Post by getoutandpush on May 9, 2017 18:50:53 GMT
With summer approaching fast I made it my mission to really sink my teeth into distance skateboarding. With questionable UK weather ever present the first nice free day we got, myself and a friend of mine set out on what turns out to be a very pleasing and skate friendly route from York to Selby. Here is a brief review of that very route:
The route uses the trackbed of the old East Coast Mainline railway; it was bought by Sustrans (a UK cycling and walking charity) for £1 and turned into one of the very first traffic free cycle paths in the country. As the majority of the route used to be a railway there is very little in the way of hills and sharp bends. Along the route you can see the ‘Ride the Solar System’ artwork a 10.4 km scale model of the solar system which was constructed by Three scientists from University of York, this helps to keep an otherwise, fairly, monotonous flat straight route interesting.
The route is roughly 30 miles (48km) from York to Selby and back to York. Starting in York it travels through York Racecourse before joining the old railway line. This then take you all the way to Rical. From here it joins a very quiet road for a brief time before a tarmac foot path takes you the last mile to Selby. The surface of the entire route is surprisingly good especially along the railway section. And thanks to the flatness it is easy to maintain some pretty quick speeds. The day that I skated it was very calm. However, there is little cover from wind along this route and depending on which way it is blowing I’m sure it could really affect your ride.
There are my different ways you could ride this route, York and Selby don’t have to be the start and finish points. In fact if you’re looking for more of a challenge this route is part of the Trans Pennine Trail which can take you coast to coast the width of England 170 miles or so.
Overall this is a highly enjoyable route and if you ever find you way up the north of England with a board and some time to kill I would highly recommend it. After all how often do you get the chance to skateboard from the sun to Pluto and then back again?
The route uses the trackbed of the old East Coast Mainline railway; it was bought by Sustrans (a UK cycling and walking charity) for £1 and turned into one of the very first traffic free cycle paths in the country. As the majority of the route used to be a railway there is very little in the way of hills and sharp bends. Along the route you can see the ‘Ride the Solar System’ artwork a 10.4 km scale model of the solar system which was constructed by Three scientists from University of York, this helps to keep an otherwise, fairly, monotonous flat straight route interesting.
The route is roughly 30 miles (48km) from York to Selby and back to York. Starting in York it travels through York Racecourse before joining the old railway line. This then take you all the way to Rical. From here it joins a very quiet road for a brief time before a tarmac foot path takes you the last mile to Selby. The surface of the entire route is surprisingly good especially along the railway section. And thanks to the flatness it is easy to maintain some pretty quick speeds. The day that I skated it was very calm. However, there is little cover from wind along this route and depending on which way it is blowing I’m sure it could really affect your ride.
There are my different ways you could ride this route, York and Selby don’t have to be the start and finish points. In fact if you’re looking for more of a challenge this route is part of the Trans Pennine Trail which can take you coast to coast the width of England 170 miles or so.
Overall this is a highly enjoyable route and if you ever find you way up the north of England with a board and some time to kill I would highly recommend it. After all how often do you get the chance to skateboard from the sun to Pluto and then back again?