A new cycling event in North Yorkshire is looking for light sponsors. Dark Skies is a new and unique cycling event taking place on February 28th at Sutton Bank National Park Centre near Thirsk.
As part of the National Park’s Dark Skies festival, riders have the opportunity to explore a specially designed route that heads off into the twilight and ride together under dark skies on the fantastic gravel roads, paths and tracks in the North York Moors.
Dark Skies’ one-of-a-kind loop winds through an area so famed for its lack of light pollution, it’s a total stargazer’s paradise and one of only 24 designated International Dark Sky Reserves in the world. Riders will set out on the epic, 67km, route in daylight and ride into the dark on a mix of public bridleways and drover’s paths in woods and across open moorland built up from decades of homegrown knowledge.
Riding at night brings a whole new dimension to cycling and whether you’ve excited your senses riding with lights before or not, at Dark Skies, anyone can give it a go and take on a fantastic route incorporating some superb gravel paths and quiet country lanes with fast rolling surfaces. Make no mistake though, the North York Moors is peppered with big views and bigger climbs, and the sheer distance will be a real challenge to complete in the dark.
And because of the nighttime element, the event is looking for light sponsors to come on board for the February event. If you think your brand could help, get in touch with the team on darksiesevents@gmail.com.
The Dark Skies entry fee includes a fully signed route to guide the way when riders are flagging and passes through some civilization (and a pub or two!) and a hot-soup feed station to help riders feel less spooked out in the night. Other folk riding the loop and event marshals sweeping the course and encouraging mean Dark Skies also aims to ensure this amazing novel experience is safer and more fun than riding solo.
Entrants are welcome to take a racy or leisurely pace on any bike from gravel to electric to mountain bike, and so long as they have the legs and the lights and some cushioning and tread on tyres, Dark Skies is for them. There’ll be an option to cut short a portion of the route to stay safe if leg batteries look set to die before light batteries, and starting and finishing at the National Park Centre with the excellent In the Wilde café means riders can fuel up beforehand and share stories afterwards about the ride amongst the stars.
Entries are open at the British Cycling website now.
www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk