The upper portion of the Route is a straight, narrow, sloped path, with several Trainers on it; this is the part known as Cycling Road. Between the two gates, all travelers must ride a bicycle at all times. The path is sloped in a way that allows riders to coast southward on it with no effort. Near the southernmost end, the path divides into two smaller paths for a short distance. In Pokémon Platinum, the Cycling Road goes through slight design changes: a blue transparent archway is added to the divided part of the road, and lights are added to the sides of the road.
A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.
While they were in the Cycling Road, the weather turned bad on them and it started to rain. Simultaneously, Brock's Pokémon Egg began to glow, indicating that it was about to hatch. For these reasons, the group decided to stop by the nearest Pokémon Center. When they got there, they encountered a Nurse Joy saddened by the fact that Trainers rarely visit the Pokémon Center she runs. She thought it was her fault that Trainers traversed the Cycling Road without stopping by and thus she was very disappointed in herself. However, with a bit of encouragement from Brock and the others, she got confident enough to help Brock with the Egg, which hatched into a Happiny.
After that, the group helped Nurse Joy and her Chansey to clean up the Pokémon Center. They then returned to the Cycling Road, continuing their journey towards Hearthome City.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In A Big Stink Over Stunky, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum arrive at the Cycling Road over this route and try out the bikes they received from Rad Rickshaw. It becomes clear that Platinum had never cycled before, due to her repeated failure to maintain balance. Her repeated crashing disturbs a Stunky sleeping underneath the Cycling Road, and it responds by billowing a strong stench that causes Platinum to faint while on her bike. However, it moves forward and starts accelerating due to the downward slope of the Cycling Road, and just as Platinum is about to fall through a gap in the road, her Prinplup uses Ice Beam to create a path above the gap that curves upwards towards the sky. Prinplup then saves Platinum, and she finds herself able to ride a bike.
The stench lingers on the main trio in the following round as they walk through the southern gate of the Cycling Road. The guard on duty at the gate finds her nose being twisted by the stench. Earlier, a different guard delivered a package to Cyrus.
Trivia
With the ability in Platinum to bike through gates, it becomes required that the player bike through the gate guarding the Cycling Road. The women at the counters will not allow the player to pass unless they are on their bike. If this is attempted in Diamond and Pearl, the player will be told "there's a time and place for everything."
If the player uses the Vs. Seeker on the bridge near the Hiker below, it is possible to get him to accept a rematch. However, it is impossible to battle with him due to the need to pass through the southern gate, which cancels the battle request.
