I’ve been really busy at work lately, including the Thursday morning so our Cycling Hols have crept up on me a bit. Ian and I are doing the Cymru etape – and taking the opportunity to get some hill training in beforehand. Older brother Paul is joining us afterwards for some more serious hill stuff in the Lake District. I packed fairly quickly, said my goodbyes to Wendy and set off to Ian’s. He was working the full day so I was taking the opportunity to bag one of the Hills in the books we’re following that is only a few miles from Ian’s.
I park at Ian’s, get on my bike and set off. My Garmin isn’t playing nicely so I call Ian for directions and then get on course. I get to Haresfield and start up the hill and soon realise it is no pushover. It is pretty narrow, with plenty of traffic and it kicks up to 30% at one point.
Sweating a bit I reach the crest and then enjoy a few miles speeding downhill.
We reach the top breathing hard and in the dark. A quick descent and back in the car. We decide not to park in town and visit the Brasserie (one of Wendy’s favourites) as we aren’t sure our bikes will be there afterwards. We go to the Holiday Inn Express near Neath and eat in the Harvester next door. We have good steaks and chat about the riding so far and what is to come.
In the room, Ian talks me through a riding App Strava – more of that later.
The weather is set fair as we set off just before 10am. We take the wrong turn after about 100yards! We are on the A465 which is a bit like a motorway and not where we need to be. We stop, hop over the barrier in the central reservation and onto the other carriageway. After a few minutes we are back on track. We ride through Neath and I think better of trying to overtake a car towing a trailer. We make good progress and then after about 20 miles the fun starts. We turn off the main road and the hills start. After one stiff climb, we find a harder and longer one which ends in Rhigos. That must be one of them I say to Ian – nope he says, it’s the next one.
He’s right and as we leave Rhigos we can see a road snaking up the hill / mountain ahead of us. It looks harsh so we go towards it. The wind is straight into our face for the first mile or so. The road twists back on itself a few times. It never gets really steep but goes on for around 3 miles. The views are stunning and having done about 30 miles we stop for a spot of lunch at a viewing spot. We have bacon sarnies, a sit down and a chat with a motorbiker.
We have a good descent although we were held up behind a cement mixer truck. At the base is a town called Pentre with a chippy called “A Fish Named Rhonda” which made me chuckle.
Soon we reach the next climb, the Bwlch. This also goes on and on – and lasts about 4 miles. The views are great and the weather is stunning – we are very lucky.
We complete the final 20 miles with no incident although with a couple of sharp, steep surprise hills.
Back at the Holiday Inn, we stow the bikes and set off for Beulah where we are staying. We drive through yet more lovely scenery and through Brecon. After an hour or so we reach the Trout Inn, our stay for the night.
We both really enjoyed our food. I had duck a l’orange which was great. Both fairly tired we watch the England game and then crash out at a good time.
In the morning, we look out the window and it is very foggy. “That won’t be good for seeing things” says Ian and we both fall about laughing at what a clever statement that was.
We have a good breakfast and set off in the fog well before 10am. The road to the Devil’s is lovely and quiet, following a large stream and rising. The sun starts burning through and then we hit an awesome stretch of road through a valley. We both take pics and it reminds us of the Cross of Greet ride last year.
We crack on and the ride is ace. We stop for more pics at the top of a hill with the road horseshoeing below us with a beautiful lake in between. We do the horseshoe and then stop at Llyn Brianne dam.
We ride to Llandovery and stop for some water sitting on a bench looking at the large group of motorbikes, thinking yep, we’ve done that.
It’s now 16 miles back to the Trout along the A483 so we crack on. It is pretty lumpy and then we do the Sugar Loaf. Overall we did around 4,000 feet of climbing so as usual Ian is a bit dodgy regarding how hilly the ride is!
We get back and eat lunch in the Trout. It is the Beulah Village Festival so they are all doing tractor rogering, or horse pulling or something like that.
We set off for Wrexham along the very twisty A483 and arrive at the Llandegla Mountain bike centre where we have to register. We both feel pretty tired and hope we have enough left in the tank for the etape tomorrow.
We find the Trevor Arms where we are staying and it is basic but ideal for us – as we can put the bikes in the room. We have another decent meal – I had Belly Pork and black pudding. We share a cheeseboard to finish and every crumb is devoured. Looking forward to tomorrow.
