Celebrating a Milestone: Coast-to-Coast in a Day

 Last week, I achieved a significant milestone in my academic journey: completing the first full draft of my PhD thesis. This extensive work, totaling 100,000 words across 350 pages, delves into the social inclusion implications for interns with special educational needs, specifically examining their transition from education to employment. It marked the culmination of three years of intense writing and significant personal sacrifices, particularly in the realm of sport. To celebrate this accomplishment, I decided to undertake a challenge of a different kind—a coast-to-coast bike ride across England, covering 158 miles and 15,000 feet of elevation in a single day.

The idea for the ride came to me just five days prior, with little in the way of recent cycling preparation or fitness. I reached out to two of my friends, Kris and Craig, to see if they would be interested in joining me on this challenging endeavour. Both agreed without hesitation, and my father also offered to support us by driving the support vehicle. The plan was set: we would take on the St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay route, a challenging and scenic path that crosses some of England’s most stunning landscapes.

The Route: St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay

The coast-to-coast route we chose is one of the more challenging cycling routes in the UK, spanning 158 miles from St Bees on the west coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on the east coast. This route, inspired by Alfred Wainwright’s legendary fell-walking trail, traverses three of England’s most beloved national parks: the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors. Unlike other coast-to-coast routes that cyclists often complete over several days, we aimed to tackle this one in a single day.

The decision to take on this specific route was not arbitrary. I had walked Wainwright’s coast-to-coast trail several times in the past, and I was drawn to the idea of cycling a path that held personal significance. Additionally, I had been inspired by a documentary from the Global Cycling Network that highlighted the route's hardcore nature, including Hardknott Pass—the toughest cycling climb in the United Kingdom.

Hardknott Pass: The Ultimate Challenge

The climb that stood out the most on this journey was Hardknott Pass, a notorious ascent located just 30 miles into the ride. Hardknott is renowned for its difficulty, with a maximum gradient of 33% and an average gradient of 12% over 1.6 miles. The climb begins at an elevation of 126 feet and rises sharply to 1,159 feet, resulting in a height gain of 1,033 feet (290 meters).

Although I had tackled Hardknott Pass before during the Fred Whitton Challenge, this time was different. I was on a new road bike, purchased just weeks before the ride, and was concerned about the harder gears and more aggressive riding posture. Despite these concerns, the climb was as brutal as I remembered, but the sense of accomplishment upon reaching the summit was equally rewarding.

Wrynose pass

The Journey: Fuelling and Support

Throughout the ride, I maintained a strict fueling strategy, consuming 60 grams of carbohydrates every hour to sustain my energy levels. The route took us through picturesque locations such as Ambleside in the Lake District, across Lake Windermere, and through towns like Kendal, Sedbergh, and Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales. We passed by Catterick near the large army barracks and continued into Grosmont in the North York Moors.

My father’s role as the support driver was invaluable. He met us every 20 to 25 miles, allowing us to refill our water bottles, stock up on energy gels, and minimize our stopping time. The goal was to complete the ride within daylight hours, which added an additional layer of challenge to the already demanding journey.

Reflecting on the Ride

Completing this coast-to-coast ride was more than just a physical challenge; it was a symbolic way to celebrate the completion of my PhD draft. The journey was a fitting metaphor for the last three years of my life—demanding, exhausting, but ultimately rewarding. The experience reminded me that with determination and the support of friends and family, even the most daunting tasks can be conquered.

As the sun set over Robin Hood’s Bay, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. This ride was not just about crossing England on a bike; it was about marking the end of one challenging chapter and the beginning of another. Just as I had conquered the hills and valleys of the English landscape, I was ready to tackle the final stages of my PhD with renewed vigor.

Robin Hoods Bay

My first 250 mile ride

 I have completed a few 200-mile rides and some long-distance challenges in the past, including last years 180mile Everest; hence my long term aim is LEL (London Edinburgh London: 1500km) and PBP (Paris Brest Paris: 1200km). Thus this year, I needed to steadily increase my distance; 250 was the aim for this ride with a 400mile aim by the end of the year to be completed within 24hrs.

Samuel had wanted to do 200 for a while; this was a perfect opportunity to have some company for part of the day. To further make the challenge an enjoyable process, we entered the Lincoln sportive; we cycled 50 miles to the Newark showground, then cycled the 100mile sportive at 17mph called Beyond Lincolnshire, which I thought was a fitting title to summarise the day. After the sportive, I then cycled a 100mile warm down to get back home and find a few hills around Bakewell and Chatsworth; the route was incredibly flat, thus to make the stats look more than just a 250mile flat route, a few hills were required.

