I have now had time to take stock of the ride and here are a few reflections.
What a wonderful establishment a Premier Inn is. The night before the start , Sloth , Paul , Parky and I revelled in the luxury , ( all these things are relative after all ) , of the one very close to the start ( at £45 for a twin room it passed the demanding nature of the AVT ( Audax Value Test ) and after the finish, with only a touch of gentle pleading, they gave us a room to have a shower -free of charge. That is what I call service . This allowed us to relax in the splendour of the adjacent Beefeater for an early lunch ( including crumble with custard AND ice cream –we were in that sort of self-congratulatory mood) and then be our sweetsmelling best for that well known combo of a gin and tonic accompanied by a large bowl of ice cream with salted caramel sauce and chopped nuts at , it has to be said , a rather spendid beachfront bar almost underneath the Tower on the front , before boarding the train from Blackpool to Preston. The joy of having completed the ride and not having to rush anywhere , washed over us with each mouthful.
The train journey did not start well as Parky had to travel in a seperate compartment from the rest of us as there was not room for a fourth bike . He moved on down the train after repeated reminders from the Sloth to get off at Preston for the London train. The 3 of us disembarked at Preston and the train pulled out on its way eastwards. No Parky. For some reason he was tired and had fallen asleep and slept through the glories of Preston station. It was his very good fortune that the London train was delayed an hour giving him ample time to return.
Turning to the main event, the four of us rode together for about 80kms or so but we were part of a fast group, some of whom , showing justifiable faith in the unusual weather forecast , were sporting their lightest bikes and wheels and seat post bags small enough to show they were carrying nothing more than one innertube ,one tyre leaver and perhaps a gilet stuffed in a rear pocket -and so Parky and I silently bade them farewell . The sight of women lying prone in bikinis by the side of the Lakes was not one I am used to from previous trips to the Lakes and more than once we compared our fortune with the weather the event was subjected to a couple of years ago. It was hot but never a problem and it made the whole ride so much more relaxing than it could have been . Parky rode Mille Pennines last year and I had ridden the Fred Whitton twice , but on both occasions in the wet with the rear tyre slipping around on the way over Hardknott. It was rather different this year. There is a certain masochistic pleasure in riding an event like MP and this is heightened when you approach one , or in this case two , of the biggies . This feeling was making itself evident as we saw the signs warning of the fearsome gradients. I now know that Wrynose is a lot harder from the Langdales than the "usual way". In fact it was definitely harder than Hardknott was -whereas it definitely the other way round when coming up Eskdale. Anyway we were both happy to get over those two and I was already thinking ahead to Sunday when the next challenge to not putting a foot down would be encountered. ( being able to get over those two was definitely helped by fitting a “ 34 “ on the back for the first time . Parky impressively was using his normal 32 .) We subsequently learned from Paul and the Sloth that they had walked up both Wrynose and Hardknott. You can imagine my shame when knowing they had done so in their SWRC shirts. You might consider that they let the club down , they let each other down etc etc. I am afraid, it is with heavy heart that we will need to return to this topic later on.
It is odd to describe a ride including those climbs to be "an easy day " but as with Premier Inn rooms , these things are all relative. It was clear that at less than 13 hours this was only a foretaste of what was to come. And so it was. Parky and I decided to get up at 3.30am but we both woke at 3am and so up we got and were off by about 3.40am after as much breakfast we could manage. It was soon light and riding through the dawn must be one of the paybacks of riding an event like this. Quite magnificent. The climb up onto the moor and Shotmoss Hill (?) above Brough as the sun burnt off the mist in particular almost made me feel as though I was enjoying myself. It was good to be caught by Sloth and Paul approaching Kielder where we probably made a tactical error by “feasting “ in the shop instead of relying on the tips for alternatives on the forum . That meant we stopped again at Newcastleton for a sit down meal –and very good it was too. Again the road over the moor to Langholm was a real highlight for me –stunning views for miles . A quick ice cream in Langholm allowed us to read a bio of Thomas Telford who hailed from close by and be told by the local dog walkers that of course they have border collies, this is the borders . The next culinary highlight was the fish and chip shop at Penrith ( although we did have something of a banquet in Lockerbie’s Tescos ,giving into all those cravings that you have on a ride like this-blueberries, Greek Yoghurt, Melon , Dark Chocolate, Sushi etc etc ) . The chippie was shutting , it was 9.50pm , as we went in but very generously put in some more fish and chips just for us . This meant a bit of a delay but it was worth it. The other customers who had clearly been sustaining themselves in time honoured Saturday night fashion were touchingly solicitous of “Team Sky “ waiting outside who had to have first go at the food as it was ready. The only remaining part of the ride to stick in my memory was the last 10 miles or so climbing up above the M6 and then diving down below it and then up again . I completely lost my bearings on that section and it was the only time I felt a little cool on the entire ride.
