UK North

Chase the Sun UK North is a Do-it-Yourself cycling event. This is what makes it unique. No rules, route-signs, medals. Just ride your bike!
Use the info on this page to organise yourselves. We are here for advice, but – it is the other riders you will meet on the day that will create the memories for you to remember your Chase the Sun experience by!

All you need to do is Register to ride or support and organise your own travel and accommodation.

04:27

Start

22:05

Finish

3200m

Elevation

200

Miles

The Route

4:27 Start
Tynemouth

22:05 Finish
Prestwick

A double-century feat over an epic 200miles leaving from the beachfront at Tynemouth at the first ray of ocean sunrise aiming to reach the esplanade at Prestwick to witness the (hopefully glorious) sunsetting into the sea beside the Isle of Arran. A route full of stunning vistas, wilderness, heaths, rivers, lochs, castles and beaches, a challenge to inspire you when pedalling the longest day.

Ready to ride?

You will need to include:

Name, email & contact number
Support driver’s contact details
Accommodation details

Only this will confirm your place on this year’s ride!
This step is essential, even if you are already on the mailing list.

2020 Registration Opening Soon

Riders

In principle, riders should plan to ride un-supported, this is part of the challenge! Carry all the essentials for safety, sustinenance, repair and navigation with you.

However, several groups will often have a support driver with vehicles to follow along the route, so other riders can agree to deposit small baggage and spare supplies.

Check out our Advice page for tips on planning your ride and our preparation checklist.

Training Advice

Itinerary

Travel to Tynemouth

It is recommended that you take early travel arrangements so that you arrive at your accommodation in the late afternoon / evening allowing time to prep bikes, attend the route briefing and eat a big dinner all before an early night to bed!

Accommodation
You need to book this yourself, we have compiled a list of conveniently located hotels but book early as spaces are limited at both start and finish locations.

Learn More

Briefing and ‘Carb-loading’

18:00 Food is available from 6pm at the The Park hotel, Grande Parade.

20:00 There will be a short pre-ride informal briefing from the CTS organisers to answer any questions and ensure the ride gets underway smoothly at sunrise.

Attendance is recommended even if you are not staying at the hotel, as it is a great opportunity to meet with your fellow riders, and organise groups for the ride start the following morning.

Race Day

04:15 Riders assemble and a Start Code is given out for riders to text and register for the ride.

04:27 Official Sunrise, Riders Depart.

04:45 Support Teams start to depart.

Return travel from Prestwick

Most groups with vehicle support will leave after a late breakfast on the Sunday morning.

Accommodation

You need to book this yourself or we offer Packages to make the experience a whole lot easier!

Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s a ride, not a race.
It’s a Physical, Mental and Navigational quest.
Chase the Sun is an annual ride from East to West on the longest Saturday of the year. It’s a ride of over 200 miles. Its FREE to enter and its achievable for an average club rider – if they have put in the training! The objective is to get to the coastal finish before the sun sets.

Your participation in these events is based on the condition of you accepting responsibility for your own safety and should you have a mechanical issue that can’t be resolved, your own recovery.

We always run Chase the Sun on the longest Saturday of the year. We start at Sunrise, (generally around 04:30ish) and aim to finish by Sunset, (around 21:30ish).

We start in Tynemouth NE30 4JQ. There will be organisers there to assist you on the day.

Yes. There is a .gpx file for downloading to your bike computer and there are map sheets, but there are no route signs. This is not just a physical and mental challenge, it’s a navigational one, too.

You will only find out by trying. Many people don’t make it. Some people make it – but after the sun has set. Some people make it hours after the sun has set. They all tried. Put the miles in and go for it – just do the training first!

FYI We have had riders complete Chase the Sun on Fixie bikes, 29er Mountain Bikes, a Tandem and a Fat Bike.

One suggestion is to join a local cycling group. Don’t worry, not all of them are speed freaks. Most of them will have a group that will suit your speed. Doing this will almost certainly help your group riding skills and build your confidence.

If you don’t fancy it, don’t worry, there are plenty of soloists—you are bound to strike up a conversation with plenty or riders—it helps the miles go by.

They are mostly quite roads and country lanes. Some roads are barely passable by cars, however you do hit a couple of A roads and central London does have quite a lot of traffic on it, as most riders will be there at mid to late morning.

No. You can ride anything you want – but we do recommend that you have it serviced and that its well-maintained before you start. It’s a tough event, bad maintenance can make it tougher.

