Saturday Straggle - 31st May 2025

It’s time to go big(ger) - I don’t normally plan this far in advance, but as I’m working for the next couple of Saturdays my hand is forced.

This route is an extension of the first “Road Less Straggled” in that it continues past Pocklington to Market Weighton and then to Beverley, before turning back inland and following the Humber (more or less) back towards Howden and then Selby. There are a few cheeky little climbs in the first half, notably between Pocklington and Market Weighton and again between Beverley and South Cave as you cross the tail-end of the Wolds.

Minor roads are used where possible, although short stretches on main roads and/or main road crossings are a necessary evil.

Note that this route contains ‘unpaved’ bits - none of them are particularly technical and there’s usually a road alternate (it might be a main road, but it’s an alternate nonetheless)

• There’s a stretch along the north shore of the Humber opposite Whitton Island and between Broomfleet and Faxfleet, crossing over the Pocklington Canal at Weighton Lock. No real way of avoiding this unless you want a big detour and a bash down the B1230 from South Cave to Howden.
• There are two short unpaved stretches of the Trans Pennine Trail - the first from Barmby-on-the-Marsh to Hemingbrough and the second along Ouse Bank into Selby. If you want to avoid these, the A63 is at your service …

There’s also the option of taking the Hudson Way between Market Weighton and Beverley - this is a well-maintained rail trail which follows the path of the old railway between Market Weighton and Beverley. It’s open to cyclists, but it’s also open to horses and dog walkers too ….

Cafe stops will be by concensus, but possible options include Pocklington, Beverley and Howden. There are also services at South Cave for those who really want to live large.

Ride pace will be as fast as it needs to be - nobody gets left behind. Be mindful of the fact that for some people this may be the longest ride they’ll do (so far) and that there may be unfit people as well (who? Me?!)

Total distance is around 85 miles (138km) - not quite the full ton (that comes later) but a good stepping stone nonetheless.

The start time will be 9.30am from Cycle Heaven - as we’re close to the summer solstice there’s more than enough daylight to get around without having to resort to lights. Sunset on the 31st is 21:24, so there’ll be around 12 hours of ‘proper’ daylight to do the ride should it be necessary. Ideally though, we’d be returning to York around 5-6pm.

Routes can be downloaded from:

• RideWithGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50540342
• Garmin Connect: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/360658515

If you’re running a GPS unit then please try and download the route before the ride starts - that way if people get split up then at least they’ll know where to go (this is unlikely to happen, but if you fail to plan then plan to fail …)

Saturday Straggle, 31st May 2025

The Road Less Straggled II (Beverley)

Oooh, look at this … proper ride cards ….