MondayI'd arranged to ride with Pippa from Kendal to Hawick on her End to End. Now the sensible option would be to take the train to Kendal, cycle to Hawick with Pippa and then head down to Carlisle or Lockerbie and jump on another train. Instead I decided to turn this into a mini tour. Mini in the sense of only going away for one night, rather than distance. Around 03h45 on Monday morning the alarm clock was going and I crawled back under the duvet. It was still dark and I was tired, but I knew Pippa would be waiting for me in Kendal so I dragged myself out of bed. I'd already sorted out my stuff the previous night, so after some breakfast I was on the road to Kendal. It was still dark and initially I didn't have any motivation. As I started riding I perked up, and also woke up. The main road was empty and dawn started appearing over the Cumbrian fells, which was beautiful.
My route was going to be a wee bit hilly. I'd decided to go over Corney Fell, which raises from sea level to 400 m, and then there'd be the 200 m climb over Grizebeck and a couple of big climbs over Strawberry Scar and Cunswick Scar. But first, Corney Fell. Any later in the morning and this would be horrible because it's a rat run to Sellafield, but at 05h30 it was relatively empty, and the cars that were around gave me loads of room - clearly the Hope Vision 1 light does the trick. The views back across the Ravenglass estuary were magnificent. It was well worth the early start. A quick descent back down to sea level, across the Dundon Bridge, through sleepy Broughton in Furness and then up again over Grizebeck. The main road in parts was getting busy and I was glad of the shortcuts through Spark Bridge and Backbarrow. I panicked when I discovered the bridge in Backbarrow is still closed after the November floods, but fortunately it's open to pedestrians. Another climb after Fell Foot gave me wonderful views of Windermere in the dawn mist. This area of The Lakes is normally very busy, but at 7 am I had the lovely lanes to myself. Perfection. Climbing over Cunswick Scar I happened upon some runners who told me it was too early to be pushing myself quite so hard. I wonder what they'd have said if I'd told them I'd already cycled 75 km? Drizzle was starting, but fortunately I was nearly in Kendal and carried on to meet Pippa in her B&B. According to my GPS I'd done 80 km and 1,600 m of ascent. I thought it had seemed hilly
. Upon arrival at the B&B I was offered breakfast #2. I said yes, of course, and when Pippa paid the owner didn't want any extra money for the food I'd scoffed. Amazing. So if you need somewhere to stay in Kendal
Bridge House gets my recommendation.
Once Pippa and I were ready to leave it was drizzling. Boo hoo. It turns out I'd cycled through the best part of the day on my ride to Kendal. Despite the weather Pippa had a plan to keep to, so off we set. The more direct route from Kendal is to bash up the A6, but that road isn't too nice and we weren't in a rush so off to Tebay we went. We steadily climbed up to Greyrigg Common, which Pippa managed with a big grin across her face.
By the time we got to Shap it was 11 am, so perfect time for a tea break, but there was nothing open :-(. Oh well we continued into the drizzle via the empty concrete roads. The weather didn't give Pippa the best impression of the area, but she still seemed impressed. We headed into Penrith for lunch and found the lovely N.15 Cafe. We were trying to find somewhere to park the bikes and a waitress pointed out a nicely hidden spot behind the kitchen. An hour later we'd each eaten a huge pancake stuffed with mushroom
Badger. Badger. Badger. Mushroom!! Mushroom!! and
someone also stuffed themselves with tasty coffee cake. We came out to discover it was now properly pi$$ing down. Pippa put on her rain legs. I laughed & took photos.
The next 30 km would be very wet, but with some laughter things didn't seem too bad. It's just a shame the Pippa couldn't enjoy the views of the Pennies because everything was shrouded in cloud. Soon we were in Cotehill and searching for our B&B. Being unsure exactly where to go, we found shelter under the church gatehouse while we checked the address. It was actually about 50 meters away
.
We got looked after by the B&B owners, had a shower and headed off for dinner. Having gotten up before 4 am I was knackered and was asleep before 10 pm.
TuesdayMy plan for the day was to ride with Pippa to Hawick and then head back to west Cumbria via Dumfries and Silloth to make it into a 300 km ride. The forecast was OK, but when we got up the Cumbrian weather was doing what it does best - lashing down. As we sat in the conservatory eating breakfast it was difficult to hear each other because of the noise of the rain. Pippa was reluctant to cycle today, but a text message from her sister; some encouragement from me; and a gap in the rain meant we left Cotehill around 9.15 am fully waterproofed up. Fairly soon we stopped to remove the waterproof as it was dry and blue skies were appearing. Yay!
The route took us through Warwick Bridge and northwards along lovely quiet roads.
