Day 4 - Preston to the Lake District

# Lack of Orange 3G signal means this wasnt published until Sunday night. Apologies. #

The days route complete with an uber-hilly last 25km 

Some touring cyclists might say that taking a train to avoid a 25km round-trip is cheating. We, however, see it as just... opportunistic.

The morning was spent dodging rain showers as we moved up through Preston and followed the M6. A similar route is taken by Lands End to John O'Groats cyclists, a few of which we passed and met on Lancashire's back-streets. Im not saying theres such a thing as tour-envy, but LE-JOG is certainly more impressive than our route.

The incriminating train journey took place just north of Lancaster, where we had stopped for a late lunch and met up with Vicky, probably the only person we know living on our long route to Scotland. Having set off along back roads northwards we noticed that the route to the southern tip of the lake district needed a huge detour inland around a wide estuary. The local train, however, took a serious short-cut and hopped across the river in 10 minutes. Without much deliberation we decided to pay the £1.20 and enter Cumbria in style.

The sunny view from Arnside Station towards the 23km round trip we avoided.

Sometimes opinions of things can change extremely rapidly. Take my thoughts on Cumbria today, for example. We had just arrived in Grange-by-Sands, a busy and picturesque sort of place stuck between a steep hillside and the sea. Maybe it was the sun on the well-kept trees and bushes, maybe it was the bustling streets, but whatever it was - I liked the feeling of the place. Cumbria, I decided, was my kind of county. Fifteen minutes of jelly-legged, 15-percent-gradient hill-climbing later the honeymoon period was over and I was hurling abuse at the place. Steep hills definitely aren't a cyclists best friend.

The final hour of cycling was spent getting lost in Cumbrias rolling hills. The great thing about getting lost while cycling in england is that all it takes in a 20 second glance at google maps and you're back on your way again. We finally struggled up a long dirt track to our campsite of choice and, having paid, found a slug-filled empty field with a metal shipping container for a toilet block. Exchanging nervous glances we explored the loo block and found the nicest (and free-est) hot showers we have encountered thus far. I guess, with toilets and counties alike, first impressions arent always insightful.

Tomorrow we cycle 30km to our campsite in the langdale valley and spend the next 6 hours climbing England's highest point - Scafell Pike.

Stats:
Distance: 104km
Total Distance: 320km
Average speed: 18.5kph

Rain score: 2/10.
Cumbrian slugs squished: 23.

Day 3 - Chester to Southport

Day 3 of 'Hugh's Attempt To Grow A Beard', er, i mean 'Hugh and Catherine's Three Peaks Cycle'. And both are coming along nicely!

The day's 97km ride into Lancashire

After leaving our campsite at 10, we breakfasted by a roman amphitheatre in Chester and headed northwards towards the Mersey. Cheshire, depite being almost as far north as Sheffield, tries its hardest to seem like Hampshre with quaint villages covered in bunting and more badly-driven range rovers than the top gear car-park. Across the Mersey things felt distinctly more northern though, with unintelligible scouse accents and big, grey council estates the norm.

That's not to say that crossing the Mersey was an easy thing to do. The whole region was criss-crossed by motorways, train tracks, industrial estates and rivers - all of which are barriers to bikes. We eventually found a route onto the bridge, but quickly found ourselves in the middle of four lanes of traffic chaos, no bike lane in sight. Thankfully we survived the ordeal and enteted Merseyside.

Once out of the chaos of Widnes we found some nice country lanes and headed north. We stopped for lunch after a bit of a climb and could still see the hills and mountains of north wales that we left behind the day before.

Every day a touring cyclist burns about 3000 calories in the saddle, which all need to be replaced somehow. In the afternoon we decided, in true english style, that this was a hole only tea and scones could fill. Luckily the nearest pub supplied us with an afternoon feast fit for a cycling king.

The last 20km were flat, cloudy and open; almost like we were back in boring Norfolk. We crossed the third motorway of the day and entered Lancashire. After some confusion we found a campsite for the night just west of Preston. The campsite was run by two of the nicest people in the world. They took us in, put the kettle on and showed us the way to the nearest shop. Despite the lack of a shower block and high number of midges, how could we really say no to this lovely old couple? I do hope all northern people are this lovely, and its just us folk in the south who are such callous, cold-hearted bastards.

Stats:
Todays distance: 91km.
Average speed: 19.1km.
Total distance ridden: 216km.

Sunburn score: 4/10.
Midge count: 5/10.
Rain level: 1/10 (One shower all day!)

Beard index: 4/10 (getting there).

Dinner in the sun.

Day 2 - Llanberis to Chester

Map of the day's 109km ride with two category 3 climbs!

After such a nice day yesterday, today was always going to be a disappointment. But we did not expect the biblical rainstorm that drenched us to the bone just as we started the days cycling.

We had set off, after a late start, at about 11, stopping for a pastry-filled breakfast in Llanberis at the bottom of the hill. After waiting for another shower to subside, we started off to the south east towards Pen-Y-Pas, a 300m col. Only a few minutes later though, the heavens opened again. The entire road surface was covered in an inch of water, itself being bombarded by millions of huge rain drops, almost deafening the sound of distant thunder. The barren gullies in the steep mountains on either side gushed with raging water. In some places these streams of water collided with the wall at the roadside, cascading onto the slope and turning into half-river, half-road. Such an awesome sight almost made up for such a thorough soaking.