We both, separately, had some very weird dreams last night! Mine involved (amongst other things) being woken up by some French people who looked at their watches and tutted. The alarm went off at 5.30 a.m and amazingly we both managed to get up. I did have to tell Ian his time was up in the shower as he tends to set up camp in there.
We had no breakfast so stopped at a garage for a sandwich and I was warily watching the group of blokes sat outside who were obviously trollied from the previous night.
I took a wrong turn just before the meeting place, the Race Course, and we stopped in the village of Bangor-on-Dee. Other cyclists were parking there and saying it was best to stay here to avoid delays at the end. We stopped opposite the Buck House Hotel which is where I tried to book but it had been full. We got ourselves sorted and set off the ¾ mile to the racecourse, me with sandwich in hand.
After queuing for the obligatory toilet stop, we get in the well regimented line for our 07.16 start. It was quite disciplined as they had closed roads so things needed to be punctual.
We set off and it was a bit chilly – my arm warmers were on and I was still shivering a bit. Ian and I soon got separated and didn’t see each other again in the ride.
I started fairly steadily and soon spotted I had a stalker, obviously drafting in my wheel. I didn’t look around but knew it was the same person for about 10 miles by the shape of his shadow.
We were in small lanes and it was great being closed roads as you could really hoon around corners, taking the racing line. Soon it got hilly and we climbed some very rustic tracks. The stops were well organised and stocked with food and drinks.
The best known climb soon arrived, the Horseshoe Pass. Ian and I had done it on our motorbikes but we saw more scenery this time. It was long but not that hard, although I was taking hills fairly slowly. My descent was hampered by firstly a sheep running on the road and secondly the fact that I couldn’t get into my big chainring. I still got some good speed up though.
I reach the last food stop which is about 17 miles from the end. Most of the way back is the undulating small lanes but no long hills. I’ve not ridden very fast so far, probably with heavy legs from the previous days. On this section though I get in with a few guys who clearly want a race. I’m quicker down the hills than them but they are better up hill. We get quicker and quicker and the race tactics start with drafting and making breaks. We have brief chats at some points and then a very hard and fast last couple of miles. I don’t see the finish line and we cross it at 27mph. We stop and all say what a good crack that last section was.
I’d had a text from Ian saying he’d broken a spoke. I had little reception most of the ride so hadn’t been able to talk to him but luckily had another text saying a mechanic had sorted it for him. Great.
As Ian is now going to be a while, I decide to do a warm down ride to get over the 100 miles and head off for a gentle 10 miler. I then sit in the pub for a while (after changing there) and wait for Ian – who arrives having had a good ride and riding with Mike (a guy he met) for a lot of the ride.
We pack up and set off for Coniston in the Lake District.
It was a long drive. We found out later that my satnav had motorways switched off – so we were taking A roads and it took forever! We got to the Crown at Coniston eventually and it was a pleasant place to stay. Ian and I had dinner and Paul arrived later.
The forecast was bad and when we woke it was raining. We had a decent breakfast and got ready to go – with our waterproofs on. It wasn’t raining much when we started. The road soon turned upwards and we made our way through the damp.
Ian and I left Paul a bit and I considered overtaking a rather reticent large car. Ian came past me and was reasonably close to the car. The road was narrow and with tight bends at points. As we approached one bend, the car stopped as a car was coming the other way. Ian and I started screaming at him to keep moving. Ian was braking hard and began fishtailing madly. He kept it up but was approaching the static car quickly. He ran out of road and piled into the dry stone wall, hitting the deck.
The guy in the car parked up and came back to see how Ian was. Ian was a bit stroppy with the guy but to be fair, he was entitled to stop and Ian was going too fast, too close in the wet on a fast, steep descent.
Ian was grazed and bruised and his mechs looked bent. We straightened it out a bit and carried on down the hill in the rain. We stopped shortly after at a pub/restaurant called the Brotherswater Inn as the bike was not good. We had a bite to eat, settled Ian down and then Paul and I cycled back up the monster pass and turned off right down “The Struggle” to cycle back to the car.
It was wet but we had a good ride back and a couple of hours later we picked Ian up and set off to find a bike shop to get it fixed.
We went to the Whinlatter Forest Vistor Centre where a bike shop had been recommended to us. The guy was really helpful and did what he could. He didn’t have the right hanger so straightened as best he could the existing one. Strangely, we couldn’t drive (or ride) up Whinlatter Pass as the road had been undermined by moles! The whole road was closed and very long detours were in place.
