UKH

Morning all, 

I thought I'd make it an aim to ride the Way of the Roses this year (lockdown rules depending obviously). I'd likely be cycling it alone but will rope my partner into a support vehicle along the way and he can possibly stop off at a crag for a boulder en route.

Has anyone done it? Can anyone suggest a decent way to break it into segments (I'm thinking over a weekend) or point me in the direction any discussions elsewhere etc?

I'm relatively bike fit and currently building up the mileage week by week too. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated

Well, in the long days of mid summer (and with a little tailwind), doing it in one day is not an outrageously ambitious ride. 

But it's very much a ride of contrasting halves with most of the hills in the first half (assuming you start in Morecambe).

Pateley Bridge to Ripon is the usual stop over if you want to do it in two. That would make Brimham rocks a possible bouldering venue at end of the first day.

It's far better waymarked going from west to east, but even so, make sure you have a map or GPS route for a back up as getting lost is a total waste of time.

Don't over eat in Settle as the hill out of the town is the crux.

Have a good read about sights along the road in a regular tourist guide as it does pass quite a bit of history!

The chip shops in Bridlington start to close around 7.30.

thanks for this! Good advice and would be gutted to miss out on chips at the end!

Sorry to highjack slightly but how does this route compare to the normal (cycling) coast to coast, better? quieter?  

Looks interesting anyway.

Steve

Not sure I know the answer but would also be interested if anyone does. I've chosen WOTR as it goes through York so I can stop off at home for refreshments but would quite like to add C2C to my list

They're comparable in many ways and most people seem to enjoy them "in addition to" rather that choosing one as an alternative to another.

Whilst they both enjoy the achievement of going from 'coast to coast', they also share some of the draw backs this entails: the route isn't free to find the best quality cycling as at some point you have to get to the coast! So there are some sections that clearly are included through necessity rather than merit.

They also share the perversity found on all designated cycle routes in the UK: the designers will go anywhere to avoid 'traffic', so you have the inclusion of gratuitous hills, stretches of 'cycle paths' of questionable quality, apparently random diversions and mixed surfaces including mud/ rubble / flytipping / cobbles to negotiate. I think in the planners mind they visualise everyone on some sort of go anywhere, do anything type of hybrid which no one doing these routes actually rides. 

Ultimately these routes are only where 'someone' says a route exists, often with a large input from local authorities along the route. And there are others to consider including Hadrian's Wall which people rave about, Walney to Wear which looks good and a DIY creation from Ravensglass to Whitby which with a bit of care can include a phenomenal amount of climbing, albeit on some busier roads.

It's a fantastic route. I did it with a mate in October over 2 days.

Stopped over in a hotel on the seafront (The Clarendon - nice little place a few hundred metres from the start and they let us keep our bikes inside in a dining room overnight) the Friday night. Morcambe -> York (109 miles) on the Saturday and York -> Bridlington (63 miles) on the Sunday, with plenty time to get the train home to London.

Left Morcambe later than we'd planned, about 9am. Took our merry time and stayed at the York YHA. Pizza and a couple of beers after our lateish arrival and off to bed for an early start.

Absolutely great cycling - especially day 1 once you're out of Morcambe - and the route is relatively well signposted. As mentioned above, the climb out of Settle is a beast and the toughest part of the route. There's also a big climb out of Pateley Bridge, it's less steep and more manageable but was tough in the rain with a belly full of food and a couple of loaded panniers.

Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/4182862020

Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/4182858175

We did this in 3 days from Morecambe to Brid, with carrying panniers and camping gear and on touring/hybrid bikes. Appletreewick first night because we love it there, and wanted to savour time in the Dales, and then Stamford bridge for the second night.  Warning: virtually no shops east of Stamford bridge, we ran out of food as were hungrier than anticipated. Managed to find a nice cafe in a garden centre in Hutton cranswick, which was a bit of a saviour. Agreed, the fish in chips in Bridlington tasted amazing!

Also recommend the Dales cycle way.

I have done both. C2C has a couple of caveats. When you get to the sea you have to cycle back into Newcastle if you are going to catch the train back to the start. The train from Carlisle to Whitehaven only has space for three cycles. If you are nice to the conductor they will probably let you on and you can stand with your bike, but it's not guaranteed. It's not possible to book bike spaces in advance.

I didn’t need to use the train when I did it, but presumably if you finish at Roker, which I did. You can get the train from Sunderland.