Coffee and Cake Ride #2 The Lane's Cafe, Cockermouth

Coffee and Cake Ride #2

My latest adventure was nice 5 mile family ride around Cockermouth, which allowed me to continue  our quest to try all the local coffee shops and tea rooms to find Cumbria's Best Coffee and Cake Stop in the World! 

The Ride

While this was just a short family ride of 5 miles, and not an epic 100 miler, they are still great fun! Riding with the kids is always entertaining and an opportunity to go exploring.  At Go Cumbria, we want to promote the outdoors to everyone; young or old, new or experienced.

The ride begins by trying to attach the bike trailer onto the bike, the arm never seems to go where you want it to, and when it finally does the bike starts to tip and you have to start all over again!

After a busy morning at nursery school Baby David was chilling in her car seat in the bike trailer being taken around by Daddy, while big sister David was on her own mountain bike and Mrs D on her shopper.

In Cockermouth we are lucky to have a cycle track which is kid friendly, it is known as the Greenway but it is the old railway line that linked Cockermouth up to Penrith.  A bit of history (from Wikipedia).

The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK&PR) was an English railway company incorporated by Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, to build a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) West Coast Main Line at Penrith. Arrangements for the use of the stations at either end (Cockermouth was already served by the Cockermouth and Workington Railway (C&WR)) were included. Passenger and goods traffic was worked by the LNWR and mineral traffic by the North Eastern Railway, both of whom had shares in the company (the NER inheriting its holding from the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which had encouraged the promotion of the line). The line was 31 ¹⁄₂ miles (50.7 km) in length, and had eight intermediate stations.

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockermouth,_Keswick_and_Penrith_Railway)

Recently otters have come back into the Tom Rudd Beck which runs along the side of the old railway. Mrs D thought she spotted one as we went whizzing past so me and my daughter went back to explore, unfortunately we didn’t find any (no doubt scaring it off as I accidentally slid a bit quickly down the muddy bank!).  The path is also a great place to spot red squirrels and rabbits, and I have seen many on my runs along the Greenway.

From the Greenway we had a stop at a local park for the eldest to play whilst the baby slept.  From the park we headed into town for a cake and coffee stop.

The Coffee Stop

Just to remind you what our scoring criteria is:

1 - Seat Comfort: The first thing to test after a hard graft in the saddle is how refreshing, relaxing, comforting and tender the visited establishments chairs are to our weather hardened and weary buttocks.
2 - Bike Friendliness: The next thing to consider is how bike friendly the place is, this isn't just about having somewhere to leave our bikes while we go inside, but it's also about staff friendliness too, if someone fails to ask how our ride is going or laughs at our stumbling around on a polished floor in cleats while wearing ridiculous lycra, that's going to knock your score down too. 
3 - Cakes: When it comes to riding around the Lake District tasting cakes at different places, what kind of a service would we be providing to you the reader if we didn't taste as many cakes as we possibly could... this one is for you Cumbria. 
4 - Cake Choice: Very important this one, we at Go Cumbria love a good cake, but we also love starring at a choice of cakes panicking about what to choose. This category should act as a good moderator for anywhere that offers the worlds best Lemon Drizzle Cake with Ice Cream Dressing... but nothing else. 
5 - Coffee / Tea: Much like the cake tasting, the importance of a good brew should not be underestimated mid ride. By the power of Greyskull a boost of warm caffeine can be the difference between cycling home or calling the wife in tears for an emergency evacuation. 

Overall Rating: A summary of the above with a max score of five Go Cumbria Chainrings

Coffee and Cake Review – The Lanes Café, Cockermouth:

...........

1 - Seat Comfort: We sat outside being a nice day and the baby was still sleeping in the bike trailer so we wanted to make sure we could see her.  This unfortunately meant that the metal table and chairs weren’t the best.  We've given it 2 chain rings.

2 - Bike Friendliness:  You could prop your bikes up outside but limited visibility if you were sitting inside and nowhere to chain them up.  However, this is made up for by staff friendliness, always served with a smile and great with the kids.  When you do take kids they have lots of toys for them to play with and keep them entertained. We've given it 3 chain rings.