Flat rides present their own challenges, 1 being you constantly pedal, 2 you are in the same riding position all day, and the third and most challenging one, particularly pertinent around Lincoln, are headwinds. Headwinds are mentally tough as you can be average 22mph. Then you turn a corner and hit an imaginary brick wall of wind which makes double-digit speeds a challenge that eats into your energy reserves and muscular endurance through long term low cadence grinds.

The finish line of the sportive: 150miles in and 100 miles remaining

This was my best day for nutrition; I usually really struggle to eat on the bike, which is obviously the main limitation for endurance sports, but I was ravenous all day; I had two McDonalds (breakfast and dinner) and a multitude of waffles, sweets, crisps. By incorporating a sportive within the challenge, it helped ensure I ate at every food station. I also had free lifts throughout the day; I'd often hop on the back of a fast group of riders and have sections of riding at 22mph with little effort due to the drafting effect. This was especially important during the headwinds;  I would look around with great focus for the biggest group or rider to tuck behind when the wind was present.

All in all, it was a great day; up until 200 miles, I completed it with ease. 200-250miles was where the challenge began, it was cold, dark, and energy reserves were diminishing. The solo effort of the final section made the challenge a tough mental battle to get through, but in the end, I did it and can confidently say I still have more miles in my legs for another day. 

To note, it was also a lot of fellow friends and Belper harriers first 100-mile sportive; I'm proud to have been part of inspiring and setting up the cycling subdivision for our running club. To see runners turned cyclist enjoy another aspect to the outdoors and pursue a notable achievement of a century is remarkable progress within one year of training! Hopefully, it is the start of club bike packing trips and longer rides together. 

Belper Covid Birthday Celebration

Statistics

Distance: The whole of Belper: 100miles

Elevation: 10,259ft

With the recent announcement of lockdown version 3, I wanted to celebrate my 22nd birthday within the remits and regulations subscribed from the government.  Thus I devised a 100mile route throughout Belper which Samuel willingly agreed to join me on (I thought he may have been put off after dragging him out for some repeated 100milers part of my 1000km, Festive challenge the previous week). We turned around at every dead end culdesac, up to every possible hill and car park available to ride a bike. It created one significantly lit up strata map from the highlighted GPS activity and a 99% success rate of riding every road in Belper!

It was a silly, formidable but a  rememberable challenge that has put a positive spin on the relentless Covid 19 pandemic; we had one fantastic day together, thank you to Samuel for joining me for my Birthday and treating me to lunch!

The Festive 1000km challenge

Summary 

‘A twice as hard challenge compared to last year’s week of riding’

It was one crazy, epic and relentless challenge. The recently purchased Titanium Enigma Escape gravel bike was the perfect machine for the week-long sub-zero conditions; no mechanicals, flawless brakes and it was super comfortable for all 7 rides (it has nearly done 1000miles in three weeks since purchasing it including four one hundred miles during the festive challenge!)

The weather was predominately brutal with ice-cold weather with snow during two of the hundred-mile rides. There were no cafes open on route due to the current coronavirus worldwide pandemic requiring ultimate self-sufficiency!

All in all, it was another incredible challenge to add to my list. I couldn’t have done it without fantastic friends to keep me company during some wild days around Derbyshire; 20cm of snow at Mow Cop and blizzards being the most pertinent memories.

Summary of the challenge statistics

Distance: 1004km (623miles)

7 rides: 24th December: 113miles, 26th: 86 miles, 27th: 70 miles, 28th: 103 miles, 29th: 100 miles, 30th: 100 miles and 31st: 50 miles.

Elevation 39291ft 

Moving time: 43hrs

Detailed report

24th:  Wildboarclough, 113miles

The day before it rained for a continual 24hrs and with a predicted temperature of minus two for this ride I knew straight away this challenge would be a tough one; winter rides are epic enough regardless of the distance. Fortunately, I had Mark, Jonathan and Anthony to keep me company, to take turns on the front to draft behind and to test the icy road; we were fortunate that no crashes occurred as there was a lot of ice around Wildboarclough, the Roaches and high up near the Cat and Fiddle. We even had some very cold, snow to add to the festive feeling of a Christmas eve ride (It was the start of much worse and challenging weather to come!) 

