To Skegness and back (200 mile ride)

Stats

• Distance: 200 miles total ride (90 miles to Skegness, 90 miles back and 20 additional miles on the A6)

• Elevation: 7250ft

• Average speed: 14.3MPH including many water bottle and food stops

Myself and Catherine have spoke about this ride for a few months, 3 days prior to the ride we had a date spare and decided off the cuff to go out and ride it. I plotted the route and it said only 7250ft of climbing which to me sounded as flat as a pancake as this would be the elevation for my usual 40 mile rides in the peak district!

We set off at 4:30 AM (much to Catherine's despair) and had two hours of cycling in the dark with rain that was not forecasted but after this we had lovely weather of approximately 20 degrees . The route throughout the whole ride was flat, especially as we went through Lincolnshire. My satmap was playing up on me once again but due to the direct route of heading East we didn’t get massively misplaced which kept our morals high as no one likes getting lost and losing time looking at sign posts.  

Our first ever gated road we have came across

We made great time getting to Skegness and arrived at 11:10 AM (5hr 46mins), we stopped off for some obligatory chips at the sea front, took a photo and then carried on cycling back home. We both felt pretty fresh and wasn’t too daunted that we were only halfway. The hardest point was forcing the food down us, but if we didn’t, we knew that we would inevitably bonk (learning from past experience).

Skegness beach

However, the way back home was tough, we had very strong headwinds for the whole way, I have never experienced this before, it felt like we were cycling in treacle which in turn reduced out average speed by over 6MPH! At times, this became demoralising as the scenery of Lincolnshire is very monotonous, so it became difficult to take your mind of our slow snail pace when comparing it to the times we made getting to Skegness. But we kept spinning our legs or in my case, free wheeling ( I don't think Catherine approved of my noisy hubs though), having regular stops to fill up our water bottles and fuelling our bodies with endless amounts of cereal bars. Catherine even sang along the way which also made me cycle faster (not that she was terrible at all, just that we had something to focus on).

The route was exactly the same both ways, but because of the lack of memorable scenery, I barely could remember it, which is unheard of for myself as I tend to remember a route off by heart after one ride. But this certainly wasn’t memorable at all, it just looked the same throughout!

Once we made it back to home, I was determined to round up the milage to 200 miles (180 currently), I proposed this to Catherine and she accepted to continue after little persuasion. We blasted up to Matlock and back via the A6, this was slightly strange as we were holding 20 mph in sections, it felt like we hadn’t already cycled 180 miles, but I think the excitement of sleep was the driving force as we had been on the bike for more than 12 hours which took a toll on the body.

To conclude, this is currently my longest ride (previous 182 with Alan in Wales), the route was fairly boring, but I am glad I have completed the challenge. I don't think I will cycle it again just because it wasn’t the most scenic ride Im used too. However, we both completed it comfortably and wasn’t hanging on at any point. It has been great training for our LEJOG ride in the summer as we mentally now we can do the distance.

A massive well done to Catherine who smashed her first 200 miles after minimal training due to an operation a few months back, you are incredibly strong minded and a great laugh on the bike who kept us going when the wind got tough. You even perceived through some nasty saddle sores and some funny looking cyclist tan lines/burns!

The effects of 14 hours on a bike

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Catherine’s Write up

I crawled out of bed at 4am, completely unaware of what to expect. My longest previous ride had been 115 miles and let’s just say that, by the end of it, I was clinging on by the skin of my teeth! 

After fuelling up with some mighty Weetabix, we set off, met by drizzle for the first 25 miles, something that we hadn’t expected. After a few slight GPS issues, we made it out of Nottinghamshire and into Lincolnshire. The rain had stopped, the sun was beginning to shine and spirits were high. We (well, mainly me) were counting each 10 miles down, breaking the route into more mentally-easier distances!
Lincoln was....erm, flat? Not much else to say really. A few beautiful fields of poppies, but apart from that there wasn’t much. Very different to the rolling country side of Derbyshire, that we’re used to. The high spirits continued throughout the outward ride, especially with 25 miles to go when we started to see signs to Skegness – the half way point was in sight and chips awaited! 

We were greeted  by glorious sunshine and blue sky and after a quick visit to the beach (where I desperately tried not to get sand in my shoes) we headed to find a cafe. The owner was super friendly and chatted away about various cycling stories, before sending us on our way (Wyke even remembered to get his water bottles filled up, unlike me...).

