Baptism of ice: It’s the dead of winter and my first time bikepacking - what could go wrong?

As an avid adventure seeker and passionate off-road rider, I've long been curious to give bikepacking a try - but I've also always had anxiety as to how I would actually do it in practise. 

Mainly due to living in an area with very little off-road riding routes. As well as the fact that, as a woman, I don’t often feel safe being a lone traveller because I’m well aware and well versed in the dangers women face when isolated. 

Therefore, if I was to take the plunge, I knew my first experience needed to be with a like-minded group of people. But what I did not expect was that this experience would be in January, one of the coldest and darkest months in the UK. 

Instead I had envisioned my first time being during the summer with warmer climates and longer days. But the easy option is boring, right?

Weather concerns aside, I was very excited for my first ride on the Route YC,  a loop set to showcase the beautiful coastal roads of North Yorkshire - up to the iconic ruins of Whitby Abbey as well as the breath taking rolling roads of the North York Moors National Park and fire roads of the magical Dalby Forest. I couldn’t wait to get exploring.

So, together with a bunch of other riders and media professionals organised by Komoot and route creator, Markus Stitz, I set out to Scarborough. After seeing the preview of the varied views and terrain, I knew the route was going to be a real treat for the eyes...

The Route YC

On day one we started from the Bike & Boot Inn hotel in Scarborough to ride the Route YC - Adventure Weekender tour, within a two day stint. This route would take us from the hotel, up to Waypoint A which was the YHA Dalby Forest in Lockton. Before heading back to the Bike & Boot Inn at the end of the second day. 

This route consisted of 147 km (91 miles) with a total of 1,880m (6,167 ft) of climbing. Terrain wise there was a real mix of gravel tracks, cycle paths, and roads, all of which are thankfully wide enough for a trailer, allowing for greater accessibility. The full breakdown of terrain for this route being: singletrack: 13% / Path: 10% / Cycle Path: 16% / Road: 61%.

With this wonderful mixture of terrain set out for us to enjoy, I easily uploaded this route from the Komoot app onto my Wahoo, taking only seconds to complete. It was so effortless that I even managed to do so while eating my breakfast on the first day. 

Straight for the coast

When it came to riding the route I had just the most fun. I often find that I get quite bored of the same scenery and terrain when I’m riding for enjoyment - but the route had a bit of everything, there really was something for everyone.

At the start, we meandered through Scarborough, first battling biblical headwinds along the coastal road before climbing up towards the outskirts. It was at this point I really noticed the difference in feeling from a gravel bike with bikepacking luggage versus a lightweight road bike: the latter being much easier to ride.

But I got used to it and honestly didn’t really notice the bags afterwards. As we rode out of Scarborough the ground did start to become boggy: really boggy. Which I rather enjoyed as it made for a slight challenge: especially when I felt that my tyres were potentially a little too high for such conditions (around 45 psi). 

Not only that but we also visited some of the beaches, even deviating from the route and walking down to Hayburn Wyke waterfall which flows out onto a beautiful pebble beach on the first day, which was just magical and almost ethereal; I was half expecting to bump into some elves and hobbits on the stone stairway down to the beach from the trail.

Just watching the water flow out into the sea and being present in the moment was truly cathartic. All of us stood there, taking in the breathtaking natural beauty, it felt grounding. I’m a midlander myself, born and bred, so whenever I reach the sea I always feel a deep sense of calmness.

After romanticising the moment, we headed back to our bikes and carried on along the route, eventually ending up at the lunch stop at The Hare & Hounds at Higher Hawsker. This was a really wonderful and welcoming pub with really great grub and super friendly staff. It was also the perfect place to get some warmth back into the bones and for those with electric bikes to add some juice back into their batteries. 

Then we headed up to Whitby where we saw the spectacular Abbey ruins and scaled a very steep downhill, known to be referred to as Donkey Path by locals. This path is cobbled and so much fun to ride down. Ending the day by riding over the North York Moors before reaching the Youth Hostel.

On the second day we headed out early with frost still gracing the ground and puddles frozen over. A classic January morning up north. We set out around 8:30 and pretty early on started steadily climbing up through Dalby Forest which was a personal highlight for me. 

Then the group became a little fragmented due to numerous punctures towards the back of the party. Subsequently a large gap formed and I ended up missing the lunch stop by a way off as it was slightly off course from the route.

Deciding to turn back, I did eventually arrive at the North Yorkshire Water Park cafe where I met the others. After I tucked into a mozzarella panini and halloumi fires: the well earnt prize for battling voracious headwinds. 

Then splitting up into different groups (due to some needing to head back to catch trains), I suffered on to complete the full route. Retracing my steps, or revolutions, of when I drastically overshot the cafe, I found my rhythm and perked up drastically. It’s really amazing what some carbs can do for morale. 

On the route back to Scarborough we rode past Filey Beach, it was pretty quiet so we decided to head down together and ride over the sand, not because it was on the route, but because we just felt like it. The sea breeze and the wet sand made for a dramatic backdrop for photographer, Honor Elliott, to do her magic. The outcome was pretty special.

