This is a journal from Ian and Grahams
C2C trip in August 2001, below is Ian's journal and a few photos
of the days ride.....
Firstly the reason why we did the ride was because tragically my friends girlfriend
died of cancer in January of this year and because we both had an interest
in cycling we thought why not do the C2C for a good cause and while we were
at it make it a bit harder and do it in a day. We borrowed maps from people
who had done it over three days or so and asked loads of questions mainly 'how
hard different parts of it would be' and then came to the conclusion that loads
of training would be the best answer.
We started off with rides of about 20 miles over fairly flat roads. We could
both very easily manage this sort of distance but this was to sort of get used
to each other's pace and also to get an even start for fitness. Three or four
times a week we would go out gradually increasing the distance and trying to
keep at a good even pace. As we live in a fairly hilly area but also only a
short distance away from the Teeside area which is very flat, we could vary
our rides from quite fast and flat to all hills and very hard climbs or mix
the two areas. Every few weeks we would arrange to do a long ride and
were managing up to 100 miles by June with some very hard climbs along the
way. The fitness side of things came along very nicely, the best advice
for anyone else going to do this is get as many miles in as possible.
THANK YOU
The sponsorship we have received was also a great help, mainly the two companies
who gave us money to buy good quality cycling clothes i.e. pants and shirt
which are quite expensive but well padded pants are an essential. So many thanks
to Ian Mitchinson from Optimum Control Solutions, and Jeff Joppling from K2
Fabrication.
Also many thanks to Nissan my employer who very kindly supplied a van for backup
(and Dave Petch for driving) .This is probably the best thing we were helped
with, as without, it would have made things much harder. From just transporting
the bikes and equipment to the opposite side of the country, to carrying food
and drink, especially drinks and providing some shelter from weather it's quite
handy to prepare hot soup at the end of a long hard stage.
The ride itself, well we couldn't have
asked for a better day, at 06:30 we set off from our guest house
at Whitehaven, Glenlea House, which is right on the sea front.
We headed towards Cockermouth and onto the Keswick road. At this
time of the morning the only traffic was contractors vans and
postmen. I must say that riding towards Keswick with the sun
just coming up over the distant hills was worth the long ride
itself. This road at that time of the morning was great as it
was in very good condition i.e. well tarmacced, very smooth and
to start off with very flat. Just as we hit the outskirts of
Keswick the traffic started to increase but fortunately at this
point there is a cycle track running alongside the main road
which eventually comes to a road which leads to a place called
Greystoke. This road is superb, it's up and down but traffic
free almost and goes straight up to Penrith.
The best place to stop or just arrange to meet your back up driver in Penrith
is the Safeway supermarket. It's central and really you can't miss it, also
it's a perfect distance for a short rest just before you head towards Hartside.
 The
ride towards Hartside (Alston road) is more of a country road but is still
in good condition, and you pass through some very nice areas and a couple of
lovely villages, but the worst thing about it is, just about a mile away from
where you start to climb, it's on a bend in the road, trees on the left and
what looks like a farm on the right behind a grassed area, and it's the flies!. "For
Christ's Sake", and please excuse my French, but it was unbelievable.
They were in my hair, behind and in my glasses, my ears and when I turned around
to see my mate and there was a swarm of them around me and my mate's heads.
(the only good thing is that it urges you to go faster!) Thankfully when you
get about half way up towards Hartside they bugger off after lots of bad language
and fist shaking.
The climb up to Hartside is long but not too steep. Loads of people told us
that this would be the killer one for us. Actually if you keep a steady pace
up and once you get past the little white cottage at a sharp right turn you
have done all the hard work and the café is just 300m further.
Hartside is another great place to stop for obvious
reasons, it's a café so hot food and drink ( but not cheap to say the least)
and if the weather is not so good there's a nice fire going at one end of the
café. As we were by this point about 50mins ahead of schedule we had a good
rest for about 1 hour, but during this time we decided to change our route
slightly and instead of going to Alston we decided to go to Garrigill.
Garrigill is on a right turn off the Alston road about
2 miles from Hartside and about another 3 miles or so mainly down hill. Take
care as it's quite steep in places and with a few blind bends, going at speed
there's a junction which comes up on you very quickly! It's a good climb to
the top and the first part is quite hard, short but very steep and followed
by a long climb. On the way down to the Miners Arms Pub this was where we had
our first problem. Graham had braked quite hard descending the other side of
Garrigill and we heard a twang which was one of his spokes, then, his wheel
buckled enough to make him stop. I had my mobile phone with me which is another
must for those unseen problems, unfortunately our back up driver was about
30mins away from the van on his bike up by Rookhope. So what else could we
do but use the picket fence to wedge the wheel in and try and straighten it.
This did the job enough to get Graham from the Miners Arms Pub through Killhope
which is another quite good climb and across to Stanhope then up Crawleyside
Bank. (As you go past Killhope there are two right turn junctions which can
be very dodgy so watch out!)
At the top of Crawleyside Bank it's another good place to meet your back up
and have another short rest before you have a long, but not too steep climb
to the top of Edmundbyer Common. It has a large parking area away from the
road but take care over the cattle grid, also watch out for the very large
cement wagons trying to climb the bank with you! After 100 miles you tend to
stray towards the middle of the road going up such a steep hill. We had a cup
of hot soup waiting for us at the top and while we enjoyed that, Dave put right
Grahams wheel best he could, another good reason for a back up van.
I must say that from that point the ride is a doddle! Seriously when you get
up to the top of Edmundbyer Common it's down hill from there on and really
the only problem is the traffic from Consett to Chester-le-Street. After riding
on country roads for so long the traffic is a pain, also at 4pm on a Friday
you hit the office workers leaving work and Chester-le-Street is very busy!
The main roundabout under the A1(M) is horrendous so care is needed at this
point at this time of the day.
Dave actually lives on route and as we were approximately 1 hour ahead of schedule
we stopped at his house (near Fatfield) for an hour, as my wife and a few of
our friends could not meet us at Sunderland so early. As this turned out we
missed the worst of the traffic on the A1231 going in to Sunderland. The ride
into Sunderland was uneventful, again good condition roads but if you just
follow the signs for the National Glassworks Museum then you will see a small
roundabout with a café behind it, turn right and just follow the road around
and what a feeling you will get when you see the pier and the Smugglers Pub.
From start to finish it took us 12 hours, but worth
it all. If I do it again I would do it in two days, not because it is hard
but because we did not take in some of the sights. One day to do the C2C is
very do-able but preparation for equipment and training is a must.
We also raised almost £800 for Imperial Cancer Research and for the Special
Care Baby Unit at Bishop Auckland General Hospital (50% each)
If you wish to contact me for more information on our one day C2C adventure
then feel free to e-mail me at ISTORE4@aol.com
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