Unfortunately, Anthony had growing back pain and was also very cold; he cut his route short by 30miles which we were all envious of in some way due to numb fingers toes and ears, but Mark, Jonathan and I continued our adventure. It became incredibly bleak, but with regular snack stops to keep morale high, we successfully completed the planned 80 hilly mile route through Wildboarclough. I designed the route to tick off some roads I hadn't done before through scouring over the Strava heat map; this was a great way at keeping routes fresh and interesting for the week of riding. The route was surprisingly lovely, albeit, very exposed with a strong sense of isolation on some small backroads. We didn't pass many cafes, but due to Covid we were all self-sufficient and to make up for it I extended my route to Jonathan’s for a lovely cup of tea and festive nourishment before cycling back home. This put me in a strong position of getting 115miles under my belt due to tomorrow would be the only day of rest and no cycling.

The Roaches

25th Xmas day: Rest and indulgence 

My legs were slightly sore after a large ride yesterday so I consumed 2 Christmas dinners to hopefully speed up the recovery process (The perks of this challenge mean I can eat anything I see in front of me; previous festive challenges have included indulging in Lindt chocolate, reses peanut butter, cakes, hot chocolate and any other unhealthy goodies that fuelled my increasing depleted energy stores). 

26th: Rothley, 85miles

The Christmas dinners didn't seem to have been the magic recovery medicine that my legs and body required, I woke up early with a slightly sore back and legs; this was slightly concerning and confusing as I don't tend to get sore after one ride and I hoped my legs would wake up quickly. 

I was joined for the first 35 miles with Helen which was brilliant, it allowed us to catch up after not seeing each other for a year due to Covid; it got us through the delights of Derby (fortunately the roads were empty due to boxing day as well as the rest of the ride; thus, I took advantage of cycling through some typically busy roads). 

Once I left Helen I cycled on to Rothley, my legs really were tired, and every pedal stroke seemed quite a lot of effort especially with a headwind; this was increasingly concerning. Every time I cycle south I seem to struggle more than the continual climbs in the peak district; it is very strange and a concept I can’t seem to get my head around, it must be just the constant power flat riding requires compared to spikes of high and lower power in the peaks (my legs felt fresher during my Everesting challenge than this ride). Thus, to take my mind of fatigued legs I began to experiment with my new GoPro action camera which I aim to use in company with my mirrorless camera for future adventures.

The route is certainly a fast one for a summer day where all you want to do is put your head down and pedal; the views and scenery were poor. However, I am comparing to the completely opposite ride in the Peak District on Christmas eve, although it was much warmer by over 8 degrees than the 24th ride it just never fills me with adrenaline. 

Another 85miles completed (200miles total); hopefully finishing at 2pm can give my legs some quick rest and extra sleep as well as Lots of stretching, rolling and protein consuming to attempt to quickly adapt and recover for the next day of cycling

27th Marston Montgomery, 70miles

The ladies: and Ant to Marston Montgomery.

 

Riders: Ant, Jo, Helena, Sarah and (Meg, who rode to Derby with us)

My legs were significantly fresher, it was reassuring the ride was again south: relatively flat and a steadier average speed. It was a beautiful route to Marston Montgomery; lots of lovely backroads. It was fantastic weather, cold, but perfect for the group considering it was winter. The ride went smoothly apart from one puncture from Ant and unfortunately no cafe stops due to Covid but at least we were riding in groups again. 

A pertinent point and proud moment for me is it was Helena and Sarah’s longest ride; a great achievement especially considering it is winter. 

28th One epic ride to Mow Cop AKA Snow Cop. 

‘Sub-zero temperatures, 20-centimetre snow, 100miles and 10,000ft of ascent!’. 

Riders: Kris, Sam, Mark, Martin and Alan

Firstly, having ridden with Kris regular recently through showing him local mountain bike, honeypot trails, he suggested he was keen to ride his first 100miler; I don’t think he meant the immediate future, i.e. within the next month, however, he did accept my invitation of doing a 100miler during my Festive challenge. I wanted to make sure Kris had a special ride to remember his first 100miler. Hence in my normal route planning fashion, it would be hilly although we had the added luxury of campervan support from my parents who kept us hydrated and fulfilled where the roads permitted (lots of unpassable roads due to snow). Kris predominantly used to ride track; last year he could merely ride one of the Matlock top ten hills, but what an absolute improvement in fitness and endurance he has made; he even had a sprint left in his legs after 100miles of some undulated terrain!

Myself, Samuel and Kris (L-R)

It was humbling to meet Alan on the route (He is the enthusiast or mentalist if you see his track record of sporting events from an outside perspective from the sport; he introduced me to the endurance endeavours). He was on the MTB which we all thought was an overkill, much to was we all wrong. Later in the ride, Alan became increasingly smug as he rode over snow with ease compared to Martins 25mm and my slightly wider 32mm road slick tyres. Although unfortunately Alan did lose a contact lens early on and thus had to follow our rear red flashing bike lights to guide him around the snowy route so at least he couldn’t ride miles ahead of us with ease while we precariously attempted to ride.

