Cycling Yorkshire

When talking to cyclists about their preferred cycling locations, Yorkshire is never mentioned but maybe it should be.  The Yorkshire area is always included in the Tour of Britain; it hosted the opening stages of the 2014 Tour de France and a few weeks ago it was where the 2019 UCI world championships were held. It obviously has something going for it.

Yorkshire has no really tall mountains like the Alps, Pyrenees or the Dolomites but what it does have is beautiful rolling hills, very steep pinches and miles of secondary lanes through beautiful country side. In September I was lucky enough to experience a variety of these.

We overnighted at Kettlewell and in the morning I rode up the steep 1 in 4 climb (25%) to the undulating plateau across paddocks. It was a beautiful serene place to ride. My return was blocked by a stubborn highland cow which would not move off the road and I was not game to get too close. Luckily I was rescued by a farmer who scared the cow away. 

We rode with our friends and hosts Jon and Jacqui from Kirby Overblow to Harrogate, Knaresborough and back. At times we were on A and B roads but other sections were on cycleways. We took a route of gently rolling hills past farms with grey sandstone buildings. We stopped at Bettys of Harrogate for lunch. Betty’s is a high tea venue where patrons dress in formal attire for a very civilised experience. Needless to say we were the only ones in cycling gear.  Our return trip was via Mother Skiptons Cave and the Gorge's quaint little buildings. We stuck mainly to back roads and even took to lifting bikes over gates and heading cross country to avoid A roads.

On the day of the UCI Womens road race Jon and I cycled from Leeds to Harrogate, through Pately Bridge and on to Grassington. We stopped at the 2019 UCI world championship fan zone and took in the cycling expo before taking advantage of the closed roads and riding part of the course. The toughest hill of the day and possibly in all of Yorkshire is Greenhow Hill. It is 4km long at an average of 7% percent. It is not a consistent climb but a series of very steep sections (over 16%) interspersed with slightly less steep sections that let you get your breath back. These alternate all the way to the top, getting over the really steep sections is quite a challenge particularly on an unfamiliar road bike geared for top speed not climbs. Near the top of the climb the road levels out and you can pick up pace and enjoy the view. The descent down the other side is pure joy with one heart stopping moment as the road was partially inundated with water and turned sharply over a narrow bridge. 

For the non-avid cyclist Leeds has a number of cycleways along streams and through parks and gardens.  Even a tour of the city centre can be handled easily on a bike, there is a lot of fabulous art and architecture in Leeds that can be access by bike.

To our fabulous hosts Jon and Jacqui, we say thank you for showing us Yorkshire and making one of our favourite cycling destinations.