Every year Blackpool council have a test run of the illuminations on the Tuesday before they switch the lights on. They close the promenade to motor vehicle traffic from Starr Gate all the way to Bispham and invite you to ride your bike along the route. It's about 11.5 miles from one end back to the other & the route is closed from about half 6 until about 10, so plenty time to enjoy the illumination and atmosphere.
The Ride
The last couple of years we've started at Gynn Square. There's a pub that's got friendly staff, they're cool with you parking your car there as long as you buy a couple of beers. We had a couple of drinks before we set off and Nicky and Paula stayed there while we were riding.We in this instance is Fin, Mitch & Me. My brother Matt (Hotdogs) & his son Harry (H), my friend Gareth (Fruit Loops) & Eleanor (his grandaughter), Amanda (Gareth's sister) & Dave (Amanda's husband). Gareth ate in the pub, but we (Fin, H, Hotdogs and I) fancied some chips so we walked to Nellies Chippy and it was spot on. Fuelled up and ready we set of towards Bispham. We head this way first as the Blackpool direction illuminations are better, so riding that section is better when it's darker.
Part of the fun of the event is lighting up your bike & self. So a couple of weeks before it's time to hit your favourite Chinese marketplace website and order a bunch of light up stuff. This year we went for spoke lights, wire LED strings for our bike frames, light up strips for the helmets and laser projection lines for the seat tubes. Obviously you can just have a red & white light, but who wouldn't want to take advantage of an opportunity like this to go LED crazy!
We usually stop at the mirror ball to have a drink and take a picture, this year was no exception. It's usually a popular photo spot, so we did well getting this picture with only Mitch and I in it. Along the route there's plenty places to stop and enjoy the view. There's all the usual seaside food places too, so you're never far from a candy floss, bag of chips, massive cookie or cold drink. There's first aid & bike repair stations along the way too.
Thoughts
The event is put on by the council, it's well organised but completely up to you how you ride it and best of all, it's free! There's no start / finish place, no timing, no registration. They ask that you wear a helmet and have a red & white bike light when it goes dark.A full lap is 11.5ish miles. There's plenty of car parking and if you get good weather there's thousands of people doing it. If you're in the North West, have a bike then I would recommend it to you, hell if you're not in the North West, it's enough fun to warrant a trip up here.
Keep your eye on Visit Blackpool for information about the 2026 event.