Additionally, having met Martin Perry through him supporting on my Everesting challenge and scouring over his Strava; he has done some whopping 400mile weeks in the summer, I invited him on the ride for a catch-up. However, he had one challenging day out (even more so than supporting an Everest attempt); his brake pads full wore out resulting in no brakes; he was the only one with rim brakes and we all felt his pain; I have barely any confidence riding rim brakes in the driest of summer days nevermind riding up steep gradients or even worse trying to safely descend the other side of the hills. Consequently, due to a bike that was not fit for the current weather (although a mountain bike was just about appropriate before opting for a snowmobile or a day off from riding due to questionable weather), he made the sensible decision to cut the route short and take the safe option of Alan's campervan. We all envied his decision that was forced upon us as we had no valid excuse apart from being wimps, although the conditions seemed arctic and we had another 5hrs of riding at least given the current cautious average speed we were cycling to avoid any high-speed icy collisions and crashed.

The Mow Cop climb

After the Mow Cop climb, I was hopeful the conditions and roads would clear, but they didn’t, it made for a very slow 30miles, walking, carefully freewheeling and riding a bike like a scooter with one foot unclipped that would we would use to push us along the rides while remaining seated on the saddle. To add to the struggled Kris had a slow speed crash; he, fortunately, remained intact but it shook us all up about the potential hazards we still had in front of us. Thus, we ensured to remain focussed to prevent any serious cycling crashes, fortunately, no other crashes occurred. 

After Alan and Martin went their separate wat, there were 3 riders left, and me of course: Kris, Sam, Mark and I. We continued our adventure after a scrumptious and well-needed stop at Merebrook reservoir where my parents had been anxiously waiting for hours for us to turn up. They couldn’t meet us anywhere earlier on the route since the stop at mile 30 due to the impassable snow. We were significantly behind our average speed and schedule; our spirits were high but energy low. Warm bacon cobs and hot drinks soon brought us back to life and with a swift turnaround we had a long climb that had the roaches insight, or at least they were in sight at the bottom of the hill until we had to cycle through the thick fog that meant visibility was at about 10metres. Our pace began to increase, we kept warm and got some miles in the bag before the day began to turn night, it felt like night, but it was probably around 3pm; it was pitch black due to winter. Nevertheless, this section began to be a bit of a slog with Kris and I competitively powering up hills while Mark and Sam sensibly rode at a constant and sensible pace.

What a fantastic, but brutal day out, it will always be one to remember, it was my first proper experience of winter road riding in the snow. I cannot say if it was a logical idea in hindsight for Kris longest ride, but we made memories that we will always look back on as well as I got some lovely photos of my new Enigma bike in the snow.

Kristian’s account: My first 100: A sprinter turned

‘This time last year I was 86kg and my focus was track sprinting. Since then, I am at 72kg and have taken the transition into an endurance domain which is somewhat different to what I am accustomed to. This was challenging on two accounts, the first being that it is the longest ride I have completed and second, my competitive nature finds me racing up the hills. The day started relatively normally, a cold and wintery British day but the roads were clear well until we reached Mow Cop. The snow provided a unique challenge and the pace slowed to what would feel like walking pace in fact, it would probably have been quicker. The team support was great and having shared the experience with some of my close friends just added to the challenge. Now bring on the good weather so we can do it again comfortably although, at least I’ll always remember my first 100.’

29th ‘The third century since Christmas eve: A winter wonderland, 100mile, epic’.

‘It was even more extreme than the previous day; we had blizzards, more sub-zero temperatures and roads with full coverings of snow’.

After yesterday’s ride to Mow Cop and experiencing how bad the ride could get due to snow I decided to ride south; I initially thought this would be the sensible decision to stay low rather than go up high to the notorious peak district that has dicey weather in winter. Much to what we were all surprised, due to the illogical BBC weather predictions. Winter seemed to keep throwing up surprises and challenges I couldn’t imagine; it is likely to be through the naivety of having 2 previously successful festive 500 challenges under my belt that had much less severe weather than this challenge.

From the onset the ride began to snow, it was initially lovely and festive but then it turned to a blizzard, probably not meeting expectations of blizzard to a mountaineer, but a blizzard to me is when I couldn’t see when riding due to blankets of massive snowflakes covering my body, and even worse my eyes; our body temperatures were dropping.  

