Getting to Morcambe from Leeds/Bradford for Way of the Roses C2C

[confusedcyclist]

I am taking part in a 2 day attempt to ride the Way of the Roses Coast to Coast ride from Morecambe to Bridlington.

As a group we have obtained a quote for transportation with a Bridlington based company with a minibus and a bicycle trailer to take us from Bridlington back to our base in Bradford which works out cheaper than train fares, but we are left wondering how to get from Bradford to the starting line in Morecambe. Because the Brid based company would have to drive from Bridlington to Morecambe via Bradford and back to Bridlington again, it's not economical to make the outbound journey with them too.

Technically, if we split up, we might be able to take various trains, but most lines will not permit more than 2x bikes per train (officially), meaning we may be in a position where we have to leave members of the group behind should they fall into difficulty boarding trains due to their limited capacity. Obviously this would be a terrible start for the challenging ride. To compound the problem, the lines we might take converge as they approach Morecambe, so it could be a bit of a headache. Short of having some riders travel the night before (and the additional expense of lodging) we are stuck relying on motor transport to get out to Morecambe. Personal automobile transportation is not an option for all, nor practical as C2C is not a return journey.

This is a bit of a punt, but does anyone know of firms based in or around Leeds/Bradford or Morecambe that can coordinate the inbound/outbound transfer of 10 persons and their bicycles to Morecambe, and from Brid to Bradford?

 

[Soltydog]

Can't help with a transport company, but the 1st time I did the WOTR there were 4 of us on the train from Leeds to Morecambe with bikes & no problems, Reckon the staff working that route must be used to it & try to help where possible. My tip would be to go through to Leeds for the train as it starts there & more chance of getting on. By Shipley the bike areas could be full of other bikes/luggage. If you are lucky you could do it on 2 trains, but don't think it's a very regular service on that route. You could look at using Trans Pennine Express from Leeds to Preston, it's a more regular service, you can book bikes on in advance & maybe even get cheaper advance tickets. The route from Preston to Morecambe is flat & easy to navigate, pretty much cycle path all the way

 

[confusedcyclist]

Thanks Soltydog, some good advice to consider there.

 

[DCLane]

+1 for @Soltydog and the train: Northern Rail allow you to take bikes on. I've done it a couple of times.

 

[classic33]

Will you be affected by the work taking place at present?
Bus replacement service at times(no bikes on them).

Edited to add
Line between Preston and Blackpool North closed, in both directions, until the 25th March 2018.

 

[Siclo]

Might be worth contacting cycle adventure. They're actually a bike hire / guided tours company that do delivery around Lancs/ the lakes and the dales, but they may well hire out their services to you.

IIRC correctly they've got a mini-bus with a massive bike trailer and they're on the correct side of the country for the start.

Bike-express do private hire but I reckon that'll be cost prohibitive for a small party.

 

[MarkF]

Can't you get family/friends to drive? You could get a minibus & a lwb van locally for £300 for 2 days, £30 per rider and have support vans!

 

[NorthernDave]

Northern Rail, as suggested above. Direct service from Leeds, via the Aire Valley line, so Shipley for connections to Bradford (or a gentle warm up on the bikes?).

Northern's bike policy is officially two bikes per train, with no pre-booking, but a friendly smile and a sensible approach normally gets you on board unless the situation is silly. I've never seen anyone refused and the Morecambe trains are often 144's so plenty of room for more than two bikes, although you're probably right to be concerned at guaranteeing getting 10 bikes on the same train.

Possibly not ideal but as it's a regular service you could stagger the group and meet up in Morecambe?

Or you could probably hire a big enough van for £50 for the day plus fuel, if you could persuade someone to drive it there and back in the day, with the riders making separate arrangements and meeting up?

 

[theloafer]

used these to get back from our LEJOGS https://www.enterprise.co.uk/en/car...l?icid=header.hire.hires-_-oneway-_-ENGB.NULL