York to Hull 2026: Ride Report

Ride leader Andrew reports:

Another great ride, thanks to all who participated and to the two riders who let me know in advance that they weren't going to make it. 

Getting out of York was relatively straightforward and we were soon into the dark lanes to the south of York. This time my Garmin played ball, or my memories from last year helped and we didn't need to regroup much. I'd like to thank the local rider who also gave me prompts at each turning, it was reassuring to hear their advice.

We passed through Fulford and Selby, then Drax power station was as spectacular and busy as ever and we were soon at the services near Airmyn, west of Goole for a coffee and toilet stop. Like last time, they seemed to be servicing at least one, possibly two, of the coffee machines so it took a while for us to actually get the coffee we wanted. It wasn't an issue because we were going really well, helped by the small group and the barely noticed but very welcome tailwind.

This continued through most of the rest of the ride including the mostly westbound ride across the flat Isle of Axholme which is the essence of this ride and it's what keeps drawing me back to it. Through Swinefleet, Reedless and Garforthorpe before reaching the halfway stop.

The McD's at Scunthorpe did it's usual functional job although it did take an inordinate amount of time for our drinks/food to arrive despite there being lots of staff on duty. Not sure what was going on there...

Back out into the night, it was warmer than last year and, again unlike last year, I knew which turn to take to get us onto the route and the Thealby climb, the first of the three hills, that feature in this particular route.

We climbed at our own speed and regrouped at the top. It didn't take long for the group to set off again and it was here that I had my first and only navigational wobble of the night… we didn't actually go off route but I wasn't entirely sure.

Regrouping after the second hill at South Ferriby, the road was quite busy with people either heading home after their shift had finished or going to work to start their shifts. We descended to the Humber River before the third and last climb of the ride, the ascent of the Humber Bridge.

After that it was a quick tailwind assisted pedal through the suburbs of Hull to Wetherspoon’s Admiral of the Humber for a pleasingly early 07.30 breakfast!

Breakfast and (for me!) several cups of coffee later, we went our separate ways to home.

No punctures or mechanicals, no incidents or other “excitements” was a welcome bonus, so many thanks to you all for your pre-ride diligence.