Climbs

Climbing the White Rose Classic with Andy Cunningham 2019 is set to be the toughest year yet for the long-running White Rose Classic. The Hawes Long Route is 120 miles long, featuring 6 "named" climbs with a total elevation gain of over 10,000 feet. Anyone planning on tackling this considerable challenge needs to be prepared, not just for the hills we have given names to, but all those in between as well. With this in mind, we asked some advice from...

Sportive Group Ride We have all done sportives where it’s felt like a solo time trial, with only the signage for company. Sometimes you might pair-up to share the duties a little bit against the wind. It’s OK, but how much better would it be to ride in a sportive group ride instead? That’s why we’re putting on sportive Group Rides for this year's White Rose Classic.  It is an outgrowth of something we have had on the Event for the last...

Yorkshire Dales road cycling may seem like an obvious focus for an avid cyclist. But as long-time Ilkley rider Charles Oxtoby explains in the post below, it was not always the case, for him, or others. - Ed. I got hooked on cycling in the mid-1990’s. Mountain biking that is. I was drawn to the freedom it gave me to explore the wild Yorkshire Dales moors. Nothing could keep me out of the back country. Nothing, that is, until the outbreak...

For cycling navigation, I used to ride around the Yorkshire Dales with an Ordnance Survey map in my jersey pocket.  It was a clumsy affair.  I would study the map before the ride to decide on my route. But I never was able to remember more than a few turns if I went on new roads. Inevitably I would take out the map, find my current location and orient myself from there.  Sounds like easy cycling navigation, eh?  Try opening an...