Coast-to-Coast via "Way of Roses" 2015
May 23rd-24th 2015
125 miles from Morecambe to Bridlington
What a wonderful route! Especially with a light westerly wind... From my cycling friend's "Two legs and Two wheels" blog:
"Day 1
Everyone knows, of course, that the phrase ‘Wars of the Roses’ traces its usage back to a passage of Shakespeare’s, written some two hundred years after the events in question. Nevertheless, Sustrans have adopted the ‘Way of the Roses’ name for the route that runs from Morecambe on the west coast to Bridlington on the east, and last bank holiday weekend, we set off to ride it: 170 miles, as the sign at Morecambe told us.
We’d arrived the night before, and although Morecambe’s on the coast we didn’t see much of the sea - it was low tide, and the sea runs out a very long way indeed at Morecambe. Instead, we were treated to a fantastic sunset over the far shore of the bay, with the light reflecting off the millions of puddles that had been left behind between the sand ripples. The westerly wind held the promise of a tailwind for the trip, although it did make eating fish and chips rather chilly (they were very good fish and chips however!). We set off around 12 hours later, the following morning; consequently, tides acting the way they do, we didn’t see much of the sea in the morning, either! We did see a fair few other cyclists though, including some taking the obligatory photograph at the start sign, and some others just out for local rides.
The first few miles were back towards Lancaster along a nice cycle path: it was surfaced with relatively smooth tarmac, and it was away from roads. This took us into Lancaster and a few miles out the other side along the Lune valley. Just before Caton, we turned off the path onto quiet roads, and almost immediately started climbing. We passed a couple of groups of cyclists heading in our direction, and saw a fair few coming the other way too. The sun was out, the morning chill had gone, and by the time we’d done the first proper climb of the day it was definitely warm. With very few cars around it made for lovely riding conditions!
This set the pattern for the morning: undulating roads with an underlying upward gradient, lots of other cyclists - both overtaking us and being overtaken - and few cars.
An almost more apt name for the route would be ‘the Way of the Rose’ since, despite being called the ‘Way of the Roses’, almost the whole of the route lies within Yorkshire. The western edge of North Yorkshire comes very close to the west coast of England - much closer, I imagine, than most people think - and within 20 miles we were out of Lancashire.
The undulating road continued, and as we followed the route further inland it kept slowly climbing overall, each downhill being slightly shorter than the uphill before it. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the countryside changed, as the trees became less frequent and the hills became longer. Pushing on at a good pace, it was nevertheless well past a reasonable lunch hour before we reached Settle, but as the hardest climb of the trip was just outside, we didn’t stop. However, we did once we’d reached the top, or almost the top, since the climb sort of peters out rather than ending with a definite summit. We turned off the road, and had sandwiches and apples in a field full of sheep. After this climb, we were properly crossing moorland rather than lowland dales, with sheep farming and drystone walls giving way to open country.
We passed a few paragliders launching themselves into the air off a south-facing slope, and also - rather ominously - a sign saying ‘road closed ahead’. It was particularly ominous, since we were starting what looked like a long descent, and I for one had no desire to discover in a mile or two that we had to turn round and climb back up! The descent transpired to be long indeed, taking us back down amongst, first gorse bushes, and then trees; fortunately, the road closed sign seemed to be a hang-over from works completed some time ago, left as a lonely remnant on the moor.
Back down to a lower height, we passed through several small hamlets, looking idyllic in the early summer sunshine (Apple-something-or-other stands out in my memory as a particularly picturesque one). Climbing back again, we joined a fairly major road. At other times perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but it was busy with bank holiday traffic, and by comparison with the rest of the day the traffic spoilt what would otherwise have been a nice stretch with long, open vistas. We stayed on that road for a while, which took us past my old stamping-grounds of Stump Cross Caverns, via Pately Bridge, to Brimham Rocks. Stopping briefly (and eschewing an ice-cream, to my regret!) we cruised on into the lengthening afternoon, dropping down through the grounds of Studley Park and to our welcome accommodation in Ripon at the Blackmoor Inn. A fine meal and a pint of Yorkshire bitter rounded off a tough, but very enjoyable, day.
Day 1
Distance: 82 miles
Climbing: 1963 m
Time: 7:29
Pace: 11.0 mph
Day 2
Distance: 93 miles
Climbing: 630 m
Time: 7:05
Pace: 13.1 mph
125 miles from Morecambe to Bridlington
What a wonderful route! Especially with a light westerly wind... From my cycling friend's "Two legs and Two wheels" blog:
"Day 1
Everyone knows, of course, that the phrase ‘Wars of the Roses’ traces its usage back to a passage of Shakespeare’s, written some two hundred years after the events in question. Nevertheless, Sustrans have adopted the ‘Way of the Roses’ name for the route that runs from Morecambe on the west coast to Bridlington on the east, and last bank holiday weekend, we set off to ride it: 170 miles, as the sign at Morecambe told us.
We’d arrived the night before, and although Morecambe’s on the coast we didn’t see much of the sea - it was low tide, and the sea runs out a very long way indeed at Morecambe. Instead, we were treated to a fantastic sunset over the far shore of the bay, with the light reflecting off the millions of puddles that had been left behind between the sand ripples. The westerly wind held the promise of a tailwind for the trip, although it did make eating fish and chips rather chilly (they were very good fish and chips however!). We set off around 12 hours later, the following morning; consequently, tides acting the way they do, we didn’t see much of the sea in the morning, either! We did see a fair few other cyclists though, including some taking the obligatory photograph at the start sign, and some others just out for local rides.