The B&B was lovely – very relaxed and the owners were friendly and helpful. We had a great home cooked dinner with the other guests and planned our revised route for the next day. Of course we had planned to ride from here back to Coniston – but my car was now here, so we needed to get back.
After a cracking breakfast we set off. The first part of the ride was strangely flat and we made good progress. Then we reached Honister Pass. This was seriously steep. As usual we fragmented due to our differing paces. Cars passed putting thumbs up – and at one point I began to struggle. The vicious gradient relented slightly and I struggled on. Then I reached the Youth Hostel and the hill had ended. It was raining so I sat with my back to the wall waiting.
After a bit, Paul and I were about to set off to see where Ian was – when he came over the brow walking the bike and with blood flowing down his leg. “Gears slipped again, and I ended up facing an old dear in her car looking back down the hill. Dunno how that happened!”. Despite ourselves, this made us laugh and feel gutted for Ian all at the same time. Clearly his wounded hanger and mechs wouldn’t allow him to do any hard climbing.
We rode down the other side which was a bit hairy. The road had streams of water running down it, it was 1 in 4 and very slippery. It was also incredibly beautiful.
We all got down unscathed. I’d pulled over and walked down to the riverside where an artist was stood in the rain painting on a canvas. He had the easel lashed down with tie ropes due to the wind. He didn’t mind me taking a pic and we had a brief chat.
We cycled along the valley and into Buttermere. We left Ian there as there was another monster to ride to get back to our B&B. Paul and I got the car and said farewell to Rob (the owner) and Titch (the diminutive Jack Russell) – we all agreed we’d like to spend more time there in the future.
We met Ian and went to the cafe. Paul had a monster piece of cake as we worked out our next plans. Ian was to drive the car back to the bike shop and see if they could patch his bike up any more. Paul and I would broadly follow the second half of the famous Fred Whitton route as far as Calder Bridge. It was a good scenic ride with lots of hills as you would expect. Amazingly, 5 minutes after we arrived, Ian turned up in the car. The bike shop had not been able to do much and although Ian could ride, he would have to be very careful how much power he put through the bike.
We set off in the car and after getting held up by a herd of cows meandering along the road towards their milking spot we got close to the famous and feared Hardknott Pass. I was planning on giving this one and the sister pass, Wrynose, a miss as I didn’t think I’d make them but Paul was keen to try.
We got out and stripped all non-essential stuff off the bikes and set off to warm up. We reached the lower slopes and it looked really daunting. There was one great view where the road (well, more like a track) turned sarply left and was at right angles to us. The cars on that stretch seemed to be climbing at a sill steep angle and we knew we would be following them shortly.
I focused on turning the pedals as slowly as I could in order to keep my breathing and heart rate down. I was making progress but still along way to go. I reached the aforementioned stretch and it was really steep. Ahead of me a few cars were stuck, facing each other. I pulled to the middle of the track and made it clear I was stopping for nobody. Luckily I got through and kept going. I heard Ian in the car behind me shouting encouragement.
I was getting close and amazingly there was a bit of respite. I had a brieg half hearted sprint at the end and whooped with delight. I’d made it!
I was feeling good now and carried on down the silly steep hill towards Wrynose. This one was also scored 10 out of 10 but we found it easier. I was really chuffed after having made these two and decided to ride the remaining ten-ish miles back to Coniston. Jokingly I told Ian I’d race him.
I set off and enjoyed the last few miles although there were still some sharp bumps to contend with. I reached Coniston and in my peripheral vision I thought I saw my car behind. I put the hammer down and sprinted the final few hundred yards back to the B&B – well a race is a race isn’t it!
We set off in both cars to our last destination, Clitheroe and it was getting on a bit when we arrived. We stayed at the Brooklyn Guest House and dumped our stuff and nipped out sharpish to find our first curry house of the week.
We found the Double Tree in York Street. It was a really nice restaurant and the food was excellent. After a series of txts, Paul joined us and we tucked in to a cracking meal. I wisely decided against vindaloo!
Wednesday 12th
Into our final day. Our plan was to head south to complete a named hill (Nick o Pendle) and then to double back through Clitheroe, over Waddington Fell and onto Quernow where we planned to watch the Tour of Britain go past.
It was raining quite heavily as we set out. The hill was quite a grind and Ian had to walk some of it due to his gears. We nailed it down the other side – then around another really steep loop and back over the same hill. Ian missed out the loop and as Paul and I approached the top of the hill we saw Ian trudging morosely ahead wheeling his bike. It was very wet, miserable and he didn’t look happy.