I had four pairs of warm gloves on and a flask of hot chocolate on my bike; a revolution to winter riding which I have only recently just added to my arsenal of winter kit. However, others were much less prepared or seemed to cope with these sub-arctic conditions (poetic license; but it was definitely winter conditions!). Alan would likely to agree the conditions were arctic-like after his hands were merely functioning, he began to uncontrollably shivering and even consider to bail on a ride which is alarming to me as he is a hardened adventurer and outdoor endurance athlete. Therefore, if Alan was struggling it made me worry how was my other fellow riders coping despite them potentially bundling it up and not expressing their feelings. Although I can always rely on Samuel to express his feelings, he regularly wears his heart on his sleeve and I most definitely knew he wasn’t currently enjoying it as he began to question and express why on earth was he was riding again after yesterday’s epic; I would like to add it was ultimately his opinion without any persuasion. Thus, after consultation with the group, we made the decision to quickly abort the proposed route and return to a homebound direction. We aimed for main roads to find gritted roads; this was difficult as everywhere was covered in snow, until we reached derby, then…nothing, absolutely no snow at all, it was the most contrasting ride and weather within a 20mile radius. We couldn’t believe it at all…it was cold but tolerable, previously the plan was the riders would bail at home and I would try and continues to round up my miles. However, Helen even suggested to extend the route after we had a quick takeaway café stop; we thawed out under a heater while waiting to be served for a hot drink, due to Covid we were only allowed take away drinks and snacks which made for tricky circumstances but this heater was the most appreciated turning point of the ride, morale was lifted, fingers thawed out and our mindset refreshed. Helen and Andy joined for an extra 20miles.

 Sam came to life and even suggested rounding the distance up to 100 miles; I was blown away as he was going to quit and put his feet up at 50miles, hence I eagerly agreed and we continued.

Only a best friend would agree to a second 100miler in a row

30th: Cafe Adventure 100miles

After 2 very winter snowy rides, I cancelled an original route with Jo, Kris, Sara and chose to ride with Samuel on gritted roads to Hope Adventure cafe and back. The planned route was 55miles, but my sadistic and focused nature had extra miles in the back of my mind to aim to get to 1000km within the festive season; I currently had 150 miles to go.

We rode comfortable and safely to Hope, had a delicious bacon cob hot drink at Café Adventure, then cycled briefly to Hathersage, drooled over outdoor kit (a tradition of ours), cycled through Bakewell and back home.

I then decided to do some extra miles. Think an extra 25 to get to 75 would make it comfortable but I was feeling okay and somehow managed to do another hundred making that 3 100milers in a row.

31st: Chatsworth and Bakewell

After another lockdown announcement: exercise only permitted with one other individual (a few days later, lockdown version 3 occurred), I'm glad I got the bulk of the distance completed with others; this ride I purely wanted to get the distance done as quickly as possible while being safe as the temperature was still sub-zero with lots of ice.

I rode solo along main gritted roads through the lovely Chatsworth estate, round to Bakewell and back to Belper. I averaged 16mph after 1000km, this was reassuring that my legs were still attached and functioning. 

Equipment

Bike

My new @enigmabikes escape gravel bike (Brought November 2020) in full Festive 500 and covid 19, self-sufficiency mode.

Bike spec:

@hunt.road aero light wheels with 32mm Panaracer tubeless tyres

1x @shimanogravel GRX groupset for simplicity 

And finally the @hopetech anodised bling: Bottom bracket, seat collar, headset as well as their new RX crankset.

Bike accessories:

@ridepdw mudguards to stay protected from the worst of the local roads

@ortlieb_waterproof bikepacking bags: top tube and framebag to store snacks and clothes

@exposure.lights race and tracer lights: reliable and well tested all year round

@garminuk 530: superb battery life!

Everesting Beeley Moor

"Fiendishly simple, yet brutally hard, everesting is the most difficult climbing challenge in the world" (Hells 500 Everesting, 2020)

 

Statistics

Distance: 170miles

Elevation: 29,028ft

1 ascent: 700ft elevation and 2miles

Reps: 43

Elapsed time: 12hrs 44mins

Everesting background

After a year of cancelled events and challenges due to the coronavirus, I jumped onto the recent trend of everesting: from local riders and friends testing themselves against the Derbyshire hills to pro cyclists breaking ridiculous world record times every day in the UK and worldwide. An Everest is a simple concept where you cycle up one hill repeatedly to equal the total elevation gain of Mount Everest at 29028ft/8848m. It is a rather ludicrous challenge when you begin to depict the stats, especially when the hill I had planned would be 43 repetitions that totalled 170miles; this appeared bonkers before I even looked at the elevation statistics! Nevertheless, I love climbing on my bike and pushing my physical and mental robustness; I couldn't think of a more suited and personal challenge to aim for during the current global pandemic. 

