Scotchlovingcylist
Formerly known as Speedfreak
So after getting back into cycling this year me and a friend decided to set ourselves a challenge/lads holiday of cycling coast to coast and after (lots) of research we settled on way of the roses.
Back in April I could barely ride 20 miles before saddle sore, leg fatigue and poor cardio set in. Weely rides and commutes to work quickly built my fitness up again and have been regularly doing 80 mile plus rides. Great! I'm coast to coast ready I thought, ooooof but them hills were unexpected, especially with a laden bike. My new lightweight carbon bike felt heavier than my old mtb and made for some interesting hill climbing!
Day 1
Train at 6 am from Hull where we live to Morcambe with a quick change in Leeds with a 10:30 ride start, or so we thought. Train broke down at Lancaster with a 40 minute wait. "You'll ride them bikes to Morcambe in 5 minutes lads" said the friendly conductor, "Just follow the cycle path and you're there", Excellent, so we did, found the start sign and off we went, back down the same cycle path we had just used and past our broken down train
. Quick blast out of the town and quickly on some gorgeous roads around the river Lune and immediately found our first hill. All the weeks riding around the flatness of East Yorkshire did not prepare us for this, however we managed and felt incredibly proud especially with the views we allowed ourselves to admire at the top. Some hard work up and fantastic descents and a beer stop in Clapham then saw us in Settle where my mate wanted to look around the bike shop. Nothing prepared us for the hill out of Settle which required a couple of rest breaks and a fair bit of pushing from both of us. More fast descents and a bit of up and down saw us finishing the first day (late on) at the Wellington Arms just south of Summerbridge after another amazing (steady) descent into Pateley Bridge.
The pub was amazing at storing bikes, general accommodation and lovely food, would definitely recommend.
Day 2
Legs were sore from the first day hills but we set off after an excellent full English breakfast, steadily to Brimham Rocks for more early morning climbing however very enjoyable once at the top and more great descents. Decided not to be heroes and stop for coffee in Ripon after a ride through the gorgeous Fountains Abbey. Re fuelled we set off for York, starting to recognise places now that we know! No dramas here, flat and fast legs definitely warmed up and both of us feeling good. Ride into York is pretty uninteresting until you hit the river however we wanted to follow the route as much as we could so stuck to it. Lunch in York after my mate deceides he needs to find a bike shop to charge his fancy Sram etap battery as the constant shifting up and down hills had taken its toll
, saw us pottering around a city we both love for an afternoon in the sun. Quick blast to Pocklington through some beautiful fields and gravel track (who needs a gravel bike) saw us at the Yorkway motel for our second night for more excellent hospitality, food and beer.
Day 3
Another lovely full English set us up for the final leg. Bit of pain down the outside of my shins and my mates thighs and arse on fire, Castelli bibs maybe arent all they are cracked up to be I teased him as my £25 Amazon purchase was seeing my rear fantastically through the tour. "Only 43 miles to go today lads" said the cheery receptionist as we informed him we also had another 25 miles on top to get home. " Bloody hell lads, good on you" was enough motivation to get us going to Driffield, our first planned coffee stop and again somewhere we regularly visit. Disaster struck when my bottle refused to go back in its cage only for me to catch up with my friend and see him fly off his bike at 25mph, hitting a pothole taking photos
. Half an hour of bodging him and his bike back together saw us into Driffield for a proper look at him and his bike, damage wasn't too bad and like the trooper he is he wanted to finish. We hit Bridlington sea front mid afternoon feeling absolutely amazing and after a quick lunch set about riding the remaining miles home. No more hills thankfully and roads we knew saw a fast ride to Hornsea where I teased I was going to stay at my girlfriends and leave him to ride to Hull alone, in his current state im not sure he was amused and we pushed on home together as the team we had become, arriving home in time for tea.
Overall it was an amazing route with a little of everything thrown in, whether that hills, terrain, villages and towns, rain and sun.
Met some amazing people on the way especially shops and cafes who let us fill up water bottles, charge batteries (
) and take bikes indoors.
Its incredibly well signposted and would have felt comfortable without even uploading the gpx to the Garmin. All in ended up being around 220 miles in 3 days with detours etc and a massive sense of achievement I would recommend to anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.
