flat 50 mile route sought, A1/M62 area

Sprool

Can anyone recommend a good flat 50 mile circular back-road route around the area where the A1 meets the M62? Pontefract/castleton/selby sort of area? Looking to get some longer distances in without having to climb up bleedin' Holme Moss every time I leave the house.

nmt

Park your car up at fairburn near the old A1 and head out towards Carlton/Snaith/Goole you'll get a 50 mile loop no problems. Do you use a Garmin or anything ? and when are you thinking of doing the route

rolf_f

Above plus 1. There's almost no hills out East of there so go where you like! I'd probably head NE to Cawood then SE to Howden then back via Airmyn, Carlton, Haddlesey and back to Knottingley. If that isn't long enough it's easy to add a bit.

Very flat. It'll make you long for Holme Moss!

nmt

Just quickly knocked this up for you keeping main roads to the absolute minimum.

http://connect.garmin.com/course/3435097

philwint

How about something like this. I pootled round it yesterday with a friend who had a new bike to play with. He's not been cycling at all much this year and coped ok.

http://app.strava.com/activities/50969412

[Edit] or that one above looks nice too

nmt

That looks a nice route Phil I know most of it apart from the Askern back to Ackworth.

I still need to try a first 50 miler only managing 33 up to date

philwint

nmt wrote:

That looks a nice route Phil I know most of it apart from the Askern back to Ackworth.

I still need to try a first 50 miler only managing 33 up to date

The Askern bit is the crucial bit, because that's where the cafe stop is

nmt

Yes that route I posted up has a café stop just as you get back through Carlton

rolf_f

Stupid crappy Bikeradar makes me write this all out a second time; is it really necessary to have to copy long posts to ensure you don't have to rewrite them from scratch? :roll:

The café at Askern lake is essential. A standard bike club stop!

An alternative if you don't mind going a bit further north is a circumnavigation of York. The scenery is nicer than the lower Aire valley but still flat. The one below is 65 miles from Great Ouseburn so it is a little longer - you can just as easily start it at Tadcaster (and that way you get the slightly hilly bit out of the way first - though hilly is only 800 or so feet in total!). There isn't so much opportunity to shorten it due to the lack of bridges over the Ouse and Wharfe. One option there is is to take the disused railway between Escrick and Stillingfleet and cross via the old rail bridge at Naburn. That gets you back via Appleton Roebuck, Bilborough and Tockwith but it does assume a more Northerly starting point as it cuts out Tadcaster.

http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView/3?id=2902421

pollys_bott

The Prince of Wales Hospice in Pontefract do a charity ride on the third Sunday in May with 20/40/60-ish mile routes. I did the 60 a few years ago with my bro-in-law who lives in Darrington, it's a nice route which I guess would be viewable on their website.

Rolf - yes, it is a bit flat isn't it? I was up there for a short ride a few weeks back and the biggest hills were the climb out of Wentbridge and the descent from the A1 down into Upton...

Sprool

Thanks for the info, esp. nmt and philwint, those routes look perfect for what I'm after and I have a couple of cycle buddies not far from Knottingly. No garmin here but a couple of print-outs in the back pocket ought to do the job.

Ben6899

Just spotted this thread. I'm a Ponte expat! When I read your question, I thought "what, this fella lives near the A1/M62 junction and can't find a flat 50mile ride!?"

The fellas above have nailed it for you, but you could also try to incorporate places like Ryther, Ulleskelf and Ozendyke. Have you seen the route that the Prince of Wales Hospice charity ride (mentioned by Pollys Bot) follows?

http://goo.gl/maps/B7Hiy (ignore the strange loop at Bishopthorpe)

It's ever so slightly lumpy towards the end of the route, but nothing to write home about.

And, this year's ride will be coming up - you should look to taking part as you can register on the day.

keef66

Well I were brung up just north of Ferrybridge cos my dad worked in the power station. Anywhere east from there is pancake flat, but the wind can be a bit tedious and it's completely devoid of scenery. Me and my cycling schoolfriends would usually head northeast for the Wolds or the North Yorks moors and the coast, or northwest into the Dales.

nmt

keef66 wrote:

Well I were brung up just north of Ferrybridge cos my dad worked in the power station. Anywhere east from there is pancake flat, but the wind can be a bit tedious and it's completely devoid of scenery. Me and my cycling schoolfriends would usually head northeast for the Wolds or the North Yorks moors and the coast, or northwest into the Dales.

Yes the wind certainly can be a pain

Sprool

Well cracked it today, rode from M180 to Gainsborough and back up the trent, 53.6 miles, well chuffed, this is a big milestone for me. Good day for cycling but I see what you mean about the wind, it can really be energy-sapping and there's just nowhere to hide out there in the North Lincs flatlands. Mind you, cruising along the road by the river with nio cars abd wind at your back, ticking over at 22 - 24 mph is marvellous.
Great to get out and cycle some totally different landscapes. Cycle computer reported 17.6mph average over the 50 miles which I'm delighted with: round Huddersfield and Holmfirth I'm lucky to get over 13mph. Nice route
http://app.strava.com/activities/52246709

nmt

Well done mate.

I see you had a complete change of plan to where you we're going to ride.

Sprool

Thanks - not a complete change of plan - still SE of A1/M62, but teamed up with a friend who used to live out there, and recommended a flat 50 miler he had done before He's a stronger rider than me so it was helpful to get a bit of slipstreaming in along the more exposed sections.

philwint

Well done - very respectable average speed too