doing The Way Of The Roses soon...

durhamwasp

Gonna be doing the WOTR in early November (just stocked up on winter gear in Aldi today!)

Anyone got any tips? Especially around necessary short cuts for roadies, if off-road sections are likely to be quite muddy in Nov.

We are doing Morecambe-Boroughbridge (88miles) day one, and then the remaining 82 miles to Brid on day 2. Should be a pretty tough first day with plenty of climbs, will be setting off pretty early due to the shortening daylight hours.

blackpoolkev

Hi,
I did this route in June.Looking back I wish I had taken a bit more care with navigation.I had maps but relied too heavily on the WOTR signposts.They were fine mostly but sometimes difficult to spot particularly in built up areas where changes in direction come thick and fast.A GPS system would have made things easier,maybe you already have one?
Also as you leave York the route takes you through Dunnington,the road changes to a walkway/cycle path then basically a field with a worn path about a foot wide in places.I worry what it will look like in November.Unless you value the sight of a farmer's barn you won't miss much by keeping to the road.
Good luck

durhamwasp

Thanks for that tip, defo dont want to be cycling through a muddy field.

I know what you mean about the signs, but none of us have GPS so we'll just how to see how it goes.

Todd Sweeney

Hi, we did it in May of this year over 3 days.

It was a great route, but we camped and I did it on a fully loaded, very heavy touring bike. If I did it again I would take the absolute minimum on my road bike and stay in hotels or hostels!

The first 60 miles are pretty hard, lots of very steep hills. We were aiming for Pateley Bridge but ended up camping in Cracoe. After day 1 it got easier. A few very steep ones at the beginning of the day but after that, not too bad to York. Day 3, from York to Bridlington, was pretty flat and easy.

There was one short bit of path that wasn't great for road bikes on day 2, but it was easily avoided and everything else was fine. The scenery was absolutely amazing.

It is a lovely route - have fun!

tim_wand

The only real bad bit is the Clapham Tunnels section especially on a rode bike. This can be completely avoided by taking the road (A65) I think.

The bit from York to Stamford Bridge (Dunnington) is across fields but its fairly hard pack and shouldnt be a problem You can mirror by just taking the A166 and then riding on the Path on the right hand side a couple of miles outside stamford bridge. You wouldnt want to miss the old railway bridge crossing of the derwent.

I ve got the sustrans map saved as a file I ll send you it.

durhamwasp

Cheers for those tips! Ive got the proper map that i recently bought. Will try and work out exactly where those 2 points are to avoid.

durhamwasp

Did it this weekend just gone, cracking weather for it, though the clock change the weekend before told!

I would say this route is one of the best ive done in the UK so far, probably the best infact. Definitely better than Coast to Coast. We (5 of us) did it on road bikes and found the country lanes that the majority of the ride was on to be an absolute joy! The route is very well signposted and i really couldnt recommend it enough.

We did it over 2 days, and with a 8am start in Morecambe and a couple of stops we ended up riding 92 miles to arrive in Boroughbridge at 6.30pm. With the dark nights now upon us, the last 25 miles were done in the dark with lights but at a very slow pace. In daylight i think we would easily have averaged double, as once at the summit before Pateley Bridge its largely downhill to Boroughbridge.

Day 2 we completed the ride, with an 8.30 start, but were really frustrated and let down by the York section. We followed the signs which were confusing to say the least and ended up on a rough cycle path out of York. The terrain was so bad we were lucky to get away with just one puncture. 1 mile further up and we were greeted by a fence and building site, path closed. Another group of 4 older tourers on hybrids then joined us! We all turned round and the first point off the cycle path was a 7ft gate that was appropriately locked. The other 4 carried on back towards York, but we climbed it and got the bikes over. All this messing around cost us easily 1hr30 and ultimately meant once again riding the last 15 miles in pitch black at 10mph speed. I would say to anybody who doesnt have a good reason to go into York, to avoid it.

Saw quite a few other WOTR riders on the route, most looking like 3-4 day riders with panniers on, luckily we had our camper van with us again and a driver so we were able to use Spen House Campsite in Minskip as our half way point.

9/10 for me, York costing it from getting full marks.

rodgers73

I'm thinking about doing this in a single day next June time - is the gradient particulrly tough or is this feasible?

Cheers

Tom

durhamwasp

Theres plenty of climbing in it - about 6,500ft i believe - and most of it is short and sharp. Easily the hardest climb is on the one out of Settle, 20% for about 1.5km ish i reckon. We found it tougher climbing wise than C2C to be honest.
It would be a great effort to do it in a day!

tim_wand

Only really two meaty climbs as mentioned. Settle to Airton and then Just past Grassington upto Greenhow, although descent into Pately bridge is big smiles.

As Durham Wasp as indicated once past Patley Bridge/ Ripon it really is flat all the way, The wind can catch you a bit going through Millington Woods just past Pocklington, it seems to create a natrual funnel.

As for the York Comments it can be a bit confusing , I d come off route , the way in to York down the river path is great. But once your at the bottom of the Botham or by the lendal bridge, I would then proceed out of York through Fulford/ Heslington following signs for the University then A166, fortget trying to find the Osbaldwick route out. As you say it really is Industrial estates and blocked access.

Once your clear of York at the roundabout of the 1079 (Hull) A64 (Leeds Scarborough) and A166 (Bridlington) about 1/4 mile down the A166 you ll see a T junction on the left for the Yorkshire Farm Museum, Adjacent to this on the right hand side of the road is the cycle way to Dunnigton, going back slightly on yourself it takes you back on route and its easy from there.

durhamwasp

tim wand wrote:

As for the York Comments it can be a bit confusing , I d come off route , the way in to York down the river path is great. But once your at the bottom of the Botham or by the lendal bridge, I would then proceed out of York through Fulford/ Heslington following signs for the University then A166, fortget trying to find the Osbaldwick route out. As you say it really is Industrial estates and blocked access.

Once your clear of York at the roundabout of the 1079 (Hull) A64 (Leeds Scarborough) and A166 (Bridlington) about 1/4 mile down the A166 you ll see a T junction on the left for the Yorkshire Farm Museum, Adjacent to this on the right hand side of the road is the cycle way to Dunnigton, going back slightly on yourself it takes you back on route and its easy from there.

Perfect advice IMO.

Garz

tim wand wrote:

Only really two meaty climbs as mentioned. Settle to Airton and then Just past Grassington upto Greenhow, although descent into Pately bridge is big smiles.

I have tackled this a few years back on 'The ride of the roses' for the BHF. Greenhow is a bit if a slog however the descent can be dangerous in poorer conditions so be careful! A colleague of mine was lucky and went between a wall and an oncoming car, with a rider not being so fortunate and went straight on into a wall on his nice colnago!

tim wand wrote:

As for the York Comments it can be a bit confusing

I have heard of the route being poor around York too. I wouldn't mind tackling this journey next year, there is another forumite that logged it I'm sure.