3 - Cakes: Me and my daughter had an excellent cheese scone, while my wife had a Chocolate Orange tiffin Cake! We've given it 4 chain rings.

4 - Cake Choice: Always a fantastic selection and range of cake, and every time we’ve been they’ve had different cakes in.  We’ve given it 5 chain rings.

5 - Coffee / Tea: Unfortunately let down in this area, the coffee’s we had were disappointing. We've given it 1 chain rings.

Overall Rating: Overall we've given The Lane’s Café, Cockermouth 4 chain rings.

Once we were all refreshed it was back up the hill and home!

We hope you all have a great half-term and get a chance to get out and have some family fun!

Owen

Go Cumbria Team

WAG's View

Hi, I'm Mrs Paddy - Here's the WAGs View

I've been reading all of Paddy's blogs since Go Cumbria has been set up and I kept thinking, I bet I could write one of those - if Paddy can do, it can't be that hard? Right?

Well I've finally sat down to write it, a summary of the other side of Go Cumbria's adventures - mini boss is in bed, Paddy is playing with her lego (all for Bea's benefit I'm assured - he is adding an extension to the castle) and the tele isn't on so now seems a good time (although when I asked Paddy to top up my gin, he said no as he was too busy (with the aforementioned lego castle upgrades).

So hi, I'm Mrs Paddy (but Nicola will do). I've been supporting Paddy through this new venture and thought I could give you the WAG perspective of all this larking about. Specifically for this entry, supporting Paddy on the Fred.

After months of not talking to Paddy while he was out training, it seemed like the Fred was suddenly here and there was a mad dash to understand where the route was, what was expected of me, what I needed to have with me, where I needed to be. I was so worried about missing him we timed all the sections, Paddy put a beacon on his phone so I could track him during the day, and I had two maps. It was going to run like clockwork.

So the bongo bus had died (as Paddy mentioned in his post http://gocumbriaevents.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/lakeland-loop-final-pre-fred-ride.html) and that meant a night camping in Grasmere. To be honest, I was pretty happy about this as this meant no 4am wake up to drive him down there (and on a Sunday - my lie in day!). We got to Grasmere, tent pitched, spork purchased (we are now the family that own 3 sporks, the go to purchase when one forgets cutlery - rock and roll) and we left Paddy to it.

"I'll be setting off at 6, I'll be in Keswick at 8 - I need my ham sandwiches on brown bread in Keswick, 8 o'clock, Keswick, 2 hours to get there, 8 o'clock, by the car park, ham sandwiches, brown bread". Yep, Paddy was really looking forward to those sandwiches in Keswick (at 8 o'clock by the way). So we got up at 6, set off around 7:30 (did I mention my lie in day was Sunday), got to Keswick (minus sandwiches!) around 7:50 and the following message came through -  "Don't know why the beacon hasn't worked, I'm in Glenridding". Glenridding???!!! That's an hour away! There's bugger all to do in Keswick at 8am on a Sunday!! ARGH!! So I thought it would be a good idea to travel up and down the A66 (with those bloody traffic lights - seriously, hasn't it all been resurfaced yet! And don't get me started on the dual carriageway never having 2 lanes open at the same time!!) retrieve the all important sandwiches, get back to Keswick and see Paddy. Although by the time we got there, he'd already gone (minus his ham sandwiches). Turns out the signal ain't so good in Glenridding and the message had been sent further along the route. Not the best start.

Onwards to Whinlatter where as soon as cyclists started coming over, I made Bea sit by the side of the road and not move - there was no way we were missing him again. 

Happily, the sun was out, the atmosphere was amazing, we got talking to some of the other spectators, saw an old friend we hadn't seen in a while and an hour later, that yellow helmet came upwards and we met Paddy. I think he heard us before he saw us (for some reason I have a reputation for being loud - those of you who know me, know this is completely true). It was amazing seeing him come over, when you actually know one of the riders. He was in good spirits, felt fresh, refilled his water, had a quick snack and was off again. Although when he said he had beaten his previous best time over Honister by 10 minutes, I knew the advice regarding not setting off too quick had gone completely out of the window. Which was all too prevalent at the next stop.

