[Closed] Way of the roses

Did it a fortnight ago over 2 days (I know, I'm a lightweight). Mrs in the van parked at Boroughbridge. When she did it over 3 days with some mates, I supported in the van and we stopped at Cracoe and just outside Pocklington. We stayed in the van. T'others stayed in B&B's, camped or hostels.

I did it with work over 2 days. Stayed at Morecambe travelodge then chequers inn,

http://www.chequersinnharrogate.co.uk/

Food was brekky and then something on the go - bacon butty etc and a main meal in a pub at night. The main thing to bear in mind was the 'Five pint minimum' rule.

Mr sparkle that's just lunch 5 pints

Good man.

Climb out of settle supposed to be one of the highlights isn't it ?

Did it last year, we took a leisurely 3 days, Malham first night, York second, staying with the YHA.
It's a lovely ride, great scenery.

Road bike /hybrid or mountain bike ?

Yes, the climb out of Settle is reasonable. Reasonably steep but not too long. If the wind is at your back you will get a lovely push along the undulations after it. Watch out for the Highland Cattle that like hanging about in the road!

One of the best bits for me was some of the lovely quiet hidden away villages in the Yorkshire Wolds. The sunshine helped!

[url= http://www.jelleylegs.co.uk/ ]Jelley Legs[/url] a really nice stopover if doing it over 2 days. Gives you 75 hilly miles on day and 100 pan flat on day 2 (assuming yo go W to E. Really nice route, road bike fine, even on the slightly off road bit just after York.

Yep, road bike fo' sho'.

Pateley Bridge descent is fun but will test your brakes. Someone died on it the same weekend we did it, think they crashed into the wall. Some nice climbs and descents around pocklington to. Ours was a 70 mile hilly day with 100 mile flattish day to. The Hotel was only 0.5 mile off the route and had their own beer and a carvery.

Sounds good

Sorry for the slight thread hijack, but it looks like most people ride it west to east, is there a specific reason for this? Has anyone on here done it in a day (If so what's it like)?

West to east means your more likely to get a tail wind and you get the hills over with on fresher legs.

I know people who've done it in a day. On my 2nd day I rode home from Bridlington so did 135 miles, I reckon I could've had a good go.

I did it as a 3 dayer a couple of years ago, train to Morecambe (actually Lancaster as I couldn't be bothered waiting for the connection and had time to mooch), Travelodge in Morecambe. B&B in Pately Bridge, YHA in York and direct train back from Brid to Doncaster after my fish and chips.

Road bike is fine, there's about half a mile or less of fieldside track east of York, otherwise all hard surfaces if not actual tarmac.

Plenty of pics here:
[url= http://s11.photobucket.com/user/midlifecrashes/library/WayOfTheRoses ]http://s11.photobucket.com/user/midlifecrashes/library/WayOfTheRoses[/url]

Apparently I'm doing it in the autumn.

What's the surface like? The website suggests a mix of tarmac and dirt road and I'm wondering if it's road bike or Gryphon territory.

Any views?

I refer you to my previous answer up there^^^.
It might be a bit clarty in a few places in autumn but the advantages of a road bike (especially with mudguards) far outweigh the disadvantages.

Apologies - I thought I'd read the thread. Apparently not.

I did it over 2 days last year stopping overnight at Boroughbridge which is roughly halfway. I found the first day really tough as I was not used to so much climbing. The second day was steady as it is mostly flat. I lost my bearings in the centre of York but I think the rest of the route is well signposted.

I stopped at the black bull in Boroughbridge which was ok.

Yes it is. £3.20 for a pint and a half of bitter. Terry, the owd lad behind the bar, is a nice chap.

[url= http://wayoftheroses.info/news/story/all_in_a_day ]Here's our run out from a couple of years ago![/url]