Day 1 - Whitehaven to Keswick (32 miles)
The Start (without Russ - fixing his tyres)
Not an auspicious start to the expedition across England, ………… Russel decided at the last minute to fill his tyres with a green gunk fluid that's supposed to seal any punctures before the tyre deflates. Not much chance to see it in action, as it managed to seal the valve as well, and prevented poor Russel inflating the tyre for the start of the trip. Dave Baker (DB) had obviously forgotten one of the most important rules of riding a bike since he was last on one (a metal one that is), and tried to set off with his front wheel nuts not even hand tight. Dave Thomas (DT) thought he could manage the trip with no air in his tyres, but apart from that we were all set & raring to go about two hours later than planned, at 12.30. The first day's target was a modest 32 miles to Keswick.
John had printed three tee-shirts, to be awarded by the acclaim of the crowd as follows:
Leader of the Pack - Yellow - for the most proficient cycling the day before.
Tour Hero - Red - Obvious qualities for nominations
Anal Re-tread - Puce - Dummy of the day (we used different language, but this is a family site).
For the first day, Colin was awarded the Leader shirt, on the basis that he was unlikely to win it for the other three days. Greg had the Hero's shirt for coming up with a solution to the logistics & arranging a trailer big enough for all the bikes. Russ had the Anal shirt for the gunk fiasco & holding us all up for an hour.
A passing local, doing a great impression of someone who knew his way around, took our photos at the steel C2C sign on the slipway, and then directed us off through the town to Tescos & on up the coastal track, so off we set. Colin insisted that we were going the wrong way, but he was ignored ........... to our cost. 1 1/2 miles en route we took advice from another cyclist who REALLY knew his way about, and was happy to take us back through the town on the real route. We'd been heading for Workington originally. We all resolved to listen to what Colin was saying from here on, and he in turn resolved to remind us at every opportunity how he'd been correct & we'd all been wrong.
Anyhow, once going the right way, we had a comfortable ten miles or so along a disused railway track, on a gradual, but continuous rise.
Couldn't find anywhere to get a bite to eat for lunch, so we ended up at a virtually empty (it was the end of September) caravan park, where the owner offered to make rounds of sandwiches. Un-interesting, but welcome non-the-less. Two friendly guys from Teeside joined us at the same place, talking about doing the whole trip in three days. Our plan was for four days, and we thought them optimistic, considering that it was mid-afternoon on day one & they'd traveled about 12 miles.
Next up was Whinlatter Pass, our first bit of serious riding. Or in reality, .... serious walking. We could easily recognise our limitations & were happy to take this section on foot. Colin was last to the top, arriving at our resting point to a chorus to Happy Birthday (41 today). The slog up the hill was worth it for the exhilarating ride down again. As the next hill loomed up again, though, we appreciated how this trip was going to be 75% uphill, time-wise at least - the downhill bits just don't last long enough.
Atop Whinlatter Pass
The two guys from Teeside joined us at the summit, one having been given a lift to the top in a Volvo. His pedal had broken at the bottom of the hill, so he had resolved to freewheel downhill & push up the rest of the way to Keswick.
A few minor incidents in the forest before the outskirts of Keswick. Colin's chain came off & lodged in workings & Rich got a puncture. John was almost off the edge at one point, but we survived. DT helped Rich with the puncture repair, but it wasn't quite good enough to get all the way to Keswick, so Rich rode home pedaling like Billy-oh for 3/4 mile, a quick pump of the tyre, and on again. Only four or five miles to go at this point (6 pm), but everyone was feeling pretty tired & the light was fading. We decided against the detour off the main road, and made our way to the Keswick Lodge Hotel.
Three pints went straight down without touching the sides, and hey,..... the combination of Friday night, Colin's Birthday & all the boys together away from the girls: this has got to mean a heavy night out, night clubs, lap dancing, the lot. Not a bit of it, ............. all in bed by 10.30, even too tired to watch the last day's events at the Olympics in Sydney.
Colin made a moving Birthday speech in the bar, something along the lines of: "Let us all be grateful for the health, wealth, time & friendship that has allowed us to undertake this epic (really?, Ed) journey." We were all in tears.
DT reminds the Editor of Greg's explanation of why he wasn't in the leading pack, "........... that's my problem ....... I've got all my strength in the top half of my body". Dave thinks it's all in his hair.