A quick play in the park at Whinlatter (for us, not Paddy), down to the main road cautiously pipping the cyclists still on their way up, was a lovely ride to Calder Bridge. I was starting to feel like one of those support cars you see in the Tour de France - I felt like I should have had two spare bikes on the top of the car.

We parked up just as Paddy came to the feed station in Calder Bridge and oh my, what a difference a few hours makes in the Fred - his first words were "I'm very tired" (or words to that affect) and he looked it. He slumped in the chairs, forced down a Ham sandwich, cuddled with Bea, exchanged pleasantries with his dad, step-mum and grandad and after 20 minutes or so, reluctantly got back on the bike. I felt so sorry for him, he looked pretty knackered - but the thoughts of this started fading away as we all enjoyed a beverage in the sun kissed beer garden at the Stanley Arms :)

Back in the car, another trip up the A595, A66 and A591 (which I really hadn't seen enough of over the weekend) into Grasmere just in time to realise Paddy was nearly there (the beacon had started working and I had signal so I could actually track him). We managed to get to the finish line just to see him come in and he looked like a different person - big smile on his face, a bit sweaty but definitely less dead looking. I was so proud of him. I really didn't think he would make it around his target time but he pretty much did.

After letting him lie in his tent for 20 minutes, a gentle pestering to get the tent down and an ice cream later, we were driving back home.

What a great event - even though most of the supplies went untouched, even though we missed him at Keswick, mini boss and I had a brilliant time following Paddy round, supporting him, cheering him on. What a star! I would even do it all again (if he's mad enough to do it - and I'll even remember the ham sandwiches!).

Running Running Flipping Running

Running Running Flipping Running

Well, after a winter on the bike training for thePuffer and the Fred. The Fred is over and it's time to get back to other forms of hurtling around the Lake District than on my marvellous road bike. I've been avoiding anything that might lead to injury before the Fred so I don't end up crocked, things like Mountain Biking have been well and truly on the back shelf and I can't wait to get back onto my MTB. I've also avoided running for a while during my Fred preparations, leaving that to Owen who is definitely the expert in the field. 

This week I dug out my running shoes, still muddy from their last outing and decided to get back to it. Mrs Paddy has signed us up to do Total Warrior in August, so I figured some practice is required and it is probably worth getting used to having stiff calves, sore knees and dodgy hips all over again before the main event so it doesn't come as a massive surprise come August when I'm running around Shap in the wet and cold. 

I usually avoid running, but on my first outing this week, a brief 2 mile run to the garage to collect the broken down Bongo Bus, which is now running again, I had an epiphany. Instead of not enjoying it and hating every minute I suddenly realised and remembered all the things I love about running. When I say all the things... I mean one... and when I say love... I mean... I flipping hate running. 

I have no idea how Owen does it for 40 odd miles, hats off to you its bleeding hard work. When I tell people I did the Fred (and believe me I tell a lot of people, I can turn any conversation around to me doing the Fred - a bit like when Mrs Paddy did the London Marathon, ask her for the time or talk to her about the weather one day and I am sure she will tell you about it) they are impressed, but to be honest, riding a bike is easy, if nothing else I'm sat down all the time so it isn't that much more difficult than watching TV. But running! There is no escape from running, it is just constant hard work, and if you sit down mid run, you stop running! 

Anyway, there are parts of running I love, I enjoy being outside in the countryside, running through trails and fields, the pace of running is slower than cycling or driving so it is great to be that bit closer to your surroundings and part of the action. I love how much time it gives you to think and ponder over things and it is a really good way to keep fit too, no matter how far, fast or long you're running it is a really good way to get a cardio workout and keep off the pounds I'm piling on from my Cake and Coffee stops while cycling. Though all that said my favourite bit of running is getting home, having a brew and moaning about running. 

Anyway, it's part of a rounded fitness routine I suppose so I better keep it up, maybe I should try fell running, I always liked the idea of that, no idea why, but I might give it a go over the summer before I change my mind. 

I'm not sure if this blog helps keep you motivated for running? But if it does or if you've any hints or tips to make it a bit more fun please let us know by getting in touch or sharing your adventures with the hashtag #GoCumbria on twitter or instagram, or just comment on our facebook page.