After the top of the hill we joked with Ian. “What do you do for a hobby?”. “Oh I push my broken bike up steep hills in the pouring rain wearing cleats on my shoes so I walk like a duck”. This had us laughing for ages – and I nearly had a falling off bike moment due to it a few miles later!
The rain continued and we headed for Waddington Fell. As we crossed a bridge, a heron flew out from under us. It was only feet away from me and looked massive like a pterodactyl. We made the hill, although Ian had to walk the steep parts, cursing his nackered gears. We sailed down the other side and then veered off left from the route we’d ridden on LEJOG the previous year. We had one more named hill before Quernow.
I told him to just leave it and go back in the cafe while Paul and I rode back to the B&B for the car. Still soaked we set off in the heavy rain. I had taken my riding glasses off as they were impossible to see through in the rain and the rain was stinging my eyes as we hurtled down the Fell. It was great to get back to the car. There was no point both of us going back so I set off to fetch Ian and Paul packed up to start off home.
I filled up with petrol and soaking wet drove back to pick Ian up. It was a bit strange driving over the route I’d just ridden in both directions. It was still raining but beginning to clear. If the weather had been 2 hours the other way, we would probably be in Quernow now having watched the Tour of Britain.
I reached the cafe and Ian came out. We both changed out of our wet gear and it was great to put dry clothes on. We set the sat nav for Gloucester and started home.
The landlady at the B&B had been trying to call me. I rang her and found we’d left some glasses in Paul’s room. I rang him to see if he wanted to pick them up but thought he’d be well on his way home by then. “Actually” he said, “I’ve not long left. I had a little accident and drove my car under a height barrier and trashed my bike! Strangely we had only that day been talking about hen I nearly did that at work recently.
The drive home was wet but uneventful and I dropped Ian off. It had been a great week which had had its moments and I’d thoroughly enjoyed it. It didn’t have the intensity of the LEJOG trip but it had been really good. As usual it was great riding with Ian – and we’d mastered some really hard hills and rides (the etape). Paul had slotted in great as well and is becoming an accomplished cyclist.
Time to plan the next one :)
Ian's Blog
Thurs 6th
I was clock watching all day eagerly awaiting 4.30pm to arrive! I sped home from work and met Martin at my house. I had a few text and calls from him earlier as he was doing Harescombe beacon, a steep tricky hill a few miles from my house. Nats and the kids were at Dylan’s swimming lessons so couldn’t really say a proper goodbye which was a little sad, however.
With the bikes on the roof and kit in the car, we were on our way to the first hill just outside Abergaveny called “The Tumble”. We parked up and rode a gentle 2 miles to warm up, then we hit a 7/10 hill. It was not steep, peaked at 12% but went on for a few miles so could get into a rhythm. These are the hills that seem to agree with me the most. As usual, not fast up it but conquered none the less. A beautiful view by a lake at the top with the weather spot on, a great start to the week!
After a fast descent with some tricky hairpins, we arrived at the car and drove to Swansea for the next hill, Constitution Hill. Now..... I had seen quite a lot of this climb on YouTube and the tour of Britain had used it a few years ago. It looked steep, on cobbles but not long. Admittedly, I was not really worried about it as short steep climbs are ok. How wrong I was! We turned into the “No Entry” through the bollards and it ramped straight away, so no real run up, the cobbles were a big distraction that made it even tougher, but what made it super tough was the length of it, much longer than I thought, It looked like a wall in front of us. So mentally I was talking myself out of it!! It was steep and relentless and I must admit, thought I was going to blow and have to get off. I didn’t thankfully and made it to the top just after Martin. To me, it was a REAL struggle physically and mentally. We rode back to the car discussing the hill and how hard it was. After a bit of discussion, we went to our hotel and had some nosh in the harvester. A great first day!
Fri 7th
After a good night's sleep and breakfast, we set of on a route of just under 60 miles that incorporates most of the “Dragon ride sportive”. The first 20 miles pretty uneventful apart from taking the wrong turn, hurdling the central reservation on a stupidly fast dual carriageway, a lorry passes us very close and Martin playing chicken with an on coming car! We turned off the main road after 20 and the hills began, some long but not steep drags that are good for just spinning away. I knew that it wasn’t the start of the 2 big climbs of the day so didn’t push myself too early. We stopped after the second long drag and mentioned to Martin, “See the winding road up that mountain, that’s the first big one!”
