When discussing where to go for a cycling weekend, and the Lake District is mentioned, you just know that you’re in for a hard, hilly weekend.
And that is exactly what unfolded ...
Packed neatly into three cars, the six of us made it through the Friday night traffic on the M6 up to Ambleside in the Lake District. The Backpackers Lodge, furnished with bunk beds, was to be our home for the next two nights. A late night Chinese meal, whilst discussing what lay ahead, got our carbo-loading off to a good start and ready for the weekend ahead.
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| Reluctant to leave our bikes in the shed, we took them to bed with us |
Day 1
The day took in 105 miles and almost 12,000 feet of climbing, including some of the most famous climbs in the Lake District, four of which are included in the book ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’. We tackled 4 of the greatest climbs in the UK in one long ride – no wonder we were tired at the end! If we could get through today, then surely we'd be well prepared to get through anything LEJOG could throw at us.The weather was great. A little chilly to start (and finish), but very little wind, with the sun breaking through later in the afternoon.
Honnister Pass
The first of these climbs was the Honnister Pass. We reached this after about 35 miles. Now this leg sapping climb, according to Wikipedia, reaches an altitude of 1,167 feet (356m), making it one of the highest in the region, and also one of the steepest, with gradients of up to 1-in-4 (25%). This was tough going. The view from the top was pretty spectacular, almost making it worth the climb!
Whinlatter Pass
Next up for us was the Whinlatter Pass. This climb isn’t as steep as the others of the day, but it was the longest, taking in 6k of ascent. The climb eventually reaches an altitude of 1,043 feet. By the time we had finished this climb we had covered almost 50 miles. Halfway there, all downhill from here right?
Amazingly, we did manage to find some flat roads, even some that went downhill. This helped our legs recover a little for the last two major climbs of the day ...
Hardknott Pass
Third on our journey was the Hardknott Pass. According to the book, 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, this is the 'King of Climbs', scoring 10/10 for difficulty. The road approaching the pass vies with Rosedale Chimney Bank in North Yorkshire for the title of steepest road in England with both achieving a gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%). Despite this, the group gritted their teeth and took the challenge head on – with most of the group staying on their bikes and making it up and over the the long, slow and incredibly steep climb. Hats off to them!
Wrynose PassFinally, and after a quick descent from Hardknott Pass, we ‘attacked’ the Wrynose Pass. The book describes this as the Queen of climbs, scoring it 9/10 for difficulty. To make it extra tough on ourselves, not only had we already covered 95 hilly miles, we decided to climb it (and then descend it) in the dark!
We finished the day in the dark, following more than 8 hours cycling time, 105 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing later. Handshakes and hearty congratulations all round for such a momentous effort.
Day 2
Day 2 was billed as the ‘flat’ day. A day to recover from the leg-sapping climbs of the day before. Barely a kilometre had been ridden before we were met with a sign telling us the road ahead was called ‘The Struggle’ and had a 20% gradient! Apparently, we had taken the wrong road and were doing our planned route backwards – this was supposed to be the descent back home. This didn’t bode well for the rest of the day!
The Struggle
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| View from the top of The Struggle, looking down at what we had climbed |
The road rises 1,300 feet in some three and a half tortuous miles. With an altitude of 1,489 feet this is the Lake District's highest pass that is open to motor traffic and home to the highest pub in Cumbria, The Kirkstone Pass Inn.
The Garsdale Head
The Garsdale Head was the second major climb of the day, and came about half way through the ride. This was preceded by lots of smaller and pretty steep climbs – just to warm the legs a little! Although the climb is 'just' 2.4k, averaging 9.3% gradient, it does have some pretty steep sections rising to 17% in some parts.
Due to the amount of climbing we had already done up to this point, and because we had to return to Liverpool that evening, we decided to make a return journey back to the lodge rather than take on the other big climbs that were on our scehduled route, such as the Kirkstone Pass. When this option was suggested, there were few who disagreed!
In the end, day 2 saw us complete 95 miles - taking in almost 10,000 feet of ascending - not bad for a flat day!
The weekend was a total success. We managed 200 miles of hilly cycling, realised that it was possible to discover (and then fix) new mechanical problems, had another go at getting our nutrition right and once again had a great time in the process. Roll on July!