Soon we entered Scotland, which was a big hurdle for Pippa because she'd now done all of England and Wales. Impressive.
Shortly after this milestone Pippa said her bike felt odd at the back, but it looked OK when I cycled behind her. We stopped to have a look at the wheel, but it seemed true and we sat off again, but as Pippa still wasn't happy we stopped again. Thinking it could be the panniers we removed them and Pippa tested the bike again. Hmm. I had a go and agreed it wasn't right, and was defiantly a rear wheel problem. Flipping the bike upside down showed us the problem. A shredded tyre. D'oh. Pippa phoned her parents who were heading up to meet her that morning and they drove via Carlisle for a new tyre. Pippa suggested I push on, but I'd come up to ride with Pippa and my 300 km ride was a secondary aim, so we waited together. Pippa set about removing the dead tyre and I took photos and drank tea provided from the house we'd stopped outside.
One dead Armadillo
Pippa's cavalry arrived with a tyre and a track pump around 1 pm and we then fought to get the tyre onto her Fulcum wheel. It took three of us. If I had to do that on my own on a wet, dark, night I'd end up doing my best
<![CDATA[<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DFzteK_y1b4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DFzteK_y1b4&rel=1</a>]]> in frustration. Once the bike was working we had an easy ride into Newcastleton. Just under 50 km done and it was now 1.40 pm. Hmm. I left Pippa in Newcastleton and set off alone. The ride to Hawick was fab. Hardly any traffic, a nice gentle climb and big open, rolling hills. In parts there are even native trees being planted and once they start growing the area will be even more beautiful.
Just as I was leaving Hawick my chain snapped and so I found myself sheltering outside an off license as I repaired the chain. Just as I finished Pippa appeared, looking shocked that I was still in Hawick. She wondered if I'd just head back to Carlisle, and the thought had crossed my mind. I set off down the A7 eating my consolation Magnum, but when I got to the turn off I needed I decided to continue with my original ride. The bike seemed fine and audaxes aren't meant to be easy. I quickly realised I'd made the right decision because the ride from Hawick to to Dumfries via Tushielaw was some of the best cycling I've ever done. The only downside is seeing the destruction that the forestry industry is doing to the area and hills that should be covered in native trees instead are covered in high density pines. Yuk. The timber industry, however, have paid for the road to be resurfaced and it's beautiful, smooth, tarmac for miles. I arrived at Eskdalemuir and admired the Tibetan centre for a few minutes. Whether it was the sound of the flags flapping in the wind, memories of monasteries I've visited in China or just having a rest I don't know, but I got a real sense of peace and relaxation while I was there. Plus a desire to get back to Asia in the near future.
After Eskdalemuir the uplands were done with and I was entering the Solway coastal region, noticed by the increase in traffic. In Dumfries I sat outside a petrol station in the evening sun, scoffing a load of food and thinking about what lay in store. I knew I'd have tail wind to Carlisle, and then a head wind across to Silloth, so I set off making the most of the easy cycling. The B road via Annan was a delight, wide, smooth and empty because all the traffic is on the A74. The setting sun basked the Lakeland Fells in a warm glow and seeing the fells from a different viewpoint was great. Seeing the Cumbria coast across the Solway, but having to cycle all the way up to Carlisle was a tad annoying, but hey ho. I quickly passed through Carlisle and was then onto the Cumbrian coastal plain and battling the head wind. I found some songs on my phone to wake me up and cycled along bouncing around like an idiot, and riding no handed so I could play air guitar
. There were bats flying around overhead (I'm guess Pipistrelle), sea views and even a shooting star. I was enjoying myself, until my Hope Vision 1 light plunged me into darkness. I'd had it on warp factor 3 for a couple of hours with fresh batteries, so was surprised it had already given up. There was enough juice for warp factor 1, so it wasn't too bad. Clearly Sainsbury's Extra Life batteries aren't very good.
The cobbles of Silloth weren't enjoyed, but that did mean I only had about 50 km left. Turning to head along the Cumbrian coast I was hit by a viscous headwind that sucked the life out of me and I struggled along 20 kph, but it was nice to feel the sea breeze, and see and hear the waves smashing into the beach. I stopped to take some caffeine pills because I was getting dopey and I was surprised at the strength of the wind. Suddenly 20 kph wasn't so bad. Passing through
Scaryport Maryport I came across an open garage and was able to buy new batteries for my light and a bit food. Yum yum. I was nearly done and I knew once I was through Workington I'd be away from the sea breeze. I crossed the Derwent by the temporary bailey bridge and picked up the main road and set off towards Egremont enjoying the solitude of the roads. I finished just before 2 am, having had a wonderful ride. Night cycling really is fabulous.