Small selection of photos below of the many taken, thanks for taking the time to read and if anyone is thinking of doing it, go for it! Loved every minute.
Back in April I could barely ride 20 miles before saddle sore, leg fatigue and poor cardio set in. Weely rides and commutes to work quickly built my fitness up again and have been regularly doing 80 mile plus rides. Great! I'm coast to coast ready I thought, ooooof but them hills were unexpected, especially with a laden bike. My new lightweight carbon bike felt heavier than my old mtb and made for some interesting hill climbing!
Day 1
Train at 6 am from Hull where we live to Morcambe with a quick change in Leeds with a 10:30 ride start, or so we thought. Train broke down at Lancaster with a 40 minute wait. "You'll ride them bikes to Morcambe in 5 minutes lads" said the friendly conductor, "Just follow the cycle path and you're there", Excellent, so we did, found the start sign and off we went, back down the same cycle path we had just used and past our broken down train
. Quick blast out of the town and quickly on some gorgeous roads around the river Lune and immediately found our first hill. All the weeks riding around the flatness of East Yorkshire did not prepare us for this, however we managed and felt incredibly proud especially with the views we allowed ourselves to admire at the top. Some hard work up and fantastic descents and a beer stop in Clapham then saw us in Settle where my mate wanted to look around the bike shop. Nothing prepared us for the hill out of Settle which required a couple of rest breaks and a fair bit of pushing from both of us. More fast descents and a bit of up and down saw us finishing the first day (late on) at the Wellington Arms just south of Summerbridge after another amazing (steady) descent into Pateley Bridge.The pub was amazing at storing bikes, general accommodation and lovely food, would definitely recommend.
Day 2
Legs were sore from the first day hills but we set off after an excellent full English breakfast, steadily to Brimham Rocks for more early morning climbing however very enjoyable once at the top and more great descents. Decided not to be heroes and stop for coffee in Ripon after a ride through the gorgeous Fountains Abbey. Re fuelled we set off for York, starting to recognise places now that we know! No dramas here, flat and fast legs definitely warmed up and both of us feeling good. Ride into York is pretty uninteresting until you hit the river however we wanted to follow the route as much as we could so stuck to it. Lunch in York after my mate deceides he needs to find a bike shop to charge his fancy Sram etap battery as the constant shifting up and down hills had taken its toll
, saw us pottering around a city we both love for an afternoon in the sun. Quick blast to Pocklington through some beautiful fields and gravel track (who needs a gravel bike) saw us at the Yorkway motel for our second night for more excellent hospitality, food and beer.Day 3
Another lovely full English set us up for the final leg. Bit of pain down the outside of my shins and my mates thighs and arse on fire, Castelli bibs maybe arent all they are cracked up to be I teased him as my £25 Amazon purchase was seeing my rear fantastically through the tour. "Only 43 miles to go today lads" said the cheery receptionist as we informed him we also had another 25 miles on top to get home. " Bloody hell lads, good on you" was enough motivation to get us going to Driffield, our first planned coffee stop and again somewhere we regularly visit. Disaster struck when my bottle refused to go back in its cage only for me to catch up with my friend and see him fly off his bike at 25mph, hitting a pothole taking photos
. Half an hour of bodging him and his bike back together saw us into Driffield for a proper look at him and his bike, damage wasn't too bad and like the trooper he is he wanted to finish. We hit Bridlington sea front mid afternoon feeling absolutely amazing and after a quick lunch set about riding the remaining miles home. No more hills thankfully and roads we knew saw a fast ride to Hornsea where I teased I was going to stay at my girlfriends and leave him to ride to Hull alone, in his current state im not sure he was amused and we pushed on home together as the team we had become, arriving home in time for tea.Overall it was an amazing route with a little of everything thrown in, whether that hills, terrain, villages and towns, rain and sun.
Met some amazing people on the way especially shops and cafes who let us fill up water bottles, charge batteries (
) and take bikes indoors.Its incredibly well signposted and would have felt comfortable without even uploading the gpx to the Garmin. All in ended up being around 220 miles in 3 days with detours etc and a massive sense of achievement I would recommend to anyone with a reasonable level of fitness.
Small selection of photos below of the many taken, thanks for taking the time to read and if anyone is thinking of doing it, go for it! Loved every minute.
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