Colin was the only one in a single room, on a Z-bed of all things on his birthday. DT & DB volunteered to sleep in the double bed in their room & gave Colin the single in the same room. A quick reminder DB - you keep your undies ON when you've got to share a bed with another guy. Please Dave!
Day 2: Keswick to Langwathby (30 miles)
Tee shirts were awarded at breakfast:
DT had the Hero shirt for rescuing Rich & for giving up his bed to Colin. Greg took the award for Dummy of the Day .... no-one could exactly pin-point why, but it just seemed like a good idea. Something to do with not going to the bar & buying beer I think. Russ was the fastest man on the mountain the day before, so won the Yellow Leader shirt.
Setting out from Keswick
We got away at about 11.00 after sundry faffing about at cycle shops for new bits of kit & extra padding for sore backsides ........... please don't forget that most of the party hadn't been on a bike for 20 years, and those that had, had never cycled more than 20 miles in one stretch before. We were joined by DT's Goodyear colleague, Chris, who had had to miss the first day. He'd been called away to Rome the day before, but vowed to complete the three days with us, then return to Whitehaven & do the first day solo in order to complete the route, after a fashion.
Not far out of Keswick we stopped at Castlerigg Stone Circle. Constructed 2000 BC, or thereabouts they believe. Full of mystic powers & forces. Russ was rash enough to cycle into the centre of the stones & received a bolt from the blue, or did a seagull deposit on his head? ............ either way it got him going for the second day.
Soon after Castlerigg came the decision time for the Old Coach Road or not the Old Coach Road. Having read numerous reports on the web about how hard the OCR was, especially after rains, we were suitably sceptical. Initially the only ones mad enough to want to do it were DJ & Russ, but gradually most of the others were won over, except Colin who knew there was no point simply looking for trouble. John might claim that he took the low road to keep Colin company, but we think he was secretly quite glad to avoid this monster of a hill.
The OCR - enough said
Not much chance of cycling at all up the hill - even for those with strong enough legs (& there were none of those in our party), the surface was simply too rough - boulders the size of basketballs & potholes big enough to bath in. The slog, pushing up the hill was two miles long & took us about an hour & a half. Half-way up Rich asked some passing walkers if we'd reached the top, as the gradient was temporarily levelling out. This caused much amusement ......... "oh no pal, you're only just half-way there yet". A depressing thought, as we were already shattered.
We were blessed with good weather (relatively, anyhow .... it didn't rain, and the visibility was excellent), and all made it unscathed to the top, where it was then possible to cycle again - the surface being kept to a more reasonable level of "very rough". A minor detour off route to Dockray was well worthwhile for the pint that it held in store for us, and then it was off again to meet Colin & John at Greystokes.
Greystokes
Greystokes may be a great place at certain times of the day, but that doesn't include 2.30 on a Saturday afternoon. Everything was shut; well, almost everything. We found a corner shop who could provide tea & something to eat.
Through under the M6 to Penrith where more repairs were made to a few bikes. Colin & DJ found a really helpful cycle shop that we'd love to promote, but no-one could remember the name of it. And on the road again for Langwathby - an undulating road - the first bit of A-road, mostly because we missed the correct turning out of Penrith - Rich claims that the signs were to blame - everyone else not so sure it wasn't Rich to blame.
Penrith
We pulled into Langwathby at about 6.00. Our accommodation was sourced from the Sustrans C2C guide, and was the Bunkhouse at the Ostrich farm. At this time of year we were the only ones in there, though the place can sleep up to 36. Excellent accommodation, especially considering the £13.00 charge including a full English Breakfast.
Dinner at The Shepherds Inn, a few yards away, where Alan & Debi made us very welcome. We volunteered to promote their accommodation which will be available from March 2001 - telephone 01768 881335 or details or email shepdeb@globalnet.co.uk for more information. The pool competition was of a dismally low standard, with Rich & DB (thankfully wearing underpants again at this stage) coming out victors by playing as poorly as everyone else, and fluking more balls at the right time.