 

To date, there are just under 7000 worldwide confirmed everesting completions, thus it required detailed preparation of the challenge to ensure I had the best possibility to get anywhere near to completing such a mammoth undertaking. 

 

Preparation and the Hill

 

Beeley Moor

I ensured I picked the correct hill that wasn't too steep and would destroy my legs or too shallow that id be cycling for more than 24hrs. Thus, Beeley moor was the best option; it had been Everested before, it was close to home, it was 2 miles long, averaged 7%, had good turning spots at the top and bottom of the climb, suitable parking for the support crew and riders and even had a slight westerly tailwind. And to top that off it us part of the top 100 climbs in the UK.

Prep/tapering

From the point of view of selecting the correct hill, I had no excuses, I just had to let my legs do the talking which I ensured were as prepared as possible from doing a large number of 100-mile rides, a 200-mile ride and lots of hills which isn't too hard when you live on the periphery of the Peak District. The most challenging aspect prior to the event was tapering, I'm not very good at not exercising and a week of just 2 short rides seemed mentally painful, with the time on your hands you begin to question if you are losing fitness, or have trained enough or are even capable, but fortunately, Jo's sporting and professional expertise kept my mind at rest and ensured I hydrated, carbo-loaded, stretched and recovered sufficiently from previous training for the duration of my taper week (I hadn't had a recovery day for 2 months). 

 

Having reccied the Beeley hill a week prior doing 3 reps in an hour, I began to work out some sort of schedule, this appeared more difficult than I imagined as I had never done an event like this before. Although, having seen previous Everest times on Beeley ranging from 16hrs-19hrs, I put down an optimistic aim of 16hrs to complete the Everest in order to try and break the current Beeley record. 

 

Support riders

I set up a spreadsheet and began to rally the troops to help me on my challenge, needless to say; it didn't take much to get a fantastic turnout of 16 support riders. I ensured I had a rider for each hour to pace me up the hill and more importantly to ensure I descended safely back down the hill after envisaging fatigue would hit me as well as becoming complacent to cornering the hill due to the monotonous repetitions. It's humorous to look back that I did 170 miles of cycling and that I didn't go any further than 2 miles from where I started! The support riders were briefed about the social distancing guidelines, pacing and general strategy. Then within the week, I had all hourly slots filled, it consisted of my Belper Harriers running club (transferable athletes), my Bob graham group of ultra runner maniacs and friends that I have met through other cycling challenges. It was an incredible experience to meet up with friends from all different sporting backgrounds, recalling events and challenges that we had done together and generally feel a sense of normality of seeing friends that we had been long waiting for due to the country being on lockdown.

 

Death zone

The worrying aspect of this challenge is the infamous everesting 'death zone' (above 7,000m) from physical/mental exhaustion and lack of sleep. Fortunately, I had done a significant number of 15hr+ sporting events, so I knew the effect of this, but to minimise descending in the dark when I was fatigued I planned on starting my everesting at 4 am. 

Body and the Bike

The body

Having read journals about the power to weight and aerodynamics affecting cycling performance and times I began to consider the Sir David Brailsford mindset of marginal gains. On the day I weighed 67.5kg, was 6% body fat, had shaved legs, wore fully tight-fitting lycra and tried to remain aero on the descents to get as much free time without working any harder. I even regimentally ensured that Jo measured out 175ml of tailwind each rep rather than having a whole bottle of water for a climb; it became that obsessive! It's hard to say if this made any difference, but, mentally and from the research, it should have!

 

The bike

To accompany my skeleton of a stature and obsessive mindset, I began to look at my Rose xlite climbing bike for miniature gains; I wanted full confidence and to reduce any book of excuses for a failed attempt. Every 1kg saved for a 100 metre climb is a 2-second saving, in the context of Beeley Hill that would be just over 4 seconds saved every for every 1 kg reduced from the total rider and bike weight; that is quite a lot of time, and effort saved when you multiply that by 43 times. My body was as light as it could be without losing any power; hence, I had the pleasure during the run-up to my everesting attempt of being a weight weenie and weigh every bicycle part and seeing where I could save a few grams. Before modifications my bike was 7.4kg, but I got it down to an incredibly 6.7kg featherlight bike which included one bottle cage and lights. I did it on a super tight budget through shopping around on eBay for swanky carbon parts and a group sets; it was just an enjoyable process pimping up my forever lightweight summer climbing bike!