Obligatory photo to prove we went to the coast 

After 92 miles to get to Skegness, we were feeling astoundingly fresh, and I was just waiting for my legs to give up on me. Somehow, that didn’t happen, which was a lovely surprise! The first 50 miles back wasn’t so fun, a strong headwind all the way and a lack of interesting scenery made it fairly demoralising. I kept offering to play ‘I went to the shop and bought’ or ‘a is for antelope, b is for baboon’ but Wykeham insisted that we kept the mind games for emergencies only. So I had to settle for singing to myself. 

Our average speed drastically dropped due to the headwind, but we just kept pedalling and spinning the legs. Once we got back into Nottinghamshire, thanks to the hedges and hills, the headwind reduced and spirits rose. Thanks to several food stops, copious cereal bars and 6l of fluid, we were still doing well, in Wyke’s words, ‘we were smashing it’. We were covering the miles and had our energy had not yet diminished – all was well! 

As we returned into Derbyshire, we discussed adding a 20 mile loop to achieve a total of 200 miles. If we had cycled 182 miles and been in the saddle for 12 hours, we might as well do the extra 20 right? Luckily, after little persuasion, I agreed that I would regret it if I didn’t complete the 200 miles, although in my head, I was just waiting for my legs to give up on me. 

It was more that I really really wanted to sleep, but after cycling past the turn off to home, I’d committed to the full 200. The lure of knowing that all that stood between me and an amazing night’s sleep was 20 miles, definitely gave me a spurt of energy. Somehow we averaged 20mph for the last 20 miles and I climbed the last hill faster than I ever had before, and finished it still feeling okay. 

What a day it was! We both smashed our previous furthest distance and had a thoroughly enjoyable day in the process. I’m not sure I’ll return to Lincolnshire to cycle any time soon, especially to cycle in a Westerly direction! 

A day on, I have horrendous cyclist tan lines but they were totally worth it for the day we had! At least it didn’t rain all day!

Horton in Ribblesdale (Yorkshire) to Home (Derbsyhire)

This was a spontaneous decision that could be deemed reckless by some. I did 10 minutes of planning on the day we set off to the Yorkshire Dales to undertake the Yorkshire three peaks walk. I packed my gigantic saddle bag from Alpkit with nutrition, a bivvy bag and some warm clothes. I then quickly loaded a route onto my Satmap that was automated by the ’komoot’ app, it would plot a ride using quiet roads, cycle networks and bridleways! This was the first time I have used the app for a long distance ride, but I had full trust that it would take me through some nice traffic free areas, after a few successful trial attempts in the Peak District.

Horton In Ribblesdale to Settle

I set off at 9:30am from Horton in Ribblesdale, my legs were feeling pretty fresh considering I walked the Three Peaks the day before and I started cycling to Settle, but for some unknown reason, I had a technological conundrum. My GPS had failed me, it kept turning off and it wouldn’t load the route fast enough. I was only 5 miles into the ride but I was determined to cycle home, I didn’t want to quit this early on and ring my parents who were probably still in the car park from where I set off. Therefore, I recklessly decided to just start cycling and see where it lead. But, When reflecting on this decision, it was rather silly, I had no previous knowledge of the area and I didn’t even know if i was heading in the right direction until I set a feature on my watch to give me a digital compass. 

Settle to Long Preston

But, I saw a sign post for the Pennine Bridleway just past Settle, I got onto 'Mitchell lane' and decided to follow it because I knew this would eventually lead to Middleton top. However, I underestimated the terrain for my gravel bike, I did a few miles of the bridelway and I knew I couldn’t do much more of it, it was proper mountain bike terrain, steep rocky climbs and decents with mud that my skinny tyres just couldn’t get traction on. (The bridleway is definitely on the bucket list for next year if i can find any other looney to undertake it with). Therefore, I got off the track at Long Preston and back onto the roads , but once again, having no clue where I was,  I persisted and carried on spinning my legs.  It was a strange feeling of having no knowledge of the area, but I enjoyed the freedom of exploring the new landscape with having a total new eye to area.

Pennine Bridleway

Long Preston to Foulridge
After a few miles of lovely quiet roads, I descended down the road from West Marton and saw a National Cycle Route 68 sign that lead to Barnoldswick via the Leeds and Liverpool canal system. I quickly turned and it became a pot of gold, the canal path was fantastic, I saw very few people apart from the pleasant Canal boat users (I even saw an old couple in the full nude taking in the sun on the roof of their boat!). After passing Barnoldswick, I decided to carry on the canal and see where it lead as it was just brilliant, grass paths all to myself, what more could I need (a map, compass and maybe an idea where I was), at this point I was thoroughly enjoying it and I didn't take much notice of where I was heading to!