You could tell we were tired again. The normally erudite & precise Colin was even heard asking the gaffer ........... "What's a pancake roll?........ Is it a pancake rolled up?". Rich was the butt of some ribald humour for avoiding the fifth round of bitters & switching to Soda & Lime ........ big girls blouse & jessy were the printable comments, but the editor hears that he suffered less than most on the hardest day of all...........................
Day 3: Langwathby - Allenheads 28 miles
Footnotes to the night's sleep in the bunkhouse. DJ was cursed every other hour as his phone kept going off as one girl or other sent text messages in. He was eventually persuaded to turn the phone off at about 4 am.
Tee-shirts: DB was awarded the Yellow for most improved cyclist, Chris got the Red Hero's shirt for coming all that way on his own after missing the first day, and Greg got the Dummy shirt (again) for leaving his helmet in Greystokes.
We knew day three would present our greatest challenge, and it failed to disappoint. Hill, hill, hill, downhill exhilaration, then more hill, hill hill. And the hills were steep - we were "all geared out" within a hundred yards of each hill starting. The worst hill being 2 chev for 2 m.
A top tip for future travellers - don't believe anything the locals tell you. The guy in Whitehaven sent us off on the wrong route, and some farmer close to the off-road section just before the climb to Hartside Top told us how terrible the section was ... "much better off on the road - terribly muddy". Well, most of us thought we'd do it anyway, and it was fine. Some pushing for most of the group, but perfectly passable.
This reminds me to mention Russ's top tip for all cyclists..... Don't forget to tuck your right foot laces into the shoe. A small thing I know, but Russ kept reminding us the whole trip, so it must be important.
We missed our rendezvous with the road go-ers at Selah Bridge, basically because there's nothing there (but a bridge), and we were expecting to find a small community. This was yet another occasion when mobile phones came into their own, and the party was re-united at Hartside Top Cafe. If only it were a pub! But then again, hot coffee, meat & potato pies & yet more chocolate were very welcome. We met up again with the Teeside guys, who had had yet more bad luck. This time, the same guy's chain had snapped & he didn't have the tools to fix it. We volunteered Russ ('cos he's that kind of chap) to help with the repairs out on the cold windy carpark, but even he couldn't sort the job out, so off they set again, freewheeling down & pushing up. I think that this was when the dream of a 3 day crossing really went out the window.
Hartside Summit Cafe
A fast freewheel (mostly) down to Garrigill for a pint (you can tell what kind of cyclists we really are, can't you?), and then a series of switchback climbs & drops through to Nenthead. Be warned - the road down to Nenthead village is VERY steep - we recorded over 40 mph here, and we nearly lost two of the party as a Volvo came up around a bend as we charged down the hill.
A steep climb out of Garrigill was the last bit of serious effort for most of the party for the day, as Allenheads was then basically downhill, pausing briefly for photos at the Northumberland sign. The only one who made a meal of the last four miles was Rich who picked up his bike after the photo shoot to discover it had a complete flat on the front tyre. He must have been tired, as the spare inner tube refused to fit the wheel. He couldn't be bothered to keep working at the problem, with a short distance left, so jumped onto the panniers, keeping all the weight aft, and freewheeled with little pressure on the front wheel. There was still the uphill sections to push up, but he made it back about 45 minutes after the others.
Welcome to Northumberland
Allenheads is deceiving. Don't imagine that you're there when you pass the first houses. The village is about 1 1/2 miles long, and everything you're looking for is at the other end. This may not be an issue when you're on a bike, but when you're walking, it means another 15 minutes. We were to repose at the Old School House. Those poor kids ........... it's at the top of a mountain! The views are great, but it's a long way up. Sound accommodation, though, and we were well looked after by Helen & Alan.
The ailments were coming through now - DT had a lot of pain in his knee, there were multiple backside blisters, and DJ had stomach ache, and so didn't join us that the Allenheads Inn. This was an unusual place to say the least; no need to paint the walls & ceiling - you can't see them for all the bricker-brack, curios and, lets be honest, junk that Peter Stenson has collected over the years. The chef does excellent food, though, and it's a must see on the trip. Don't drink the keg beer, though - it's terrible, or it was when we were there. The draught Tetleys (I think) was a nice pint, but don't drink the keg (it was only ordered by accident).
And so to bed. DJ lasted about 15 minutes once the drunken snorers were back from the pub & dragged his mattress out of the bunk room & into the hall, where Rich already was, on the spare mattress.
