For the last few years at around mid-summer, together with a couple of mates from 'Poly' (yes that dates me), I have made the trip to Le Mans. Well the race (or '24Heures du Mans' as they say in France) is a good excuse for a big kid's long weekend, need I say more? If only they would stop those noisy cars for a couple of hours to give a chap a chance to sort out a thick head, then things would be perfect. Anyway to cut a long story short the trip was cancelled last year - so what to do?
Do the C2C of course. Now because the cancelled Le Mans was a one-day event it seemed a good idea (at the time) to also do the ride in 24 hours or less! And, just to add spice to the proceedings, do it solo and un-supported (in other words I couldn't find anybody else willing to have a go with me). Yes I know the Sustrans route is not a MTBer's first choice of this classic run, but hey I'm getting on a bit and carrying some spare, so cut me a bit of slack here will you. And anyway I'm saving the St. Bees to Robin Hoods Bay for a year 2001 (the real Millennium) celebration.
So with the idea sorted the only other thing to do was to answer the "Why do you want to go and do that?" question from 'her in-doors'. Well she never understood why we went to Le Mans, so there was no chance she was ever going to understand this one. I stuck to the standard "Because it's there" response when questioned and this seemed to do the trick nicely thank you.
Planning to do the main event in June I started training on the first of March and aimed to cover over 1100 miles in gradually increasing steps before the big day. It started well and for the first two weeks of a fifteen-week schedule I was ahead of the game. After that there was no way I was going to go up hill as fast as my training schedule was going down hill. I spent too much time on single track close to my home in North Leeds and not enough time on the road building up general overall fitness. In the end I covered less than 650 miles in total, none of the rides being more than 50 miles.
I was concerned about dehydration, so I got myself a Camelbak. She asked me if it was for oxygen, which was funny - at the time!
The ride was going to be very physically demanding, so the less I had to carry the more energy would be available to turn the pedals. So equipment was limited to one spare inner, a couple of self-adhesive patches, the Topeak Alien bike tool (brilliant bit of kit) and a stumpy pump. The rest of the load was a combination of liquids, high-energy food, cash, plastic, the mobile and wet weather gear. In order to keep the load to an absolute minimum I had made arrangements to leave other supplies at about halfway point. Well there's no point in having an Aunt living in the second house on the left in Garrigill if you don't make use once in a while, and if I could get there by lunch time I was onto a pretty certain steak.
Actually making the decision to get in the car and drive to the starting point was a very last minute thing. The weather perked up a bit, the temperature jumped a notch and we saw some sun. I organised a few bailout points along the way - just to be on the safe side.
I arrived in Workington at about nine p.m. on Saturday 19th June as close to the longest day of the year as weekends would allow to ensure I would have plenty of daylight.. There was no point in booking into a B&B as I needed to be cycling at sunrise the next day, so I got myself a pizza and settled down for the night in the car at the car park next to the lighthouse. I normally fall asleep at the mere mention of Horlicks and it takes a small nuclear explosion to get me out of bed on a Sunday morning. But Saturday night on the shoreline at Workington was a bit lively. It must have been a force nine coming off the Irish Sea, the wind slammed into the car so hard that it almost drowned out the sound of the rain. I finally managed to bag some z's at about eleven.
I woke at three a.m. to find a changed scene, the wind had dropped to a stiff breeze and the rain had stopped completely, but there were still a few too many loaded clouds scudding in from the Northwest for my liking. It didn't look very promising, but the bloke on the radio said things could only get better, so I got the kit sorted and hit the road at ten to four - just light enough to see the trail.
Within the first mile I almost taken the Kona for a swim in the harbour and had rapped the bar ends half a dozen times on the railings on the very narrow wooden pedestrian bridge crossing the River Derwent. I guess there wasn't just enough light to see the trail after all! Watch out for that harbour wall even in full daylight. Depending on the tide, it's a long drop to a wet or muddy landing.
The stiff breeze was just in the right quarter and was going to be to my advantage all day long, and before I knew it I had covered the first 10 miles to Cockermouth. The trail at Cockermouth pops you out of a small side street right onto the main drag. At 5:00am in the morning the experience was surreal. The street was decked out in those little triangular flags blowing urgently in the wind, the town was ready for a summer fete. But not a single living thing was to be seen. I put the front wheel on the white line and cruised down the middle, it was like a scene from a wacky spaghetti western. I would not have been surprised to see Mr Eastwood appear at the other end of town, looking mean and packing a full sus Marin. The feeling only lasted for a moment, I peeled off right and headed for Keswick.