That’s up to you to get sorted. Obviously, as for every ride, you should carry a spare innertube and the tools to repair a puncture. For more complex problems, there will be either a helpful rider that will assist, or you can see if you can get a lift to the next bike shop on the route. They will do their best to get you running again and get you on your way.

That’s up to you. Some riders ride there, (seriously). Some riders drive down with a loved one/friend who will be their support team for the event. Some riders use public transport.

There are an incredible bunch of volunteers that will most likely be willing to do that for you. There will be a riders briefing on the Friday night and a support team briefing – this will happen just before the riders briefing – allowing the riders to meet the support teams and ask that they take bags for them. We are looking into an option of a paid for service, (probably around £5.00 per bag), however, that’s not confirmed yet. No bag has ever been left behind!

There are literally dozens of places. If you have the time, spend an extra night there, it makes the cyclists more welcome and that in return helps the ride as a whole. There will be several links on the accommodation page of places we recommend.

Accommodation

Yes and we encourage all those interested the ride to use them.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

The more posts, Tweets, Images we get out there, the more people can find out about the ride, which means that even more people will get an opportunity to train and achieve greatness. Please use hashtag #ChaseTheSunCycle in all posts.

It costs nothing. Zip. Nada. Nowt. Zero. Its entirely funded by a few sponsors and a heck of a lot of hard work from a volunteer team of cycling enthusiasts.

The finish is 200+ miles from the start, The Parkstone Hotel, Central Esplanade, Prestwick KA9 1QN.

Yes, once you have registered to ride you will be able to access all the downloadable content for the ride.

Detailed Route Info

That’s entirely up to you. Good advice is to make sure that between 1 and 3 weeks before you have ridden at least ¾ of the total distance, (150 miles). The adrenalin on the day should help you ride the rest of the way. There is further advice about training here:

Training Advice

The honest answer is it is a bit hilly, yes. It’s nothing to dramatic.

No. This is a ‘do it yourself’ ride. You have to arrange your support, (if you want/need it). The alternative is that you feed and water yourself as you go. We do have a bunch of great bike shops that will help you as you go, some of them will give you free cakes and coffee, most will provide you with technical support for free too. There are plenty of shops on the route, too.

If you are desperate to have some support, use the Facebook page to speak to other riders and arrange it between yourselves. Trust us, it works—it has done for over 10 years!

We recommend lights, but that’s up to you. Hopefully, you won’t need them as you will be in Prestwick before sunset, however, it’s always best to carry a set just in case. Don’t forget that you are responsible for your own safety and welfare – we can just advise.

Again, that’s up to you. Some riders will ride home, (seriously)! Some riders will go straight home from the finish. Most riders crash in a hotel for the night and then go home the following day.

Yes! We can send you details.

Check the accommodation section of the website for options.

Accommodation

It’s a ride, not a race. We don’t know and we don’t care. If you get there before sunset, you will get your name on the list of achievers on the website. If you get there after sunset, you will get your name of the finishers after sunset list. If you didn’t finish, you will get your name put on the DNF list. It’s about an achievement and a sense of camaraderie, it’s not about racing.

History

Chase the Sun was originally an idea by Olly Moore. Olly is still the boss of the event, helped by Phil Webb, Adam Cartwright, Richard Cartwright, Ian Slack and Simon Steggles. All love cycling. All love Chase The Sun. All do this for free.

History

Ready to Support?

Please can all support drivers register their details well in advance of the ride, to help organisers on the day, thank you!

Support Team

There will be no ‘official’ broom wagon or support for this ride. Although not essential, it is encouraged that participants / groups organise their own support vehicle and designate a driver, to carry kit / food / spares from the start to finish. If you are able to do this, we would appreciate if you could also offer to carry small items for other riders who do not have a support car – this is in the spirit of the ride – thankyou for your help!

Supplies will be loaded prior to sunrise at the start of the ride, the support vehicles will be accessible at the finish, and possibly also at the lunch-stop, depending on timings.

[email protected]

There may also be opportunities to meet your support vehicles at designated refuel and rest stops, which are situated near local pubs and shops for rider’s convienience (see detailed maps).

Support drivers are a great help to the CTS event organisers – if you have an ‘interested other’ who would like to help with your ride support rather than cycle, you will be very welcome! please email CTS in advance, to find out how you can help. It is your help that can make this ride happen!

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