Penrith to both of these).

Carlisle to North Shields is close to 90 miles and includes some rather nasty hills, also the nearest station is Newcastle. It may work the other way around but Carlisle isn't really on the sea. Both ways would give some lovely countryside though.

I'll throw in Penrith to Morecambe. It would take you through the edges of the Lakes, the Dales and the Howgills. 60 miles and has Tebay services (independant and voted the best services in the country) at 25 miles and Kirby Longsdale at 45. There are the small issues of the 4,500 ft of climbing (mainly in the first 30 miles) and the isolation of parts of the route that count against it though

 

[Mr Bunbury]

If you're looking for a ride somewhere in the NWish region, it could be worth linking with IBikeMCR as they do something similar with their monthly moonlight rides from Manchester.

 

[Landslide]

Looks similar to this lot in Sheffield.

 

[Aperitif]

^ That's nice!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Looks similar to this lot in Sheffield.

I like the nominate a chip shop section

Esp. this one - 'A Salt N Battered' London Rd

 

[longers]

How about eloping to Gretna? From Penrith perhaps? I haven't much idea about the logistics of the train services on those lines or snack stops along the way though.

 

[Aperitif]

How about eloping to Gretna? From Penrith perhaps? I haven't much idea about the logistics of the train services on those lines or snack stops along the way though.

Ride to Gretna and it spells disaster Mark - you'll never have your cake and eat it!
You are over 16 aren't you?

 

[dellzeqq]

Looks similar to this lot in Sheffield.

they both leave about 6.30, which always struck me as a bit odd. I do mean to go on the Manchester one, though.

There are some strong candidates here - York to Scarborough (or even Sheffield to Scarborough) makes railway sense. I'm intrigued by the different perspective on Leeds to Blackpool/Morecambe offered by MSeries and Marin. TheClaude is mulling over the South Wales routes. East Anglia is a bit of a stretch - remote, iffy trains (other than Kings Lynn).

So, thankyou one and all. Sometime later in the year I'll be wandering around, looking at potholes and making notes on maps. I'll be looking for company.

 

[Landslide]

they both leave about 6.30, which means they can finish the ride before pub closing time...

 

[dellzeqq]

name me one of our destinations that doesn't have beer at the end of it!