C2C in a Day...
C2C in a day aka a masterclass in what can be achieved with little to no preparation.
So, the big day arrived, Saturday saw my C2C in a day attempt. All I say to anyone planning this is make sure you prepare better than I did. Plan a route, winging it is fun but it can lead to a few difficult moments. Usually just when you don't want them. Also eat right, don't make the mistake of not eating the correct foods or not eating at all. Basically plan the day well and the rest will fall into play, as they say proper planning prevents poor performance!
So I set my alarm for a 5am start and went to bed after a tea of crackers, cheese and crisps. What better preparation could one ask for. Then I got up and thought about downloading a route to my Garmin so I didn't get lost. I woke up and my alarm hadn't gone off, so I decided that since I was up before my alarm I might as well set off... it was 0545 - apparently I hadn't set my alarm properly and I was running late. By the time I arrived at the start of the route it was half 6 and I was already an hour and a half late.
The weather was epic, a beautiful Cumbrian day and the views were fantastic (this is not true, it was cold and wet and miserable - but the views were fantastic). I got into Keswick around 8am and looked for my first food stop - reference my initial advice about planning the route - at no point in my 5 minute planning session did I ever imagine that shops or cafes wouldn't be open when I wanted to eat. 8am is not a good time in Keswick to get food. By this time I was pretty hungry, running late when I left the house I skipped breakfast to get on the road. 8am in Keswick this seemed like a bad idea.
I rode past the stone circle and hoped the ice cream van would be there, but it wasn't so I sulked a little and pressed on to Penrith where I found myself a Greggs. I gauged on a healthy breakfast of a bacon butty a coffee and a bottle of water... #Athlete!
Beyond Penrith we started the fun part of the ride, the slow raise up to the top of the world in the Penines. This is where I discovered that the route I had downloaded was probably not sufficient. Advice time from me again, if you do download a route, that's great, if you don't that's ok too, but if you do download one you don't have to follow it blindly you can go off piste from this route AND FOLLOW THE C2C SIGNS. There are loads of C2C signs and there are a few different routes - I arrived at one such set of signs and they said C2C road route left C2C off road route right... my Garmin said go right so without questioning it I went for it and had what I can only describe as the most miserable climb on a road bike in the rain I can possibly imagine up Hartside! As shown in the photo below;
It was bleeding hard work and not at all what I needed. I think the road route will be a bit better for next time. The terrain was so interesting that I was overtaken by several guys on motocross motorbikes out for a jolly on the track! The puddle shown in the photo above was a lot deeper than I expected it to be, it came up to my knees! And in case you were wondering I can confirm it was as cold and wet as you're imagining it is!
I reached the top of Hartside and pressed on, lots of climbing later I arrived in the lovely village of Allenheads. I stopped in a cafe called the Hemmel Cafe - it was warm, they did good food, good coffee and good cake. So I set myself up by the open fire, called my wife and called it quits. 81 miles into the journey and 40 miles to go I was very wet and very grumpy and totally fed up. C2C in a day attempt 1 - fail!
Lots of Learning for attempt 2 though!
Next time I will use a bit more common sense and go on the road... or use a more appropriate bike... or plan to do the journey in the summer so the weather is a bit more friendly.
The pictures below sum up how I was feeling during the day! How I was feeling about my ride, my life choices and my bike!
Also, why is the Northumberland sign so much nicer than the Cumbria one?
So, the big day arrived, Saturday saw my C2C in a day attempt. All I say to anyone planning this is make sure you prepare better than I did. Plan a route, winging it is fun but it can lead to a few difficult moments. Usually just when you don't want them. Also eat right, don't make the mistake of not eating the correct foods or not eating at all. Basically plan the day well and the rest will fall into play, as they say proper planning prevents poor performance!
So I set my alarm for a 5am start and went to bed after a tea of crackers, cheese and crisps. What better preparation could one ask for. Then I got up and thought about downloading a route to my Garmin so I didn't get lost. I woke up and my alarm hadn't gone off, so I decided that since I was up before my alarm I might as well set off... it was 0545 - apparently I hadn't set my alarm properly and I was running late. By the time I arrived at the start of the route it was half 6 and I was already an hour and a half late.
The weather was epic, a beautiful Cumbrian day and the views were fantastic (this is not true, it was cold and wet and miserable - but the views were fantastic). I got into Keswick around 8am and looked for my first food stop - reference my initial advice about planning the route - at no point in my 5 minute planning session did I ever imagine that shops or cafes wouldn't be open when I wanted to eat. 8am is not a good time in Keswick to get food. By this time I was pretty hungry, running late when I left the house I skipped breakfast to get on the road. 8am in Keswick this seemed like a bad idea.
I rode past the stone circle and hoped the ice cream van would be there, but it wasn't so I sulked a little and pressed on to Penrith where I found myself a Greggs. I gauged on a healthy breakfast of a bacon butty a coffee and a bottle of water... #Athlete!
Beyond Penrith we started the fun part of the ride, the slow raise up to the top of the world in the Penines. This is where I discovered that the route I had downloaded was probably not sufficient. Advice time from me again, if you do download a route, that's great, if you don't that's ok too, but if you do download one you don't have to follow it blindly you can go off piste from this route AND FOLLOW THE C2C SIGNS. There are loads of C2C signs and there are a few different routes - I arrived at one such set of signs and they said C2C road route left C2C off road route right... my Garmin said go right so without questioning it I went for it and had what I can only describe as the most miserable climb on a road bike in the rain I can possibly imagine up Hartside! As shown in the photo below;
It was bleeding hard work and not at all what I needed. I think the road route will be a bit better for next time. The terrain was so interesting that I was overtaken by several guys on motocross motorbikes out for a jolly on the track! The puddle shown in the photo above was a lot deeper than I expected it to be, it came up to my knees! And in case you were wondering I can confirm it was as cold and wet as you're imagining it is!
I reached the top of Hartside and pressed on, lots of climbing later I arrived in the lovely village of Allenheads. I stopped in a cafe called the Hemmel Cafe - it was warm, they did good food, good coffee and good cake. So I set myself up by the open fire, called my wife and called it quits. 81 miles into the journey and 40 miles to go I was very wet and very grumpy and totally fed up. C2C in a day attempt 1 - fail!
Lots of Learning for attempt 2 though!
Next time I will use a bit more common sense and go on the road... or use a more appropriate bike... or plan to do the journey in the summer so the weather is a bit more friendly.
The pictures below sum up how I was feeling during the day! How I was feeling about my ride, my life choices and my bike!
Also, why is the Northumberland sign so much nicer than the Cumbria one?