So, after 21 hours we were finished and after food and a shower , those airbeds rivalled even a Premier Inn’s finest and we were unconscious. By the way , to other organisers, a hot shower is a life saver. At the end of each day to be able to have a really good shower, especially when a new change of kit was available through the bag drop , was so , so good. A lie in beckoned. 5am wake up it was and again after 40 minutes we were off for BIG DAY Number 2. Sean Hargreaves had already told us of his plan to stop at Spoons in Richmond for a breakfast and this seemed like a good plan to us. Parky and I had ridden the last section of BIG DAY Number 1 with Ian Bird (?) from Cambridge and we enjoyed riding with him to Richmond. As we were finishing our AVT giant breakfasts , Sean pulled up. We were surprised that no other riders were availing themselves of what Spoons , beloved of audaxers after all , had to offer. Sean was complaining of painful knees. He had tried to make it up the steep bank into Richmond but had got off . That he was suffering from sore knees did not really surprise me. I was suffering from sore everything and had a 34 x34 gear. He was on fixed. We saw him again at RHB and the great news was that he had ridden the soreness off. As with fixed riders on all the hardest events , a bit like ultra marathon runners, I admire them but don’t understand them.
I was really looking forward to BD Number 2 , albeit with trepidation . I was born on the edge of the N York Moors and spent a lot of time as a kid on the beaches and walking in the area but I had never cycled there. My group were bored stiff with me pointing out Captain Cook’s Monument, Roseberry Topping ( which at 320 m seemed like the Matterhorn to me as a child ), telling them how to pronounce Chop Gate ( Chop Yat so you know ) but my ability to converse of course soon disappeared as we hit the first climbs or “banks “ as they are known here. And not long later , soon after leaving RHB, we were in the middle of those steep sided valleys and their 33% gradients. The killer was definitely the narrow one with the concrete surface with a few random pieces of tarmac scattered around clinging on in their fight with gravity. The narrowness of that “road “ meant real concentration was needed to get up without the dreaded cleat killing walk. We were lucky enough to see the steam train at Grosmont , which merited a stop to see and hear it pull out and then after one more 33%er , the Chimney was all that was left. We rode with Chris Herbert for a while before the Chimney with him looking forward to testing his new cleats and pedals on a “proper climb”. Easy to say now but though incredibly steep and hard , the width of the road and good surface meant it was easier than the concrete. That said in bad weather , or without the very small gears , it would be a very different proposition . Unfortunately , Sloth and Paul , far stronger riders than Parky and me , chose discretion over valour and once more tested their cleats by taking their bikes for a stroll on these climbs. Their decision based upon saving energy for the rest of the ride. And of course they were probably right as they cycled much faster than us back to Sedbergh and my legs were shot after those climbs. But the satisfaction, even if trifling ,I like to think is mine. It just meant we had a couple of hours less sleep. And as rode down into Hutton le Hole at the bottom of the moor after the Chimney , there was no way we were not going to stop . A pint of lime and soda and a packet of crisps, a chat with the locals in the sunshine. Perfect. It was about 6pm and we had a way to go but all the hard climbs were done then. That meant we felt we should do our bit for the Spoons share price and so another unscheduled Spoons Stop in Thirsk to deal with the mind numbing horror of that drag up to the top of Sutton Bank helped us on our way. The final stretch to Hawes seemed to go on and on. I was , for the only time on the ride, starting to fall asleep but a stop ,a bit of food and after another 21 hours we were done.
That left only one more challenge to find a towel that was more towel than air , one more luxuriant sleep on a lilo, one more plate of beans and toast –served as I have posted before by the wonderful Gail and John –with Andy always in solicitous attendance- and then a fun , relaxing 80kms “downhill” in a pre-arranged bunch featuring a number of the fast group we had let go on the Friday –and what a long time ago that seemed- and we were done.
A truly challenging event that will live long in the memory.
Thanks to all the people I rode with along the way , again to Andy who gives up so much time and effort and so generously to allow us to ride these events and in particular to Parky , with whom I have shared so many of these rides and is the person who first introduced me into this fine but sometimes a little bonkers, activity , that is audaxing.