After we had fun mucking about on the beach, we headed uphill and towards Scarborough, venturing through boggy fields and quiet lanes. Our next point of interest being the famous Olivers Mount, known especially for motor racing. Or if you raced bikes as a Youth in the UK, the National Youth Series Circuit Race, making it a real nostalgic treat and reminder of when I was once a talented climber (a very long time ago).

Once we reached the top of the hill, we looked out together over Scarborough. Taking in the sights and scenes. It felt special. I had an enormous sense of shared achievement. For the route I had just ridden with a group of people who were strangers up until a couple days ago, had now shared such a testing and beautiful journey together. All because we have a shared passion for the outdoors and bikes. 

Carrying on the route we finished back at the Bike & Boot Inn where we washed our bikes and bodies, then replenished the depleted stores after a day of battling the January climates. 

Route highlights

When it came to picking a highlight of the beautiful Route YC, for me it had to be riding through the North York Moors National Park at the end of the first day as the sun was going down. With the last glimpses of the sunset, we headed onwards with our bike lights guiding the way. 

Although at this point, the temperatures had started to drop and with it so had my energy levels. But rest assured, I filled my face full of sweets, so I battled on through the Moors to get to the Youth Hostel after one particularly steep final ascent. 

Likewise, another highlight for me was riding up through Dalby Forest in the morning of the second day. It was simply beautiful, a real wow moment cruising up the fireroad surrounded by pines. I don’t remember seeing a single car either, just our group of eager bikepackers, ready for the ride back. 

Bikes and tranquillity, the perfect pairing.

Looking back, I enjoyed the overwhelming sense of adventure and achievement. I love exploring new places but often feel too anxious to do so on my own, but having other people with me, some of which being incredibly experienced in bike packing, was wonderful.

Moreover, seeing a new part of the country was also great. As aforementioned, I had been in the area previously for racing but, as always, I never ended up seeing much of what the Yorkshire coast has to offer.

On a more personal level, I felt really proud to have overcome my anxieties surrounding bikepacking which were once a barrier for me to give it a go. Thanks to the lovely group of people on this trip, I found my confidence to give it a go.

Now I what really want is a gravel bike and to start finding and plotting new routes and places to explore.

What I’d do differently...

In terms of lessons learnt, I found that maybe I didn’t need to take my bike bags off when I arrived at the youth hostel on day one. I think the fatigue had gotten the better of me and I just wanted to rush into the shower to warm up after venturing through the moors in almost freezing conditions. 

I feel this was a mistake on my part due to the fact it meant I was ended up struggling with my bike bags in the morning while still half asleep. But it was ok in the end as I had some help from Maurizio and Erwin: thanks guys! 

Of course, I would also wish not to have overshot the cafe on the second day. I ended up doing a many more kilometres than everyone else because of this mistake. Next time I shall be more aware of the route and check exactly where it is I’m heading.

But I paid the price with the brutal headwinds so I’m sure I won’t make the same mistake twice!

Overall takeaway from the experience

My overall takeaway from my first bikepacking adventure was the huge sense of adventure I felt throughout. At first I was of course nervous: I always feel like I’ve forgotten something so having to pack only the essentials was a little anxiety provoking. 

But the real stand out moment for me was at the end of the route, looking out over Scarborough. Reflecting on the trip just gone, especially with regards to the friendships and memories formed since I left the day before; new friendships that have been forged for life due to our shared passion for bikes and getting outside and exploring.

In a world that is becoming so vastly dissociated from one another, isn’t connection and community just the most precious gift? I think so anyway. 

I really feel so privileged to have ridden such a beautiful route with such great people, all with their own stories and reasons for riding bikes. This trip reminded me of exactly why I love cycling so much: the community and sense of adventure which the Route YC really demonstrated for me.

Therefore I’d like to say a huge thank you to the route builder, Markus as well as Kelly Collinge and Rob Marshall at Komoot for putting on such a fantastic trip. 

I’ll no doubt be back to explore more of the exciting Route YC which can be found on Komoot for those of you also wanting to give this adventure a go. 

Kit list

I knew from the start that kit packing was going to be a challenge for me: I’m often overpacking for the ‘just in case’ moments (you always need at least three pairs of pants per day, right...?) but I knew that I could not pack this way for bikepacking.

Therefore, I decided to write a list in my notebook of what I wanted, then put a line through a chunk of the kit to give me a solid starting point in terms of space efficiency. I knew that the colder weather meant a solid layering system would be my best friend. 

This was made easier by packing two different jackets: a soft shell and a rain jacket to keep the wind and rain out. I also found having a neck warmer to be vital at keeping the heat in, a small but very useful item of kit that made a huge difference, especially when the temperature hit minus figures. 

The list of what I had on me and packed is as followed:

And here's the kit I wore on the first day laid out on the bed at Bike & Boot Inn hotel in Scarborough the night before the adventure began.