The first few miles were back towards Lancaster along a nice cycle path: it was surfaced with relatively smooth tarmac, and it was away from roads. This took us into Lancaster and a few miles out the other side along the Lune valley. Just before Caton, we turned off the path onto quiet roads, and almost immediately started climbing. We passed a couple of groups of cyclists heading in our direction, and saw a fair few coming the other way too. The sun was out, the morning chill had gone, and by the time we’d done the first proper climb of the day it was definitely warm. With very few cars around it made for lovely riding conditions!
This set the pattern for the morning: undulating roads with an underlying upward gradient, lots of other cyclists - both overtaking us and being overtaken - and few cars.
An almost more apt name for the route would be ‘the Way of the Rose’ since, despite being called the ‘Way of the Roses’, almost the whole of the route lies within Yorkshire. The western edge of North Yorkshire comes very close to the west coast of England - much closer, I imagine, than most people think - and within 20 miles we were out of Lancashire.
The undulating road continued, and as we followed the route further inland it kept slowly climbing overall, each downhill being slightly shorter than the uphill before it. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the countryside changed, as the trees became less frequent and the hills became longer. Pushing on at a good pace, it was nevertheless well past a reasonable lunch hour before we reached Settle, but as the hardest climb of the trip was just outside, we didn’t stop. However, we did once we’d reached the top, or almost the top, since the climb sort of peters out rather than ending with a definite summit. We turned off the road, and had sandwiches and apples in a field full of sheep. After this climb, we were properly crossing moorland rather than lowland dales, with sheep farming and drystone walls giving way to open country.
We passed a few paragliders launching themselves into the air off a south-facing slope, and also - rather ominously - a sign saying ‘road closed ahead’. It was particularly ominous, since we were starting what looked like a long descent, and I for one had no desire to discover in a mile or two that we had to turn round and climb back up! The descent transpired to be long indeed, taking us back down amongst, first gorse bushes, and then trees; fortunately, the road closed sign seemed to be a hang-over from works completed some time ago, left as a lonely remnant on the moor.
Back down to a lower height, we passed through several small hamlets, looking idyllic in the early summer sunshine (Apple-something-or-other stands out in my memory as a particularly picturesque one). Climbing back again, we joined a fairly major road. At other times perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but it was busy with bank holiday traffic, and by comparison with the rest of the day the traffic spoilt what would otherwise have been a nice stretch with long, open vistas. We stayed on that road for a while, which took us past my old stamping-grounds of Stump Cross Caverns, via Pately Bridge, to Brimham Rocks. Stopping briefly (and eschewing an ice-cream, to my regret!) we cruised on into the lengthening afternoon, dropping down through the grounds of Studley Park and to our welcome accommodation in Ripon at the Blackmoor Inn. A fine meal and a pint of Yorkshire bitter rounded off a tough, but very enjoyable, day.
Day 2
We set off on the Sunday morning after a hearty breakfast. It had rained overnight, and the roads were still wet, but it was otherwise almost perfect weather for a long distance ride: not too hot, not too cold, little wind, and importantly for my arms after yesterday, it was overcast so there wasn’t much risk of further sunburn!
The elevation profile for today’s ride is much much flatter than yesterday’s, so although we’re riding further 90 miles rather than 80 it should be an easier day. Although we’ll cross the southern end of the North York Moors, there won’t be half the climbing that there was yesterday on the way from Morecambe to Ripon.
We made a good start, and were on track reaching York, after a route that took us through Linton and along the course of the Ouse. There were some nice points about this stretch, and it was a pleasant enough morning’s ride, but the surface left a fair bit to be desired, as did the manners of some of the other riders. Parts of the road were very gravelly and broken, but the worst was a stretch of shared-use path close to York. The path followed an old railway line (I guess, judging by the embankments) - and it felt as if it had been converted by tarmacking over the railway line, sleepers and all! Nevertheless, it was nice to be off roads and not have to navigate, and we paused for a snack on the bank of the river, in the shadow of the famous city walls.
Leaving York we stuck to cyclepaths still, but found ourselves having to navigate much more; I find this always happens with cities, somehow routes out are never well signposted. However, after a bit of faffing around we found out rhythm again, and wound our way through fields and country lanes towards the hills. The sun came out, and though the wind picked up the riding was pleasant.
I think both of us were feeling the miles by lunchtime, and when we finally hit the hills the fatigue showed - at least, I felt it anyway! This was a mixed blessing: the scenery was definitely nice enough to warrant going slowly, but slugging up the climbs meant we were probably too tired to properly appreciate it! The (chalk?) landscape gave rise to very different valley shapes and flora when compared to the starker, higher limestone moorland of the dales.
Once on top, a grand vista opened before us to the east, and the narrow lane gave way to a wide and straight road, with a descent that matched those of the dales, at least for length if not for height.
An undulating 30 miles or so more - including several crossings of the same railway line - brought us to Bridlington and the finish. Time for some well-earned dinner!
Postscript: our ride took us from Morecambe to the delights of Bridlington. Unlike many British seaside towns, Bridlington seems as popular as it ever was, and it’s none the better for it Granted, we visited on a bank holiday weekend and probably saw it at its busiest, tackiest height; and if your idea of a perfect holiday is 2 weeks on the Playa de las Americas, you’ll love the place. But for me, the broken shower - just what you want at the end of a day cycling! - summed up this weekend: much like life, it was about the journey not the destination…"
Day 1
Distance: 82 miles
Climbing: 1963 m
Time: 7:29
Pace: 11.0 mph
Day 2
Distance: 93 miles
Climbing: 630 m
Time: 7:05
Pace: 13.1 mph
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