Ridehalgh to Hebden Bridge

I got to the end of the canal and started to ride through a few towns and then out into the countryside once more. I then got to a steep road called Ridehalgh, the views was stunning and then further along the valley I looked over towards Widdop reservoir which was incredibly peaceful. Fortunately due to the constant hills around Derbyshire the multiple 20% hills didn't faze me and when there is n up there normal is a brilliant down which always doesn't last as long as I hope.

Ridehalgh climb

After loosing myself into the stunning scenery...BANG. I thought it was a gunshot, but no, it was a pinch flat puncture. I had been dreading this moment, as putting tyres onto my new wheels at home with beefy tyre levers was near on impossible. I was in the middle of nowhere, no traffic or cyclists were passing me and I was frantically trying to change my inner tube on the rear wheel. The damage of this pinch flat was massive, it left a great slash of 30cm in the tube meaning it couldn't be repaiarable. It was quite typical as it was my first puncture for the year and considering I have rode over mountainbike terrain consisting of sharp rocks and scree, I punctured on  tarmac as smooth as a velodrome!. After many strong words with myself and the bike (not that it would help but it did relieve some tension) and 2 tyre levers that looked liked bananas later, I somehow got my tyre on. All I had now to do was to pump the tyre up......some interesting and tedious pumping actions/techniques later with my miniature pump (Im glad no cars passed at this point as my pumping technique may have looked a little strange at times) the bike was finally rideable, I had all fingers and toes crossed for the rest of the ride that this would not happen again as it took almost an hour to get me back on the road again and it was a demoralising part, but, as with all endurance events, you have to get back into that positive mindset or it can soon grind you down!

The cyclists nightmare

Therefore, I got back on my bike and started peddling like I was in a race in order to vent some frustration and anger out, this didn't last long, 5 minutes in and I was panting like dog (It always amazes me how the mindset fluctuates to positive and negative feelings during many hours in the saddle). I reached civilisation at a lovely village called Heptonstall, I saw a quaint cafe, filled up my water bottle and brought a trusty milkshake (a standard purchase during my cafe stops that provides a vital moral boost and break from water and juice). A few guzzles in and an old man on his vintage bike tapped me on the shoulder, complementing my bicycle and asking if i was going somewhere nice, I responded ‘I will be honest, I have no clue where im going…i'm heading to Derbyshire at somepoint hopefully’ this man gave me a strange look of confinement, but fortunately he had a wealth of cycling knowledge and was going to the Eroica weekend in Derbyshire. After a nice chat about the route, he kindly directed me towards a canal path from Hebden Bridge which goes all the way to Macclesfield.

Hebden Bridge to Manchester
This was great as it allowed me to stick to a route and cover some distance without having to look at signs, it started off to be a lovely trail going though Todmorden, Walden and surrounding places but as I got to Rochdale and littleborugh, the scenery began to decline.This time I was dodging needles and broken beer bottles to avoid punctures compared to the common scree, rocks and pot holes I'm normally used to in the Peak District and country side. Slightly further on,  I passed a cyclist who was on his fat bike trying to find where his puncture was on his ginormous inner tube, luckily for him he was next to a canal, so dousing the tube in the water was of great help, but I don't envy carrying a spare tube that was the size of  his rucksack! At this point it definitley made me even more cautious when cycling, as I didn't want to puncture in this area. After a few decisions that was more forced upon me (the area became unsafe to continue due to excessive drinking and drug taking) I came off the canal path and ended up in the city of Manchester. This was no better, I dont know if I was more safe next to some interesting people on the canal or the busy roads and roundabouts in this densely populated city. This was a low point for me as I hate city cycling, cars were missing me by inches at certain points. I turned off a main road and onto a council estate (another wrong decision that I needed to get out of quick), I saw a sign for a park and thought great but this wasn't a park I was used to, it was full of groups of hooded teenagers and there was me in my tight lycra sticking out like a saw thumb. After much verbal abuse/banter from thirteen looking children, I once again took another turning to escape this area. I think my heart rate for these hours of 'excitement' was higher than any of my sprint efforts and i was only tootling around trying to avoid having my bicycle stolen or getting a puncture.