Rhigos was approx 3 miles long, again not steep but a very consistent 7-9%. The first bit was straight into the headwind that was a bind, but nothing we’re not used to!! It meandered up the mountain with switchbacks that looked steep but weren't that bad. Martin was waiting at the top and after a quick bacon bap, on our way. The descent was great apart from being held up by traffic and a cement mixer. I felt hard done by!! You see, it takes all my energy to get my large frame up the hills, so feel I deserve to smash it down said hills, more of that later!! After a brief water stop, we rode through a small town towards the next climb, Bwlch.
Bwlch was slightly longer than Rhigos but similar in its steepness so just got my head down and cracked on. I had noticed on the previous climbs Martin being the usual distance in front then all of a sudden being a long way in front, he must get a second wind, or even wind, who knows. I know I'm pretty consistent in my cadence and effort as its all I can do! Again, the weather and views was great, we met at the top and cracked on for the last 20 odd miles. A few real steep short stings in the tail but none the less, a good ride. We felt pretty good and after some recovery chocolate milkshake and diet coke, onwards to our next destination, Beulah and the infamous Devil's staircase climb!
Sat 8th
I’m used to either of my children waking during the night so it feels strange having non interrupted sleep! A very foggy morning awaited us, a bit disappointing as I knew the scenery today would be right up there, so much so I won the award for the stupid comment of the year! “That won’t be good for seeing things” D’ Ya think, stupid boy Pike!! However, after breakfast, it began to lift and as we set off, the sun was beginning to break through, Result!
The next few hours will go down as one of the best rides. We rode through some very narrow lanes climbing parallel to the stream through forest at first, then heath land and stunning hillside single track roads. After about 6 miles I stopped to take some pictures and that section will stay with me for a long time. I knew the road as I had driven it with the Subaru mob and also ridden it with Martin in our previous lives as Motorbikers but to cycle it topped it off! Approaching the 9/10 climb of devils staircase, I knew what was coming so prepared mentally. It ramped straight away to 25% so was out of the seat pushing hard on the pedals. After the first steep switchback, I heard a car on its way. I wasn’t going to stop for him so kept going, having to nearly track stand on the other side of the road (as more room there) and let the car go by. The geezer didn't even acknowledge my pain, suffering and effort to get out of his way! Anyway, he got past and I kept going slowly but surely, grinding away. That’s probably the best way to describe a very hard climb like that, just grinding away hoping I won’t have a cardiac!
About ¾ of the way up, I heard bikes behind me, looked around and sure enough 2 cyclists were stupid enough to do the same climb. One of them was a local and rode with me to the top where he stopped with us and I quote “No offence, to get up there is a real achievement, no offence, fair play to you”! So what you’re really saying is you’re too fat to get up that snorter of a hill, no offence taken mate!!!!
He was actually a good guy and we spent the next 5 minutes having a question and answer session, made us laugh! We told him we had done LeJOG last year and doing the etape the next day, then... The quote of the week...
“Different league you boys” and said we had better stop now, you’ve done enough riding!
This had us in stitches, he obviously hasn’t heard of the Noz Brothers... He has now! So onwards on the still very, very beautiful single track road through Forests (where we shouted and made Klaxon noises and it echoed through the whole valley) switchbacks, more hills and then finally to Llyn Brianne Dam, then Llandovey for a water stop. The last 16 odd miles back to Beulah was a good ride. Lumpy and over another climb called the sugarloaf, all good training for the etape the next day that was getting ever nearer! All in all a fab ride!
After a bite to eat, the long drive to Wrexham and register for the next days suffering! We found the night digs, had a bite to eat, put the bikes in our room and got our heads down ready for the 5.45am wake up call!
Sun 9th
I have to admit, The Etape Cymru had me worried. I had only once ridden over 90 miles with nowhere near the amount of climbing. So, I was apprehensive to say the least but kind of looking forward to it in a sick way!
We left our digs at 6.15am and set off the short distance to the showground. We had a bit of a waitto lose some weight if you catch my drift then made our way to the start. Our time was 7.16am and they were pretty prompt! Bit of a chill in the air but we set off together. A few hundred yards up the road I noticed my Garmin was playing up. I pulled in to fix it and that was the last I saw of Martin. I quickly found my pace and stuck to it pretty much alone through lumpy terrain then on to the first big climb of the Horse shoe pass. It was pleasant, not too tough but quite long so a rhythm climb, nay bother!
