That was a tiring day - hence this blog being later than usual!
It was overcast but dry when I left Garstang. Heading pretty much due north on a B and then an A road, I was soon in Lancaster having been accompanied by a local cyclist for a couple of miles - we had a nice chat as we were riding along (although I noticed I was much more out of breath than him). Once again my route prep worked well and I easily got through the city by using a couple of cycle paths which took gave me a good view of the river Lune as I crossed over it.
I was now on the A6 and although it was busy, it was so wide and had cycle lanes on both sides, I felt perfectly safe and could make good progress. However, after a few miles I needed to stop and put my waterproofs on - I’d reached the dark grey cloud that had been looming in front for a while and yes, it was rain! For the following 15 miles the rain ebbed and flowed but didn’t quite stop but I ground along (the wind had picked up a little and was in my face).
We’d decided on a lunch break at Sizergh Castle (NT) which was just over a mile to the right of my route. Unfortunately that meant a very steep climb and then immediately a longer downhill before a less steep climb through the castle grounds - I wasn’t looking forward to doing the return after lunch!
As we are NT members it doesn’t cost us anything to get in and we know we’ll be able to get some decent grub in the cafe - plus, Jan will have somewhere interesting to be whilst waiting for me to arrive.
We had our lunch on a sheltered verandah as the rain continued to come and go. I popped over to our car and changed into a dry t-shirt - the trouble with wearing waterproofs is that although the rain doesn’t get in, not all the sweat gets out! So I had been lovely and warm whilst cycling but once I stopped and took my jacket off, my damp t-shirt had turned cold.
Anyway, now I was fed and warm, it was time to move on. During lunch I had noticed that there several marked walks around the Sizergh estate and that one of them seemed to give me the opportunity to cut out that up and down lane I’d just used. I had a quick chat with one of the estate staff to confirm it came out on the road I wanted (it did). So instead of having to retrace my steps and go up a killer hill, I had an easy traverse along a couple of tracks and popped out back on my route with pretty much minimum effort.
Those first thirty miles had been relatively hill free, but now I was entering the Lake District and had a series of (relatively) small climbs on tiny lanes across to Bowness on Windermere. Here I took the right turn that committed me to the big climb of the day - Kirkstone Pass. This is a continuous climb of about 1200 feet over the course of about 4 miles. The scenery was spectacular and I used it as an excuse to stop every now and again but by golly it was hard work to ride up! I suspect this is the longest continuous use my granny gear has ever had! The rain was still ebbing and flowing in time with the clouds bumping along the peaks on the ridge to my right, water was flowing down the road in most places - however it wasn’t spraying up off my wheels as I was going so slow! I was wondering what my heart rate stats were going to be for the hill but when I looked at my watch I noticed it was nearly out of power itself, perhaps it empathised with me? Is there an empathy feature on wearable devices? The gradient was occasionally vicious and didn’t significantly ease until the final half mile but as I crested I threw a fist into the air and shouted ”Yes!” - startling a couple of sheep down to my left. No human being witnessed my triumph though. I finished recording my ride on my watch at this point to make sure I captured the details, then restarted it for the hour it would last until the end (a bit like how I felt). The run down the other side was great but cold - I was grateful to have disc brakes as I kept catching the car in front of me!
My satnav and printed map both ended in Glenridding as that was where I had originally planned to stop but I had to carry on riding another 3 or 4 miles to Watermillock where we’d actually managed to book our accommodation. That was hard work - an easy road but I was tired and wet and cold. However, the scenery was beautiful and it wasn’t too long before I rounded a corner and spotted Jan ahead. She video’d me as I struggled the last 50 yards up the slight rise to tonight’s stop at The Ullswater View Guest House. Within minutes I was having a wonderful, hot, revitalising shower and could sit back and be pleased with my achievement - that was one hell of a climb!!
Todays stats:
Distance: 59.41 miles
Avg. speed: 10.6 mph
Max. Speed: 33.8 mph
Climbing: 4318 feet
Yellow Car Boom! Total: 95
Accumulated Distance: 510 miles
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