Way of the Roses

[planetcondor]

We are riding the WotR this year and would appreciate any tips or 'must nots'.

 

[Brandane]

We are riding the WotR this year and would appreciate any tips or 'must nots'.

I did it east to west in May 2011, trip report here. Unfortunately the photos have now been deleted from photobucket so the links don't work.
Can't think of any must nots. Tips? - visit Gilchrist Bakers in Boroughbridge for a great breakfast, or the best carrot cake ever.

 

[planetcondor]

I did it east to west in May 2011, trip report here. Unfortunately the photos have now been deleted from photobucket so the links don't work.
Can't think of any must nots. Tips? - visit Gilchrist Bakers in Boroughbridge for a great breakfast, or the best carrot cake ever.

Thanks Brandane, enjoyed your report. It's something different from the annual C2C. We are going west to east with a mix of road and mountain bikes.

 

[moonsafari]

how many days ?

 

[Pjays666]

When will you be doing the trip? I am doing the route with a friend over 3 days (also west to east) in April so can post re my trip on return. We will be camping on route but have a support vehicle to pitch and carry weight.

 

[boysgonebiking]

I was planning to do the WOTR this spring but injury (not cycling related!) has stopped play. Might do it in late autumn now - any thoughts on how well made off road sections are? Will a hybrid bike do it if it's wet? Thanks

 

[Soltydog]

I did it on my touring bike (28mm tyres) & dont recall any rough sections, so you should be fine on a hybrid

 

[barnsleykid]

I did it over 2 days last month. The first day from morecambe to Boroughbridge was a hard slog as I am not used to hilly rides. I used my cycle cross bike with 28mm road tyres which was fine.

 

[Danny]

I would recommend doing it over 3 days unless you are very fit and are prepared for some long days. You pads through a lot of beautiful countryside and nice villages and you should give yourself time to enjoy it.

The section from Settle to Patley Bridge is quite tough - in particular there is a killer hill as you leave Settle which we ended up pushing our bikes up - so you might want to take that into account in your route planning.

 

[F70100]

I did WOTR W to E over 3 days at the end of June 2014. I added some extra miles on day 1 going up to Kettlewell to stay in the Youth Hostel. Retraced route back to Burnsall to pick up WOTR route the next day. Second night was in my caravan on the east side of York. Mrs F70100 drove me to Morecambe on day 1 and picked me up from Brid on day 3.

2 big hills - road out of Settle as previously mentioned, plus the climb out of Appletreewick. Greenhow Hill going down into Pateley Bridge was fab though !!

On the first 2 days there were plenty of places to stop for lunch or to buy stuff. Day 3 facilities are a bit more spread out.

 

[Pjays666]

I did in on a hybrid over 3 days but made the mistake of going from morecambe to pately bridge on day one. All other comments regarding the climbs after settle and onto pately bridge are true and make sure you have good brakes for the run down green how hill

 

[geocycle]

I did morecambe to York which was tough until Ripon. The second day to the coast was fine. I'd recommend three days to enjoy, rather than endure the dales. It's a lovely route although I've since done Lancaster to York a number of times now and there are a few improvements which avoid the worst hills eg keep south of A65 keasden, rathmell, wrigglesworth, to hellifield. I also like to turn right at the top of greenhow hill and pass through menwith and ripley. This avoids the tricky descent into pately bridge with a long swoosh. There are also good tea room and ice cream options in ripley.

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

A group of us did it in 2 days in June Morcombe to Bridlington. We stayed in Ripon overnight, so day 2 was further in mileage but flat as a pancake. The worst bit was around York, avoid using the dirt tracks around there.
I would like to do it in a single day next year but may do it in reverse just for a change.