The descent was great, managed to fly by all who had passed me up the hill, pay back! It was going along quite nicely after 35 miles, just gone through a feed station and up a small climb, it became a real struggle, looked down and noticed a spoke had broken and the wheel was so buckled it was touching the frame. I had this a few months ago and knew it was game over for the day. A marshal asked to see if I was ok and mentioned there was a mechanic at the feed station a mile previous, so I carried the bike back to get a lift back to the car. As an off chance I spoke to the mechanic, he didn’t have any spare spokes but asked to look anyway. As luck would have it, the spoke hadn’t broken but was so loose it came apart from the nipple, so was able to repair it. 20 minutes later my bike was spot on, I offered him some dosh but he didn’t take it, was a fine fellow! So back in the game.....
Mentally it was tough to get back on as I thought the day was over so had to psyche myself back up. About 4 miles later, I caught up a local guy called Mike; he had never ridden more than 55 miles so was beginning to suffer. We then proceeded to ride and chat together for most of the ride, spurring each other on and me mainly pacing him. He was cursing me as I always left him downhill, “you’re not even pedalling ya bar steward!” I explained my thoughts on descending and my so called experience of track work etc! I stopped after 75 miles to wait for Mike (who looked remarkably like the drummer from Metallica Lars Ulrich) we smashed the last 20 odd miles out together and crossed the line. He thanked me for helping him and said he would have quit otherwise. It was great for me to finish but very satisfying to have helped someone along the way. I called Bruv and met back at the car. The madman had finished a lot earlier and done another 10 mile spin!! Mad
A long journey then took us to the Lake District, it would have been much quicker but the sat nav was set to no motorways! Don’t tell them your name Pike!
We met Paul at Coniston in a very nice Bar/Hotel. Was good to see Paul as he had sat nav issues as well after having to go on a ferry! A Good night sleep was had by all!
Mon 10th
Today was a day that you emigrate to avoid! The forecast was not good and it didn’t let us down. Rain! The route for the next 2 days is the Fred Whitton Sportive route, probably the hardest 110mile sportive route in the country. We set off a little later as waiting for the rain to ease, nothing worse than starting wet! Pretty much straight into hills, joy of joys! Then after about 15 miles we start Kirkstone pass, a long pretty steep climb that ticks most boxes. I was struggling with tired legs and my back hurting as I had a backpack on for my nights stay. After what seemed like forever, I reached the top in the clouds and rain and saw Martin and Paul waiting.
We kept going as I knew a descent was on the cards and I could recover. It was raining, wet roads and pretty bad vision, nonetheless I sped off and overtook Martin. I could see a 4x4 in front with its brake lights on then off, so that should have set the alarm bells ringing, but no. Still I reached over 43mph in those conditions which would have been ok if the said 4x4 hadn’t decided to stop on a narrow part of the descent as a car was coming the other way! Brakes were applied and the bike started to skid left and right but not really slowing. At that point I was shouting at the car to move but it couldn’t. Quickly the choice was made to try and squeeze between the dry stone wall and car, unfortunately, the gap was not big enough and I hit the wall hard which threw me over the bars.
I can’t remember too much of the impact but remember getting up, feeling like that hurt and having a pop at the driver! My Bad! Martin quickly calmed me down and then Paul stopped and asked what had happened. I must admit, its still a bit of a blur but the driver was helpful and had a first aid kit that mopped me up a bit. My nose and left arm hurt lots but I tried to act as if it didn’t. The bike looked relatively unscathed apart from a bent rear hanger; Paul straightened it out so at least I could freewheel to the pub just down the hill where I could compose myself.
It was decided that Paul and Martin would ride back to get the car and I would wait in the warm dry pub and scare the customers with my bloodied and bruised face. A while later they returned and we drove to a bike shop that would hopefully be able to fix my bike, even the route was against us that day as detours were set up to avoid Whinlatter Pass due to badgers or something! They straightened my bike as best they could but it became apparent that as the hanger was bent, the gears would slip under pressure. That pretty much meant the end of hill climbing for the week! I was gutted but had nobody to blame apart from myself which of course made it worse.
We found our accommodation for the night which was great, friendly and in beautiful surroundings. I still felt a numpty and apologised to my brothers for spoiling the trip. They assured me it was fine as long as I was ok. I would try to ride as best as the bike would let me for the rest of the week!