Paddy

Coffee and Cake Ride #1

Coffee and Cake Ride 

Our latest adventure was less of an adventure and more of a civic duty, a quiet, slow ambling 35 mile social ride to Whitehaven and back as we start our quest to try all the local coffee shops and tea rooms to find Cumbria's Best Coffee and Cake Stop in the World! 

We started from Cockermouth and headed out towards Lorton, repeating some of the world famous Fred Whitton route, driven on by not being 60+ miles into the UK's most difficult sportive and also by the thought of coffee and a cake whilst riding we set about our scoring system for rating our coffee break sport. 

The most important thing of course was the rating system, rather than the usual star rating system, we of course settled on chainrings. I don't know about you, but when we think bike rides and cakes, we don't think stars, we think chainrings. 

Anyway, back to the ride; as we rode through Loweswater I realised I was in a much better mood than I was 6 days earlier when competing in the Fred, Loweswater is a beautiful place and the scenery, as you can see from the photos round there is amazing. A fact that completely passed me by last week (you can read about that in my previous blog) when I was tired and grumpy. 

We headed from Loweswater towards Ennerdale and continued to discuss how we were actually going to rate our coffee stops (by coffee stops we also mean tea stops). The categories we came up with and a brief explanation are as below; 

1 - Seat Comfort: The first thing to test after a hard graft in the saddle is how refreshing, relaxing, comforting and tender the visited establishments chairs are to our weather hardened and weary buttocks.

2 - Bike Friendliness: The next thing to consider is how bike friendly the place is, this isn't just about having somewhere to leave our bikes while we go inside, but it's also about staff friendliness too, if someone fails to ask how our ride is going or laughs at our stumbling around on a polished floor in cleats while wearing ridiculous lycra, that's going to knock your score down too. 

3 - Cakes: When it comes to riding around the Lake District tasting cakes at different places, what kind of a service would we be providing to you the reader if we didn't taste as many cakes as we possibly could... this one is for you Cumbria. 

4 - Cake Choice: Very important this one, we at Go Cumbria love a good cake, but we also love starring at a choice of cakes panicking about what to choose. This category should act as a good moderator for anywhere that offers the worlds best Lemon Drizzle Cake with Ice Cream Dressing... but nothing else. 

5 - Coffee / Tea: Much like the cake tasting, the importance of a good brew should not be underestimated mid ride. By the power of Greyskull a boost of warm caffeine can be the difference between cycling home or calling the wife in tears for an emergency evacuation. 

Overall Rating: A summary of the above with a max score of five Go Cumbria Chainrings

From Ennerdale we headed West, over Steel Brow towards Whitehaven. Our mid ride coffee and cake stop, the first of our cake and coffee tour of Cumbria began at Annas, on the Whitehaven Marina. 

Coffee and Cake Review - Annas Whitehaven:

...........

1 - Seat Comfort: There was a range of seating available in Anna's, including some old theatre seats.  The café was pretty busy so we ended up on some bar stools, bar stools are not always the most comfortable on weary buttocks.  We've given it 2 chain rings.

2 - Bike Friendliness:  You could prop your bikes up outside and wherever you sat inside you could still view your bike, which is good, but you couldn't lock them up if you wanted to. We've given it 2 chain rings.



3 - Cakes: Had an excellent Rocky Road very good! We've given it 4 chain rings.



4 - Cake Choice: Unfortunately a poor cake choice, just the Rocky Road and a gluten-free Chocolate cake.  We like a wide range of cakes to choose from.  We've only given this a 1 chain ring.



5 - Coffee / Tea: We both had an Americano, which we both agreed was really good. We've given it 4 chain rings.



Overall Rating: Overall we've given Anna's in Whitehaven 3 chain rings.

From Whitehaven, refreshed and full of Rocky Road we headed back out onto the road and back to Cockermouth, the ride back was shorter than we initially planned, Mrs Paddy was off out dirty boozing Saturday night so we had to get back fairly sharpish as not to incur her wrath... Also it was Eurovision night and I didn't want to miss a thing.

If you have any suggestions of any coffee and cake stops we should make let us know, we are always willing participants!

Paddy and Owen