Manchester to New mills to Whaley bridge
Luckily, this horrible period ended, I saw another canal (cycle route way 6) and became amazed by how many I had been on during the day, it had a great map and displayed that if I continued on it I would reach Whaley Bridge. This was the best news I saw all day, what a relief that was. It meant I would be getting close to known and comfortable territory of the Peak District. By this point, I had been on the saddle for over 9 hours so I needed some substantial food before all of the shops shut before I carried on during the evening section. After a few miles of keeping my eyes peeled I came across a Tescos before the end of the canal....Damn it was shut after 4 on sunday's, but fortunately there were enough supplies in the petrol station to keep me going. I brought some pasta, strapped 2 bottles of milkshake to my saddle bag and set off again to Whaley Bridge. This canal was brilliant and was much more scenic than the previous terrifying hours (I must explore it again!)

Necessary rehydration and refuel

Whaley Bridge to Buxton
After reaching Whaley Bridge, I followed the signs to Buxton. This was a massive moral boost as once I was there, all I had to do then was get on the High Peak Trail and put my head down and I would eventually arrive close to home. But, I didn't expect the long gruelling hill to get to Buxton (it felt hard but when I reviisit the climb it will more than likely be easy and it was inevitable down to my mental strength declining but to give me some reassurance that it was difficult the road was called 'long hill'). This road seemed to be never needed with endless times that i thought id reach the summit but finally I had a great descent into Buxton.

Buxton to Cromford

After a quick climb out of Buxton I reached my common rode trail.  I put my head down and averaged over 18mph, along high peak trail, flying down sheep pasture over some rugged wooden sleepers and then all that was left was the final flourish along Cromford Canal. 

To conclude this ride  was definitely an experience I won't forget, I still don't know to this day how I managed to get home in one piece, not getting majorly lost and to do it in a day. After viewing the route on Strava,  I could have only shortened the ride by 30 miles, and avoided the busy roads and cities but hey ho it was a great learning experience and a memory i won’t forget. It made me appreciate quality gear more and the peak district but more importantly having a bivvy bag and extra food keeps your mind at rest that you will have a place to sleep wherever you may get to.

Tips for next time

• Always have a back up navigation unit (invest in a phone and stop being a hermit)

• Upgrade to tubeless to prevent being stranded in more rural locations

• Plan for longer than 10 minutes and research food/drink stops along the way

• Use cycle networks and canals for routes (they really are ace)

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk

The Yorkshire Three Peaks walk is approximately 24 miles which takes on the peaks Pen-Y-Ghent, Whernside and Inglebourough which sums the total of (5200ft) ascent. This is a widely renowned challenge that walkers aim to complete in under 12 hours, there is a also a fell race and a slightly different cyclocross bike race option throughout the year too. 

I undertook this walk with my Dad as a replacement for the proposed repeated walk of the Wainwrights Coast to Coast. Unfortunately due to his knee injury, we had to have a rethink of what his body could physically take, he was well aware that this would further damage his knee but with our impatient nature, we had to do some form of exercise in the outdoors. Therefore due to my worrying mother, she offered support for the day in case he couldn't complete the route. We had two checkpoints/bailout options in place for him at Ribblehead (10 miles in near the via duct which was after Penyghent and before the second peak of Whernside) and on the B6255 on Low Sleights road which was after whernside summit (17 miles in) and just before the last climb up to Ingleborough.

Horton In Ribblesdale to Pen-Y-Ghent (Peak 1)

We set off at 6am from Horton In Ribblesdale with a few other walkers ahead of us. Peak number one (Pen-Y-Ghent) was only 2.5 miles away. I was all wrapped up to prevent the pesky midges from eating me before I started the walk, but this became a regret as I began to overheat as we got into the first climb, which instantly  became very uncomfortable. This section was very pleasant, moral was high, the legs was fresh and because dad had completed this walk twice before I was fully aware of what was ahead of me in terms of hills and tricky sections.

The gradual climb with Pen-Y-Ghent in the background 

Pen-Y-Ghent Climb

   

                                                                                                        The weather was overcast, but hot, which was maintained throughout the day, this made photography tricky but it was much better than the predicted showers that never came to fruition. 

The climb was mainly steady from Horton in Ribblesdale until we got to the bottom of Pen-Y-Ghent, I had done this peak before so I knew a slight scramble would occur. I quickly climbed like a mountain goat and set my camera up to get some landscape shots before Dad arrived a few minutes later, however, the sun was in an awkward angle and we was just inline with the fog. This was a nice peak to start with as it wasn't too tricky to walk up, it was early on the walk and is a great moral booster knowing that you only have two more significant climbs to do. 