Tues 11th
I slept ok thanks to pain killers and had a hearty breakfast. I hoped the bike and I would be ok, time would tell.
We planned another route that put us back on The Fred track, the weather was holding so back on the road! The first 15 miles was ok apart from any juddering caused a lot of pain in my arm. Then we approached Honister pass. My gears had slipped for the first time about a mile previously so was unsure how I would climb. After about 500m of 20-25% gradient, the gears were slipping like mad but I thought I could crack on. The road was damp and on a really steep bit with all my pressure on the pedals, the gear slipped and back wheel span, this caused an almighty crash. I ended up facing down the hill right in front of an old dear in a Mercedes. I think the sight of me falling in her path gave her a cardiac!! Thankfully she stopped in time without running me over! I’d cut my leg and fell on my already painful arm, and then it started to horse it down with rain! I walked the steep bits and rode the other bits as best as I could and met Paul and Martin at the top.
They asked what had happened and made the standard jokes. We cracked on towards Buttermere down a very slippy Honister pass through a stunning valley. I would like to go back and ride there again! We the decided that I would drive the car and the other 2 ride as far as they could; perhaps even manage Hardknot and Wrynose pass. Well, they both did manage it.
I tried to encourage them following in the car up a very narrow single track 10/10 hill. I stopped on occasion to video and take pics of the monumental section; it was truly steep, at least 30% in sections and a marvellous sight to see it being ridden. Some of the angles were beyond belief and at that point I felt really disappointed that I was not riding. I drove past and waited at the top to give them both encouragement and decide what would happen next. They chose to keep going and ride back to the hotel. We met there, put bikes on roof and set of to Clitheroe for our last night. Again, via “A” roads!!
We both fancied a curry so found the B&B, dropped our kit and set off for an Indian fix! Paul met us later and after a cracking meal, went back for an early ish night!
Wed 12th
After a slightly “windy” night and a few “Ian Dury and the Blockheads”, we had breakfast and psyched ourselves up for a VERY wet ride. The plan was a loop with “Nick o Pendle hill in, then travel to the tour of Britain via Waddington Fell and Trough of Bowland. Did I mention it was wet?
It rained and rained some more! The first climb was ok but I couldn’t put any power through the drive train at all without it slipping, so rode where possible and had to push the rest. Big Bruv’s carried on with the loop whilst I turned round, so frustrating. I had to get off half way up and push Nick o Pendle and the rain lashed it down. I was soaked through, Jarred off at having to push and hacked with the weather. If I didn’t love my bike so much it would have been thrown over the hedge! At that point (the top), the bruvs caught me at a low point and found it amusing!! Conversation went something like this!
“So what’s your hobby? Well, I enjoy pushing my broken bike, up a steep ruddy hill, in the rain, with cleats on that make me look like a spanner”! Laughter had by all! So... at least I could go downhill I did and went for it, made me feel better anyway. After a few miles we started Waddington Fell that was not that steep for most of it but went on a bit. I managed to ride most of it, It seemed a lot easier than last year in our LEJOG ride. I’m much fitter I guess! It was still lashing down and after the descent and another 5 ish miles, I wondered if it was worth going to the Tour of Britain, wait in the rain for half hour, watch them fly by, ride all the way back whilst still soaked through? I thought not and mentioned it to Martin. He agreed and luckily, a quaint Tea shop was right there, so we stopped, had hot soup and drink and warmed up.
After about 30 minutes, we decided to get back to the B&B I went outside and I had a front puncture, the first one of the week! It must have been where the roads were so wet, flint got through by the valve. It was too wet to fix so the big bruvs rode back and get the car to pick me up. I was ok with that, more time in the tea shop and another hot chocolate! Martin came back and picked me up and got changed out of our dripping wet clothes. Just as he did, the sun came out, sods law!
On our way home to Gloucester, we wondered why the sat nav didn’t take us on motorways, it was then that we noticed the setting “avoid motorways”. Don't tell them ya name Pike!!
A pretty uneventful journey home apart from the radio and the Hillsborough Justice for 96 decision. I was very grateful to have had the week with my brothers and also not to be too badly hurt. It could have been a LOT worse. When i was in the pub after my crash, the landlady says it happens quite often on the stretch of road. The previous week, a guy was air lifted off the road to hospital with a broken back after a very similar accident to mine. So, although the bike was not really rideable, I am alive and well, if not a little bruised and damaged pride! Hopefully I will learn!!
Until the next time.....................