Between Cockermouth and Keswick the route is on quiet country roads with the exception of a couple of miles at Wythop Woods. The steep tarmac climb up to this section is more than rewarded by the single-track descent through the woods to Bassenthwaite Lake. It is simply superb. So is the view over to Bassenthwaite and Skidaw. If you want to keep upright here I suggest you stop to look at the view. The trail gets very tricky, very fast and very vertical, as near vertical as a man likes to get early on a Sunday morning.
Keswick is a great place for a break, there's a cyclists café and a friendly MTB shop at the rear of the pencil factory if you need running repairs. But at 7:00 in the morning these places aren't open, so I stopped for some high-energy breakfast (bananas and malt loaf) on the old station platform. I spent a few minutes talking to a couple of New Age Travellers who had slept rough on the cold stone slabs of the station waiting for the Summer Solstice. I don't know what they had been smoking the night before but it must have been good stuff, those stone slabs are cold man.
After the station follow the old railway line to the A66 near Threlkeld. This is a good piece of off road riding, it is mostly flat but it bridges the river in seven places and even goes through a short tunnel. It's not technical but it is interesting stuff. Watch out for the timber bridge decks, after a bit of rain they're as greasy as a Brylcream factory.
At the A66 there is an important three way choice to make: -
1. Follow the newly laid tarmac cycle track up the side of the busy A66 (get real)
2. Take the quiet country road route through Guardhouse and Wallthwaite
3. Go for the off road alternative and take the Old Coach Road.
I really fancied a go at the Old Coach Road, it's a great ride on the right day. But now there were rain clouds piling up from the West and I was conscious of the fact that the main objective of the day was to get from coast to coast, so I went for option 2. The threat of rain never materialised and I hit Penrith at 8:45. At this stage things were looking good. I pushed on, from Penrith to the bottom of the Pennines. The route follows quiet country roads, it helps keep the average speed up so I didn't mind too much.
The real off road climbing starts at a little place called Busk or Five Road Ends to be precise. There is a four-mile long climb up the West side of the Pennine hills to the top of Hartside at 580m above sea level. This climb has always depressed me, it saps your strength big time, it never ends. There are many steeper climbs on the route, there are probably even longer ones, but there is something about this one that's mean. You can see where you are going (the café at the top) but it never seems to get any closer. For most of the way you can see the cars on the A686 speed effortlessly to the top, but the hill just won't give it up.
Half way up there is again a choice: -
1. Bridleway or
2. Road
Take the road if you like riding, take the bridleway if you like pushing and have time to spare. The first 30% of the BW is OK, but after that your pushing and if it's been raining at all in the last two centuries you're pushing up a waterfall. So Porelle Drys or not expect to get wet feet. I went for the road.
By the time I got to the top I was concerned. Whilst it was only 11:00am and I had covered 65 miles, I was tired. It was here that I had my first real doubts about being able to make the trip. I was beginning to wish the Camelbak did have oxygen in it, I wasn't laughing any more. I decided to give the Hartside café a miss and push onto Garrigill, which was my first bailout point. I would see how I felt after a good lunch break.
It is amazing how much a good steak, five cups of tea and a few bananas can revive a bloke. By one o'clock I was ready to go again. I had worked out that there were only four significant climbs left, and then I could enjoy almost 40 miles of mainly down hill off road riding. So I filled up the backpack with another "fast acting fluid and energy replacement formula" drink (this one was the same colour as TCP and tasted very similar as well, but it's supposed to do the trick) and set off on the second half.
There is no way I will ever ride the climb out of Garrigill, but I don't mind. I look forward to seeing just how far I can get up it (about 25 yards to date) and the push is not too bad before you're back on and riding again. The pull up from the B6277 to Priorsdale is not bad either and is broken up by a water splash at the Ash Gill Ford. I know this ford, it is hidden around a sharp bend in the road and is generally quite deep. So I pile around the corner with as much speed as possible and hit the water full tilt. You get a bit of a surprise the first time you do it, as you don't see the water until very late. Yes it's always worth while going back for another run at it. We are all big kids at heart. The run down the quarry track to Nenthead is fast and technical, you will have earned this pleasure during the long climb out of Garrigill.
Nenthead to Allenheads is another short (1.5 miles) steep road climb to the highest point on the trip at 609 meters before a mainly downhill run into Allenheads. (If your doing the trip to a more sane time scale make sure you overnight in Allenheads so that you can spend an evening at the pub. Be warned - it is an experience you will not forget.
