Last summer, my friend James decided he wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday in style by tackling the Way of the Roses cycle ride. How could we as his friends turn down such an adventure!
So after endless planning and with panniers packed, we embarked on this four day trek starting on the Morecambe Bay coast after a quick obligatory group photo on the promenade.
We must clearly have looked the part as we were greeted by so many well-wishers on route as we travelled through the historic city of Lancaster, over the Millennium Bridge and into the Lune Valley.
Although much of route was familiar to me already you can’t help but take in the stunning countryside more when you are travelling along and peering over the hedge rows on two wheels.
The first day was ‘Lancashire Day’ and for us it was a good day with the wind on our backs, we flew down the green lanes in and around the northern reaches of the Forest of Bowland. In no time at all we had great views of Ingleborough and the Yorkshire Dales ahead guiding us into Yorkshire.
A good tip would be its worth having an official Sustrans map to guide you (in addition to signage with the easily recognisable white and red rose symbols) as one of us did get lost in the county lanes early on which meant a few of us spending an extra hour in a fine Lancashire tearoom waiting for him!
The second tip is just take you time and enjoy the whole adventure. Take three or four days to complete and with plenty of country lanes, quieter roads and some serious hills thrown in, it's a challenging but rewarding cycling ride.
You’ll definitely get to see why it’s one of Britain's best 'coast-to-coast' routes.
Mark McTigue
Lancaster Tourism Officer
Way of the Roses cycle Route. Morecambe – Bridlington – 170 miles.
Find out more about Cycling in Lancashire at cyclelancashire.com
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