Become a bike ambassador for the UK’s best cycling destination!

Yorkshire’s cycling heartland is calling for bike ambassadors to help acknowledge its place as the UK’s top destination for pedal power.

“We believe that the Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors area is unbeatable in the UK for the sheer variety and quality of its cycling, making it one of Britain’s premier holiday destinations for two-wheeled adventures. But we need help from people of all ages and abilities to explore this vast cycling country, so it can take its place as a top destination for pedal-power!” says Janet Deacon

Area Director North Yorkshire, Welcome to Yorkshire.

From lazy riverside meanders perfect for Sunday tandems (or little legs), the highest ‘king of the mountain’ challenges for road-racers, and world-class mountain-biking trails, there’s a route for everyone in the Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors – indeed cycling is the best way to explore the area’s unique coast and countryside.

“Cyclists receive a warm welcome throughout the area, and you’ll find a wide range of facilities to make sure your visit goes smoothly, from cycle-friendly accommodation and bike hire, to tea-rooms, who know how to feed a healthy appetite! So whether you’re a keen cyclist or haven’t ridden a bicycle for years, there’s no better time to get on a bike and off the beaten track to find your own special places and memories,” adds Janet Deacon.

Use the following suggestions to start exploring this special cycling area and then post your Bike Ambassador review on Twitter at @discovercoast or on Discover Yorkshire Coast’s facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/discoveryorkshirecoast):

• Bag a personal piece of le Tour: the Tour de Yorkshire, one of the most significant events in the British cycling calendar (and one of Britain’s most popular road races), is set to travel through the heart of the Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors area for the third time in 2017, but there’s a huge choice of shorter loops to avoid those leg-breaking hills, while still enjoying the fresh air, tranquillity, and magnificent moorland and coastal scenery.

• For a road-bike challenge, the area has some of Britain’s toughest climbs, including the infamous Rosedale Chimney at Rosedale Abbey with a 1:3 gradient. There’s also White Horse Bank (25%), nearby Boltby Bank (20%), and Carlton Bank (30%). Fortunately, cycling the hills is not compulsory because the climbs are located at the heart of miles of uninterrupted cycling, many connecting to longer-distance ready-made and traffic-free cycling trails

• Dalby Forest is one of Britain’s best and largest mountain biking centres, featuring over 70km cycling routes extending across an epic 8000 acres, including the World Cup Trail, a dedicated Bike Park with jumps and pump track, and an impressive range of facilities at the Dalby Bike Barn, including expert tuition, and bike hire, sales and service. There are routes to suit every level of cycling ability, and for non-cycling family and friends, there’s plenty of alternative entertainment, from play areas to creative paper-making

• Sutton Bank National Park Centre has grown into one of the UK’s best moorland centres for cyclists, with ‘top of the world’ cycling on family-friendly, purpose-built trails connected to a vast network of bridleways and quiet country lanes. For top tips on the area ask the friendly staff in the Centre or at Sutton Bank Bikes which has bike hire, a cycle shop, service centre and bike wash, and also offers courses and guided rides. The Centre also a tea-room, famed locally for its hearty meals and delicious cakes!

• Best long-distance routes: the 150-mile Moors to Sea Cycle Network journeys through stunning moorland, coastal and forest scenery in a series of circular loops, that would take five to six days to cycle in one go. The route follows quiet roads, woodland tracks, bridleways, and the ‘Cinder Track’ along the line of the former railway with panoramic views across the coast, (and definitely family and novice-proof!). In addition, several well-signposted long-distance cycling routes pass through the Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors area, including Sustrans Routes 1, 65, 165 and 168, and the 179 mile Walney to Whitby (W2W) coast-to-coast challenge route through the Esk Valley. Road-cyclists should also look out for local favourites, the ‘Brandsdale Loop’, and routes around Castle Howard, the Esk Valley (especially Egton Bridge), and circulars connecting Leavening Brow to Kirkham Gorge. To find out about these, and much more visit www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com.

• Sustrans National Route 1 deserves a special mention, meandering along one of the most stunning parts of the Yorkshire Coast along the 21-mile ‘Cinder Track’, the original railway line between Scarborough and Whitby. Although it has a few ‘coastal contours’, it is always a family or beginners’ favourite, being quietly off-road with plenty of flat sections and ‘I-Spy’ opportunities (from a giant viaduct, to smuggling villages), and regular energy restoring pit-stops at tea-rooms en route

• The North York Moors National Park also boasts some of the Britain’s best ‘wild’ and year-round trail-riding, according to the Good Mountain Biking Guide, including the country’s finest ridge riding along Rudland Rigg, and also some of the best moorland downhill singletrack. Other favourite off-road starting points include Danby, Westerdale, Goathland, Rosedale Abbey and the Hole of Horcum – the north’s Grand Canyon. Towards the south, explore the Howardian Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty surrounding Castle Howard, Britain’s finest stately home. There’s a vast criss-crossing network of on and off-road cycling trails, and as the countryside barely rises above 200m, it’s the place to enjoy a gentler pace of cycling, alongside stunning scenery, heritage and wildlife. It’s almost impossible to pedal two miles without a tea-room, so there’s no chance of running out of energy.

  You can find loads of bike-friendly information and routes maps at www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com, www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/cycling, www.visitryedale.co.uk, and www.howardianhills.org.uk.

  ENDS

  For more media information and images, please contact:

  Nicola Bexon at Pyper York PR: Nicola@pyperyork.co.uk

  Samantha Orange at Pyper York PR: sam@pyperyork.co.uk

  Tel: 01904 500698.