It was at Allenheads that I messed things up - big style. I don't know if I was dehydrated and so not thinking straight, or if I was just plain exhausted, but I went the wrong way! I still find this hard to believe, I have done this trip twice before and there's a nice big blue C2C sign pointing you in the right direction. There was no way I was going too fast to see it, as it's up hill at this point so I was probably walking very slowly. Not only did I go the wrong way, I also kept going the wrong way for over two miles up a bloody steep hill! Eventually it occurred to me that the road didn't look very familiar so turning around to get my bearings I immediately spotted a road that did look familiar. It was disappearing over a much less steep hill in roughly the opposite direction. I could have cried - I would have cried, except I was too angry. I turned the wheels around and set off to retrace my steps and climb a hill I thought I'd already climbed.
Rookhope is a good place. You have just enjoyed a 5 mile down hill and if you have done your homework you will know that you have only one climb left before you are across the top of the Pennines and looking at a very long off road down hill romp. So the climb up the bridleway out of Rookhope is tackled with relish. I reached the top at exactly 5:00pm, I had started the ride over 12 hours before and was physically very tired and a certain sore spot was beginning to develop very rapidly, but I was looking forward to the next 39 miles. From Rookhope bank top the trail follows the line of an old mineral railway. For me it is the best part of the whole ride. Its slightly downhill, slightly technical and the views are spectacular. As you get used to the terrain your speed increases. By the time I got to the Waskerley Way I was doing better than 20MPH and looking for more. I will go back and do the Rookhope to Waskerley section again and again. In fact the route is superb all the way to Consett. The only danger is that Sustrans will make it too much of an urban cycle way of what has been a much wilder route! They have already started this on the Waskerley Way. The more people that tell them we don't need a cyclists motorway C2C the better.
I had planned a possible bailout point at Consett where I have another Aunt. But there was going to be no need now, I was lapping it up. I made a pit stop at a garage for food and liquids and managed to shelter from a very heavy downpour that had been threatening to soak me all day. I knew I had it cracked now and as soon as the rain stopped I hit the trail again, speed increasing with every mile, (well by this time I just had to stay out of the saddle!).
There's not much to say about the last section except that it's fast and that the trail gets a bit busier from Consett onwards. Up to this point I had not seen more than half a dozen cyclists and the same amount of walkers. So watch out for pedestrians and dog shit after Consett!
I arrived at Roker Pier at 9:10 p.m. There is a notice on the wall at the Sustrans stamping office on the quayside that congratulates all those who have completed the C2C. I've done this trip three times now (3 days 2 days and Le 24 Heures Du C2C) and each time I go past I fill up. It doesn't matter how long you take to do it, it doesn't matter if you took the easy option, it's still an achievement. So go out and get some soon.
Right, where did I leave the car? - Oh No!!!!!!
| Date | 20th June 1999 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time | 03:50 | ||
| Total Distance | 133.48 (including the unplanned detour) | ||
| Cycling Time | 15 Hours 28 mins | ||
| Average Speed | 8.63 MPH | ||
| Maximum Speed | 42MPH | ||
| Total Ride Time | 17 Hours 20 mins | ||
| Finish Time | 21:10 | ||
| Punctures | 0 | ||
| Bike Faults | 0 | ||
| Rider Faults | 2 (route finding and another rather delicate one I can't mention) | ||
There are far too many watering holes on route to mention, you will be spoilt for choice. But there are two places that in my book deserve special mention: -
Portinscale Café (NY253233)
This place makes the best cup of tea in the Lake District bar none. Plenty of good home made cakes and the like to have with it. Bear in mind this place is unlikely to be open when you pass if you try the 24-hour option!
Waskerley Way Café (NZ004432)
This ace place has just opened this year and is dedicated to those riding the C2C. It has started off in a caravan at the top end of the Waskerley Way whilst the owners are converting the adjacent derelict building into a bunkhouse and café. The location is superb and the homemade food and drinks are excellent value, in fact they are ridiculously cheap. Every C2C'er should plan to stop here to support this fantastic enterprise. Having said that this place may also be closed if you take the one-day option.
Get the Sustrans Sea to Sea Official Route Map No 7 and Guide. It has all the information you will ever need on the route. It can be ordered on-line at www.amazon.co.uk by clicking here.
Get that map! - Click Here to purchase the Official Sea to Sea Cycle Route Guide From Sustrans via Amazon.co.uk
Last Updated 05-09-2000
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