Cycling in the Yorkshire Dales just got even better

The Dales Bike Centre opened this week, the only such facility in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and another good reason to cycling in the Yorkshire Dales and for us to see how many times we can get the word "Dales" into an opening sentence.

The new centre housed in a renovated barn complex is owned and run by cycling enthusiast, mountain biking instructor and qualified cycle mechanic, Stuart Price and his wife Brenda. It offers accommodation for up to 14 people, bike hire, a café serving local produce, secure bike store and a state-of-the-art cycle workshop for repairs and maintenance.

Talking about their new venture Stuart said: “As bike enthusiasts, we are thrilled to be offering a way for more people to enjoy this beautiful part of the country by bike as well as giving them a place for a hot shower, some great food and a good night’s sleep after a day’s cycling. We are a gateway location to explore the extensive bridleway network nearby, the off-road Coast to Coast route and the Sustrans route 71 pass within a few metres of our doorstep, plus the Yorkshire Dales Cycleway route is just 1km away."

The initial selection of pics on the website may suggestthe centre is more for mountain bikers than road cyclists, but Stuart says that's more to do with being unable to find some good road-riding pics of the Dales in time for the launch (if you've got any we're sure he'd be keen to have a look). The centre offers a choice of 30, 50, 75 and 100km route guides for road cyclists staying there. The Centre also carries road bike spares and offers a Trek Madone as part of its hire fleet.

Talking to road.cc Stuart said: “Swaledale is a fantastic venue for road cycling, we have a number sportives like the Etape-du-Dales, White Rose Classic and Richmond CC’s 5 Dales 100 that either pass our door or very close by.  I think we are a perfect venue for road cycling clubs to use for sportive training camps, our facilities are perfect and riding amongst all this stunning scenery we have here is hard to beat is this country.

Marc Atkinson of Richmond Cycling Club was at this week's opening: “We are incorporating a stop at the Café here in almost all of our rides now. The facilities and the homemade food are fantastic.”

To find out more visit the Dales Bike Centre website or give Stuart or Brenda a call on 01748 884908.