Day Four: Allenheads to Newcastle 52 Miles
The View from The Old School House
Tee-shirts: well, a clean sweep for Rich today:
- Hero - for making it back in the back pannier after the blowout
- Leader - for doing the best cycling the day before, and not walking at all until after the blowout and
- Re-tread - for being such a hopeless case as to fail to fix the puncture.
The earliest start yet for a long day in the saddle. Not expected to be the hardest day, but lots of distance to cover before a long journey home to Birmingham. Helen cooked an excellent breakfast to fortify our resolve, and off we set............... about 200 yards before a five minute debate about the right direction to set off from the village. Sense prevailed (i.e. we listened to Colin this time!) and we climbed slowly out of Allenheads on a beautiful morning at about 9am.
What a day! Clear, still & bright. The road snaked up through a mile or two of pine forests with no-one else about - it felt like being on a lift climbing up to the top of the mountain preparing for the first ski of the day - exhilarating!
Most of the party walked this section, but once at the top it was level & gently down for mile after mile until we arrived in Rookhope. DJ managed to spray pop over the entire contents of a shelf in the Post Office when we stopped for a chocolate fix. Make sure your water bottles are filled up back in Allenheads, as the water here is brown & brackish - definitely to be avoided.
There's a couple of options at Rookhope - we decided against the longer road section & cycled / walked up a steep track (old railway line) with streams running down it to some disused workings - possibly some sort of loading area for the railway? The track was like a scaled down 'Old Coach Road' - not half as threatening, however.
On & on, and over the moors we went. Showers threatened a few times but soon as they approached we were gone - faster than the wind! A pleasant ride, but nothing like the challenge of the previous three days. Maybe this was not a bad thing, considering the number of the party on all sorts of pain relieving tablets. We approached civilisation reluctantly, and skirted Consett n the main roads. This must be where we went wrong, as we missed a turn onto some off road / track sections & ended up doing the next 10 miles on the main roads. Not really what we wanted, but there it was. We planned to stop for something to eat at Rowlands Gill. It seemed there was nothing there 'till we doubled back to find a tea room run by a lovely Silv.. Silv produced rounds of toasted sandwiches, tea & pop to satisfy all our needs (or most of them anyway). She also gave us advice for the right place to head for when out on the town in Newcastle - the Quayside is the best place, but you're only allowed to wear tee-shirts, even in mid winter.
The last 10 miles was an expected disappointment - the C2C signs come & go, as you're directed along the banks of the Tyne, in & out of industrial estates. We followed the river on the south side all the way down to the Tyne Tunnel. A unique experience for us all then, as we took the (very steep) escalator down to the bottom of the river level, hanging on to the bikes, a few minutes under the river, and the same thing up again on the other side.
Through a few miles of built up area to the coast, and a dunk of the wheels all together in the sea. It made us laugh as DJ waited by the water line for everyone to get onto the beach, and a big wave came & swamped both his feet. Silly I know, but funny if you were there.
A beautiful rainbow appeared just as we posed by the final steel C2C sign - some sort of sign to us we were all convinced. It was only faint, and doesn't come out on the photo unfortunately, but it is there. Fish & chips on the benches overlooking the entrance to the river - fantastic. Chris had a lift back with our baggage transportation guy, Phil, all the way to Whitehaven, where he did indeed complete the first day's mileage. The rest of us set off down the motorway. The car towing the bikes in a a trailer didn't quite keep up DJ's average to 120 miles an hour (not really officer) and they arrived back home at about 1 am.
Quite a trip. Would we do it again? Absolutely. Many friends & colleagues of us all have vowed to do the trip themselves next year. Congratulations and thanks go to SUSTRANS for preparing a great route (for the most part), and making the trip possible.
Thanks to Phil for the baggage transport, Phil's Dad for helping with car shuttling, Russ & John for a ready supply of 'Top Tips', Greg for the trailer, our wives & girlfriends for letting us go, and DJ's girls for keeping us awake with text messages. And also to all those who published the accounts of their trip on the web & helped us plan this one.
Contact Richard with comments or requests for more informationDik's new Resource site with lots of info & links
Andy Roberts trip in April 1997
Readers Digest trip in August 1998
Comberbach Mummers trip in May 2000