Back up bike

Having read about peoples’ legs exploding from small gears (I had a compact chainset paired with a 30t on the rear cassette) and the mental suffering from an Everest due to the excruciating elevation or mechanicals leading to failed attempts, I ensured I had a backup bike. My cyclocross bike had ridiculously spinny gears which were set up for my North Coast 500 trip which unfortunately had been cancelled. I didn't carry any spare tubes, pump or even multi-tool when riding, as again…you guessed it…all those things are just too heavy for the attempt. Hence, I envisaged if I did have a mechanical, I would quickly swap my road bike for my cross bike and continue the challenge. Although jumping on Richard's Downhill bike seemed tempting! Fortunately, I didn't need to use my spare bike at all, and I had no significant mechanicals. Although my bottom bracket wore out, which highlighted the strain the bike went through during the Everesting attempt; it was a recently fitted bottom bracket!

 

The day of my Beeley everesting challenge

 

4am

Having met Todd a year ago when we were supporting Jonathan Kinders 24hr BobGraham running round, I knew he was the perfect rider for the first 2 hours. He is calm, sensible, knowledgeable and would keep me on schedule without me blowing up due to spikes of adrenaline and excitement. 

6am

During the first few hours, the alarm bells began to ring to the support riders; I was significantly above schedule doing over 1 additional rep ever 2 hours; some of my support riders were struggling to keep up for one rep. Jo made me aware of this and ensured I kept to my nutrition plan of 175ml of Tailwind (carb drink) every repetition with the odd jelly baby here and there. Due to my sensitive stomach for long events, my nutrition is straightforward: carbohydrate drinks and jelly babies with the occasional nibble of some crisps or a biscuit to satisfy the tastebuds. 

However, despite being ahead of plan, I was riding on feel and listening to my breathing; everything seemed to be in check, so I kept to the current pace and soldiered on. Rep after rep, tailwind drunk and conversations with all of my fantastic support riders, the day began to flyby. 

Midday

By midday, the everesting seemed to be a bit of a breeze; people kept asking if I was okay; I think they were expecting me to blow up because of the pace I was setting. Thus with this in mind and having read about the ‘Death Zone’ alluded to previously, I cautiously ate a little bit of proper food which previously never works with my temperamental stomach and I had my first couple of minutes rest. 

 

Afternoon

The afternoon was incredible, I was still riding in the big gear on the climbs, and the support riders planned in for the later afternoon soon heard I was way ahead of schedule (thanks to Jo to informing them all of my updated predicted time). They came out of their way to arrive early and ensure they came to see and ride with me. I had one sit down stop for 5 minutes to reset the mindset for the last 5 reps; this is where consolidated my thoughts, double-checked my remaining elevation, had a drink of tea to cleanse the pallet and push on to aim for a sub 13 hour ride. I never had any long stops and only had 17 minutes for the whole duration at a standstill (this included 2 wee stops, track standing for traffic, turning around at the bottom of the hill and nutrition/fuel supplies). 

 

I did one additional rep of Beeley to ensure I had no strava/Garmin GPS miscalculation issues of being cut short of the required elevation gain. I saw from previous Everest record attempts that this had even caught out the professionals; a couple of feet lost via the GPS each rep soon adds up to a large number. The final climb was epic; I was climbing as good as I started at 4 am and had brilliant support of riders and friends, they even blew their party hooters as I crossed the bunting line that was held across the road for me to finish!

Summary

I can’t express how appreciative I am to all of the Belper Harriers running club and friends for coming out to support me in some shape or form; I couldn't have done the everesting challenge without you. I consistently completed each repetition (ascent/descent) within a 5-minute window leading to over 7 reps every 2 hours being completed. I knew my legs were strong from 200-mile road rides and hard mountain bike riders, but myself, along with most of the support riders were shocked how comfortably I completed the challenge. It's a bit of anticlimax when retelling this challenge. Typically, endurance events above 12hours tend to have low physical/mental points where you have to push beyond the demons in your head and overcome the questions of why on earth am I putting myself through such incredible self-inflicted pain. Although, this just wasn't the case for this challenge; it was simply an epic day out!

 

Fabulous friends

It was refreshing to complete the challenge without any dark moments and have the most amazing team and friends around me for another successful challenge. This is the most pertinent point I took away from the day: I have amazing friends around me from all different sporting backgrounds whom we know we can rely upon each other. I wouldn't want it any other way, and the challenge couldn't have gone any better!

Conclusion

To conclude, from writing this post I have broken The Beeley Everesting record time by over 3hours and 15minutes. However, I will not be surprised that within a few days or weeks some other lunatic will have his/her eyes set on regaining the King of the Mountain for the Everesting record on a genuinely iconic climb in Britain.

