wiggydiggy
Legendary Member
I think that sounds about right, my one day rides were always Leeds<>Blackburn.
Liverpool to Leeds canal ride
- Thread starter pete drans
- Start date
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I think that sounds about right, my one day rides were always Leeds<>Blackburn.
Nibor
Bewildered
- Location
- Accrington
That puts you just over half way where are you staying?
Moodyman
Legendary Member
Just goes to show we don’t always value the great things close to us. As a local, I could ride the canal everyday for my commute to Leeds, but rarely do and prefer the roads.
Yet, the OP is coming from NI and I met an Aussie couple last year riding it on e-bikes.
Hope you enjoy your ride @Sixmile.
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Just found a cheap hotels.com in Blackburn for £50.
Just had a look, Oswaldtwistle also would've been handy.
I do however also need to factor in another 10 miles onto Liverpool airport and want to be there for around 3pm to dismantle my bike and check in. On our last bike trip (2 adults, 2 kids, 2 tandems) to Amsterdam airport, I had our bikes all compacted, packaged and protected as far as they'd go into long neat cardboard bike boxes, checked us in and went to outsized baggage where two dutch people had literally cycled to Belfast International airport, got off their bikes and handed them to the fella at the outsized conveyor belt. This time, I'll be somewhere between those two extremes!
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cougie uk
Guru
Just found a cheap hotels.com in Blackburn for £50.
Just had a look, Oswaldtwistle also would've been handy.
I do however also need to factor in another 10 miles onto Liverpool airport and want to be there for around 3pm to dismantle my bike and check in. On our last bike trip (2 adults, 2 kids, 2 tandems) to Amsterdam airport, I had our bikes all compacted, packaged and protected as far as they'd go into long neat cardboard bike boxes, checked us in and went to outsized baggage where two dutch people had literally cycled to Belfast International airport, got off their bikes and handed them to the fella at the outsized conveyor belt. This time, I'll be somewhere between those two extremes!
Can you not get the ferry over ?
Nibor
Bewildered
- Location
- Accrington
Six Mile I have sent you a message :-)
Yes and I initially was going to do that, as I have done so many times before. I'd two options:
The ferry option - departs 1030pm at night - check in half an hour beforehand, arrives Belfast 6:30am so I'd need a cabin £55 or the plus lounge (not Hygge as it was one of the worst places you could ever pay to sit) at £110 for a 8 hour overnight trip. Then they kick you out of the cabin/lounge an hour before docking. The plus side is that I wouldn't have to dismantle the bike although the bike rack on the stena luggage trolley only can take standard bikes - not fat bikes or tandems as I have found out so there's always a bit of handling/negotiation getting the bike on the boat. The other issue is that I would have to get the bike from Liverpool to Birkenhead - the commuter ferry stops at 630pm. I don't fancy 3 hours in Birkenhead so I'd have to get a bus or train across the Mersey and a service that can take a bike - as you can't ride the tunnel.
Or
The flight departs early evening at 6pm, takes 50 minutes, all in for £70 inc bike as luggage. I'm be home by 930pm. The slight disadvantage is having to package up the bike but that's easily done. I've spied a B&M bargains nearby to Liverpool airport where I plan to buy a few rolls of cheap bubble wrap, tape and kids swimming arm bands to provide a little protection to the bike before surrendering it to the airport baggage handlers.
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I notice that Leeds Urban Bike Park is on my journey from the airport to my friends house. I could potentially make it there for an hour before closing (does the park close along with the cafe?). For those who've been, is it worth stopping off or doing the odd trail on a loaded up fat bike? Or maybe there's a place to safely store my bags and just ride a track or two for an hour?
wiggydiggy
Legendary Member
I've never visited the cafe but the park is worth a stop if you are passing, there are some marked trails (you'll probably want to stay off the stunt one!) and it's set in Middleton Park which has its own network of trails to explore. Not sure about storage sorry.
DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
That's Leeds to Liverpool ticked off, well actually Wakefield to John Lennon Airport. 185 miles all told.
I flew home last night. It was definitely a tough ride with sections which were barely rideable. It didn't help that I'd a headwind for 175 of 185 miles that I rode over two main days. Whilst I only got one proper drenching (last 10 miles into Blackburn on Sunday night), the ground conditions meant I was sodden from the knees down, even with mudguards on. I took my Whyte hybrid with fairly slick 650b tyres which I decided on as nobbly's wouldn't fit under the Whyte guards. It was a trade off between guards and grip. I would suggest hardtail MTB with full length guards to ride the canal as my wrists and neck paid a heavy price. The set up...
On the airplane side of things, I had used a rigid cardboard box from Belfast to Leeds and a packable Scicon lightweight bag from Liverpool to Belfast. The bike sustained minor damage on the way to Leeds in that I needed to bend my chainring guard back out with pliers but then flying home with a very light back, the bike sustained no damage at all. I've always thought airlines take more care of bikes when they're not packed very well.
I'm glad to have done it but never again
Now to think of where to go next!That one certainly i wouldn't recommend to cycle the full length, whereas I would for the Edinburgh to Glasgow one. I did that with 2 kids on our tandem a few summers ago and we had the best time. There is no way on earth the tandem would've been able to get along the Leeds Liverpool one though. Also the Royal Canal Greenway from Dublin is a great cycle.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
I assume that has a proper hard surface all the way - and famously no locks* on the Union canal and the mighty Falkirk wheel at one end to connect it into the Forth & Clyde canal. I would cycle that just to see the Falkirk Wheel to be fair.
*There are a couple of locks into the basin of the Falkirk wheel