A memorable moment for me on this peak, was a group of walkers (approximately aged 70), this highlighted to me how accessible and achievable walking is for all ages. It really is a brilliant activity that I dont always appreciate when doing more intense sports. The biggest advantage with walking is you take in the scenery much more, but i do find it more mentally challenging than other endurance events due to the lack of distance you cover during a day.

We finally reached the summit, which became populated by a few walkers and marshalls who were key checkpoints for charity fund-raising groups. It took just under an hour to reach the first summit (on schedule), all we had to do now was a gentle decent down the peak and through the valley to Ribblehead viaduct (Checkpoint 1)

Pen-Y-Ghent summit 

Pen-Y-Ghent to Whernside (Peak 2)

Ribblehead viaduct

The decent down Pen-Y-Ghent was fairly steady, their was a clear rocky path throughout, which made navigation easy (I didnt even need to use a satmap or map for the whole route). The valley was spectacular as I observed and noted the many bridleways that I could take my bike through in the future. We reached the first checkpoint at Ribblehead, had some snacks in the campervan and set off. We traversed the Ribblehead railway/viaduct for a few miles and took the long gradual climb to the summit. 

Due to the long stop at checkpoint one, the path became densely populated by other walkers seeking the Three peaks challenge. It was almost like a pilgrimage, you could see groups of walkers ahead of you creating a line that you just had to follow! The atmosphere was fantastic and humorous, as listening to walkers who were constantly staring at their GPS/Garmins saying 'If we go 0.2MPH faster, we could complete the walk in x amount of time’ The competitive nature was beginning to open up, even though it wasn’t a race or an event. But this ambitious pace didn’t last for long, many walkers ahead of us were breathing very heavily from trying to increase their pace, but the long arduous climb to Whernside made them suffer. 

The effects of trying to push for a faster time, led to carrying dogs and children!

Once we reached the summit, we did the compulsory touch of the trig point (if you don't have you even went to the summit?) and cautiously began to make our way down . However, the decent was very steep in places with seriously  rocky boulders that you had to shuffle down or weave your way through to prevent the ankle twists and injury. This took a toll on Dad's knee and he began to severely limp and struggle. I began to doubt if he would complete this, as we still had one more peak to go and another 7 miles, but with his perseverance and taking a huge painkiller tablet, he started to skip down the hill like he didn't even have an injury. 

Whernside decent

Whernside to Ingleborough (Peak 3)

Checkpoint 2

We then reached the last checkpoint, Dad was determined to complete the walk even if it would complete destroy him, so we continued to plod on. It was 2 miles to the last peak of Inglebough, the first mile and a half was a steady ascent but then there we hit a pretty steep scramble. 

By this time many walkers surrounding us looked fatigued and began to doubt their ability for the final, but due to the strategic pub and ice cream van location, their moral became boosted and they swiftly started walking.

The start of the climb to Ingleborough

My competitive nature kicked in and I climbed this as fast as I could overtaking many frustrated/fatigued walkers. This was a brutal section, due to the distance we had already covered, but, after gritting my teeth I reached the final summit. In my opinion it was the hardest peak, maybe due to some slightly tired legs but the nature of the climb led to you being on all hands and knees at times. Once Dad reached the summit and he got his breath back we carried on once more, the route doubled back slightly and all we had left now was the decent through the valley to Horton In Ribblesdale.

Ingleborough to Horton In Ribblesdale 

The last section was all downhill, there were many runners increasing their speeds as we hit the final stretch. There were even walkers who began to run which became humorous because if they had less of a stop sipping coffee on the trig points, they wouldn't have needed to exert their body. The views throughout was amazing, which is a credit to the preserved landscape of the Yorkshire dales and the fine efforts from volunteers mending the footpaths and erosion. 

To conclude, the three peaks walk was stunning. The atmosphere was great with loads of like minded walkers of a vast array of ability and ages. The challenge is fairly tough, but with great views and scenery it is easy to complete if you have competent fitness and confidence on technical terrain. Hopefully I will do the fell race next year and maybe the cycle cross race, but, that is a brutal undertaking that requires more time to ponder over and practice hauling a bike up steep hills. I don't understand how cyclists can do that terrain but I do understand why its one of the hardest cyclocross races ever to exist

We completed the walk in 9hr 17mins which was a steady pace that allowed us to have a few foods stops.