Acknowledgements and recognition

 

Support crew

The everest would not have been possible to complete without the support crew who do the hard work behind the scenes: Jo and my Parents. Jo had impeccable timings, kept me hydrated, fuelled throughout the entire challenge as well as supported me through all of my training for the event (2-300 miles a week). My parents had an intensive role in feeding and hydrating all of the support riders who came throughout the day. They provided endless cups of teas, bacon cobs, croissants and other food to indulge in

 

Support riders

Sam: A long friend who never fails to join me for a silly challenge through cycling Lands End to John o Groats together and bikepacking. He did an impeccable job as a domestique speeding ahead to notify the support crew of my hydration and kit needs. Thanks for being a great mate Sam; I hope to be part of your sub 30minute 10km run!

 

Alan Billington: It was a delight to see Alan on my attempt, he’d been checking the group messages and that I was above schedule and came up earlier than planned to ensure he was part of my big day. Since meeting him over 5 years ago through fell running, my addiction for adrenaline-fuelled activities has grown, he's always took me up incredibly steep hills, bonkers challenges and put me through much physical pain through running and biking (see his blog here (Click Bloglink) to view some of his epics: the Bob Graham Round, one of few to do the Pennine Bridleway double in under 24hrs to just to name a few)

 

Jack Harrison: For the fastest descending speeds on the day  

 

Richard Hickling: He supported from the very start at 4am, put a smile on everyone's face, from changing bikes to being the stig on his downhill bike and being an incredible friend to have alongside me for the day.

 

Phil Basterfield: For doing a large stint of strong support riding on the ascents and descents.

 

Kristian Brindley: A sprinter by appearance but climber by heart, well I hope he is now he did a large number of reps and stayed until the final closure of the event for moral support. He did an excellent job of cleaning out my parents coffee and food reserves in their campervan!

 

Alan Busuttil: After meeting him through strava after seeing some incredible challenges and dethroning each others KOM’s on obscure running segments. He is often seen cycling with 21kg on his bike, to hill repping offroad climbs that you wouldn't think would be possible to walk up without a climbing rope. Overall he was the most lovely and kindest person; he even brought spare equipment and food in case I needed it despite never meeting him before. It sums up the incredible community of people that endurance challenging attracts.

Another everetsing attempt

Congratulations to Max States. He was also undertaking the everesting on the same day and the same climb. However, he was primarily doing the challenge solo and doing a slightly different rep to me. Unfortunately he did not finish the Everest but still did an impressive 100 miles with 15,000ft of elevation.

 

Support riders

• 
• Todd Coxhead
• Richard Hickling
• Samuel Moakes 
• Karolina
• Alan Bussuttili
• Jack Harrison 
• Kristian Brindley
• Phil Basterfield
• James Ward
• Shaun Bott
• Anthony Marchant
• Phil Byard
• Alan Billington
• Mark Steele
• James Bailey
• Martin Perry

Team support

• Parents
• Jo Coates.  

Morale support

• Ian Hays 
• Lewis Billington
• Keith James and his wife
• Andy Paisley and his wife
• Edward James
• Helena Houghton
• Bethan Birdsey and Lawrence
• Lucy Mcquoney
• Sara Louise Mcavoy

Bike setup

I went to BelperBikebarn for servicing, setting up my gears brakes, groupset and everything mechanically possible to ensure I had no mechanicals. Check them out; a super friendly new bike shop with an attached campsite, bike jumps and local mountain bike trails nearby.

 

Quoted comments from friends

"I've just finished my hour, and I'm not kidding, I couldn't even stay with him on the descent, let alone on the climb. He is so comfortable it's unreal. I'm hanging, and I only managed three at my own pace!!"

 

"Beast! Well done"

 

"Amazing achievement and great support. Cracking pace right until the end"

 

"Fantastic achievement, fab support and a fab day."

 

"He's doing amazing! Well done Wyke!"

 

"I wouldn't bother slowing him down, he's a machine. I can imagine him speeding up as he gets closer. He won't be red lining it at all"

 

"I'm knackered, he's not"

 

"Absolutely stunning effort Wykeham . I'm in awe of your capabilities as a person and rider. Humbling experience meeting you. You are THE man"

 

"Great achievement Wyke! ...congratulations”

 

"Amazing achievement Wykeham. Reckon you could've done it twice as you looked like you hadn't broken sweat with 6 reps to go!!"

 

"Absolutely chuffed to bits for you Wykeham, a superb achievement! You have done your local area proud"