There were seven of us, the Magnificent Seven, riding the Way of the Roses – David, Carol, Brian, SueP , Mick and me. Mick’s wife Sarah had kindly agreed to accompany us on the trip by car and making it easier by carrying our luggage each day. On Monday 3rd September, whilst seven of us drove to Lancaster, Peter went up by train and met the rest of us at the Premier Inn there. There was limited bike storage in the hotel so most took their bikes to their rooms. After a late lunch at the hotel we took the bus into the centre of Lancaster for some sightseeing.

It started to rain about 5pm and we headed back to the hotel in the bus and ate in the hotel in the evening. It was an odd experience as they had run out of a lot of items on the menu after a busy weekend and there was a long wait before the food arrived. – they did give us free drinks and some of us free puddings by way of an apology.

Day 1 - Tuesday 4th September

In the morning we congregated outside at about 8:30 after breakfast and headed off on the bikes towards Morecambe on the NCN6. Lancaster canalThis followed the Lancaster canal, at first on the aqueduct over the River Lune and branching off close to the coast at Hest Bank where we joined the NCN700 that followed the Promenade all the way into the centre of Morecambe – lovely wide path, as smooth as a billiard table. We stopped off at the Eric Morecambe statue for the obligatory photo and then onto the official start of the WOTR. Start of the WOTR in MorecambeThe route back to Lancaster followed a rail trail to the river again, crossing it on a dedicated pedestrian and cycle bridge and following the east bank past our starting point again and on to the Crook of Lune where the dedicated path finished. We had overtaken a group of cyclists similar to ourselves and chatting to them found out that they were also doing the WOTR.At Eric Morecambe statue

Whilst we stopped for a comfort stop at Crook of Lune they carried on. From there it was onto the roads with a climb out of the valley side, quickly gaining elevation with extensive views to the south. We caught up with the other group again at the top of the first hill [13% max] and saw them a number of times again throughout the day. At the top of the series of climbs there was a long downhill to cross over the river again and on to Hornby, climb out again then down to the river again at Wray where we stopped for lunch along with loads of other cyclists.

The road climbed steadyish for the next 4 miles interspersed with short sharp climbs [18% at Mill Houses] and descents and then was fairly rolling until the descent to Clapham where we stopped for afternoon tea. On the road again after Austwick it climbed up again over the saddle to the Ribble valley and rolled down to our overnight stop at Settle where Sarah was waiting for us – 42 miles and 679m ascent. David was staying at the Golden Lion whilst the rest of us were in the Royal Oak – ours was a bit down at heel whilst David’s looked quite nice. After settling in and a beer at the bar, four of us ate at the Golden Lion whilst the other four ate at the local Indian restaurant.

Day 2 - Wednesday 5th September

We set off on a lovely warm sunny day and immediately started the climb out of Settle, flat for about 100m then about 1 mile at an average of 15% and maximum of 21%. Mick obviously had no trouble on his e-bike. A roadie passed us on the way up to the point where the gradient slackened and stopped with Mick whilst he waited on his mate to catch up – he walked. Apparently, they were doing the WOTR in a day and had set off that morning from Morecambe – it was only about 9am and they still had 130 mls to go! Obviously, they were super fit on superlight expensive bikes.Rolling countryside in the Dales About another mile up the road they were stopped at the side of the road as one of them had broken some spokes and buckled the wheel. Fortunately, their backup van was closeby and after a bit was able to replace the wheel. After we had crested the top of the hill and started on the descent, they came whizzing past - it was a lovely 3-mile descent to Airton. From there the roads were rolling, high along the side of the valley, with nice views to the north to Cracoe – when we say rolling it was punctuated by steep ups and downs, I counted 14 hills in this section between 10-18%. We stopped in Cracoe and enjoyed tea/coffee with scones straight out of the oven.Brimham Rocks

The road continued through Burnsall and onto Appletreewick at the start of the 4 mile climb up to the top of Greenhow Hill with the first section at 15% then easing off to an average of 4% with the odd section again at 15%. Once at the top of Greenhow Hill there was the 3-mile descent to Pateley Bridge at an average of 8% and a maximum of 24% with the road twisting and turning down the hill – it is a busy road so we had to be careful but it was great fun. We met up with Sarah there and had lunch in a café. The road climbed out of Pateley Bridge then down to the river at Smelthouses before rising up steeply again to Brimham Rocks where we stopped for a short time. From there it was mostly downhill except for the climb from the river at Fountains Abbey and then through the grounds to our overnight stop in Ripon where Sarah was again waiting for us, 43miles and 1315m of ascent and some spectacular scenery along the way. We were staying at the Unicorn Hotel, a Wetherspoons, in Market Place [except for Brian who was booked into another hotel nearby]. The staff were great and our bikes were securely stored in the beer cellar. We ate in the bar that evening and at 9pm went outside to see the Watchman blowing the hornblower at the corners of the market cross, a ceremony that has happened every evening since 886 AD.Hornblower in Ripon

Day 3 - Thursday 6th September

In the morning we set off for York along the valley bottom, flat as a pancake. After about 15 miles we started to look for a coffee stop, but there was nothing until we found a restaurant formed from old railway carriages called The Sidings just after Shipton where we had coffee overlooking the main line to York – Peter, a train buff, was in his element.  Just outside Skelton we joined the cycle path that runs beside the river all the way into the centre of York where we parked our bikes in the station. We walked into the town centre and had lunch outside in the garden at the Judges Lodging on Lendal. After this we walked back to the station and got caught in a very brief light shower that stopped before we got to the bikes. Back on the bikes we headed through the town gates into Micklegate and on to the Shambles where we walked the bikes through and onto Swinegate and then York Minster.

The route out of York follows cycle paths and quiet roads to Osbaldwick and then back lanes to Stamford Bridge. The route was uneventful and we reached Pocklington in good time and checked into the Feathers Hotel with the bikes again stored securely in the beer cellar – a very flat day, 50 miles and 200m ascent.  In the evening most us ate in the hotel’s sister restaurant, Stamfords – very nice. Peter and Sue ate in the hotel and joined us later.

Day 4 - Friday 7th September

Although we did not have far to go today, we left at the usual time, 9:00, and headed out of town and started climbing through the Wolds. Riding through The WoldsThe scenery was wonderful on this quiet road as it wound through a series of steep sided dry valleys until the climb out to Huggate where we had a 7-mile descent at an average of 1.5% on mostly straight roads. The route followed the flood plain of the River Hull, completely flat with little civilisation and no cafes until we got to Burton Agnes where we stopped for coffee and cake, 30 miles in. After this we climbed up to the ridge with views to the coast before the descent into Bridlington where we followed the route through the town to the official endpoint of the WOTR and the obligatory photos before going to the Premier Inn nearby where Mick, Sarah and I were booked in – 39 miles and 433m ascent.The finish in Bridlington

After checking in and using the rooms to shower and change into civvies, we had lunch in the hotel restaurant. The minibus with the bike trailer turned up and with the main group loaded headed off on the return journey to Lancaster, dropping Peter off at Bradford on the way past. Mick, Sarah and I had a wander through the town to the harbour – not very exciting and ate in the hotel restaurant in the evening.

The next morning, I left at first light, 6:15am, and rode the 30 miles to Malton over the Wolds again to catch the train home. Mick and Sarah were staying in Yorkshire for the next week and headed off towards Flamborough Head and Whitby. The main group left Lancaster and drove home in David’s car.