Escaping the rain...

After gratefully finding a bus stop for shelter, we waited out the rest of the downpour to ease off and continued slowly (or, for the welsh speakers among you, 'araf-ly') up the hill. We then descended through a cloud-filled valley and almost 5km of lush forest into Betws-y-Coed.

Cyclists more than anyone (except frequent Little Chef visitors) know that what goes down must come back up. We rose up from 'Betsy' for almost 20km through rolling moorland before, joy of joys, another long and pedal-free downhill. By this stage we had left the rainclouds behind us and were racing into glorious sunshine. This helped to dry us out no end, but rain penetrates deeper than rays, and by the time we found a campsite just south of Chester, we found most of the stuff in both panniers was soaked.

At the campsite we set the tent out, strung up a washing line to dry the wet gear and started on another pasta dinner. In search of something to wash down another bland meal, and somewhere to watch the Germany-Italy game, we headed to another village pub. In contrast to the night before this place was a posh affair, with wooden beams, pretentious artwork and expensive pints (This is England, after all!). And after a day of cycling, a good pint seems to go straight to your head, I can tell you.

Calorie-filled dinner at the campsite

All in all, it was an epic days cycle. Despite the hills (a full 1400m of uphill) we managed 105km in about 6 hours. With breaks discounted thats an average of 19kph - not bad for the first true day of cycling. If we keep this up, we will be in sight of Scafell Pike by Saturday! Tomorrow should be a much flatter day as we head up beyond Liverpool to just south of Preston.

Stats:
Distance: 109km
Total Distance: 129km

Day 1: London to Bangor to Llanberis to Snowdon

One day done, one peak climbed. All is going nicely to plan so far!

The short 17km cycle to Llanberis (^)
and the 15km walk to Snowdon (v)

It started at the eye-watering time of 6am, an hour few students ever see. After a few nervy moments in euston at 7.30 where my bikes presence on the platform could be questioned at any minute, I boarded a train bound for Bangor (via Crewe), meeting Catherine at Watford.

Arriving in dreary Bangor we found the nearest supermarket and bought some ingredients for the classic touring cyclist meals: Lunch - baguette, ham and cheese. Dinner - pasta, tomato sauce and tuna. Oh and plenty of sugar for emergencies.

The 20km cycle from Bangor to Llanberis was a hilly affair, but the growing mountains on the horizon seemed to lure us in. Catherine's bike, only fully reassembled the previous evening, was changing gears like a morris minor. This slowed us up, but we were still able to get to our campsite at the foot of Wales highest mountain by 2.30.

The 144 megapixel panorama I created of the summit of Snowdon

3 o'clock was very late to contemplate climbing the 9km up to snowdons peak though, and with the summit covered in a thin layer of cloud, we debated putting the ascent off until tomorrow. But we decided to try for the climb today, and boy were we glad of our decision. Not long up the path the clouds lifted and bathed the valley (and only this one valley it seemed) in glorious sunshine. This good weather persisted for almost the entire route up- and I didnt even think of bringing my suncream! After a 2 and a half hour walk, we were rewarded with astounding views from the top, with 5 deep craggy valleys spread about the summit on all sides, bounded by rocky aretes partly hidden by cloud. Stopping by the trig point on top, we met a fellow hiker.  "Its great to be the highest point in England, isnt it?". We nodded and quietly laughed at his ignorance.

The descent along the funicular track was fast and boring and after a quick shower and meal we cycled down the hill to a pub to watch the football. Pub is a bit strong - the only place showing it was an unwelcoming sports bar filled with tight-eyed, welsh-speaking locals. It made me realise, you dont have to go far out of London to make the UK seem like an entirely different country. And thats exactly why we're here.

One down, two to go!

Last Minute Preparations

In less than 48 hours Catherine and I will be on a train to Bangor with enough camping gear to stall a minivan. With that in mind, you'd think I would have bought essential items, fixed my bike and planned the route by now; but you would be wrong. The list of things to do over the next two days is growing by the hour. It includes: buy helmet, repair spare inner tubes, cut hair, sew up the hole in my pannier, download audiobooks, do a 50 mile training ride, etc...

But at least some things have been ticked off the list. Finding campsites and planning routes is coming along well, and I am assembling them all into one google mega-map. On Saturday I managed a 92km training ride around London's northern green belt. I have even tested out updating this blog from my phone, although I still need to find a way of attaching the bottle dynamo that is supposed to charge it as we ride. Catherine has also obtained the OS maps we need to safely climb Snowdon, Scafell and Ben Nevis.


One important factor in this trip will be the weather. We are going to be travelling through some of the rainiest places in the UK at the end of one of the wettest months on record. However, the 14 day forecast for Cumbria (incredibly inaccurate as it is, especially coming from the shady metcheck.com) looks pretty good. We can only hope it stays this blue by the time we get to the lake district.

There is still so much more to do, so I shall get to it. The next time I post we may have climbed all 1085m Snowdon has to offer.

The Plan

Welcome to our (clichéd) travel blog!

Climbing the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales has long been a classic British mountaineering challenge. Every year hundreds of people attempt to summit Snowden (1085m), Scafell Pike (978m) and Ben Nevis (1344m) in under 24 hours. But that challenge involves a single day cooped up inside a car driving away from some of the most beautiful regions in the UK, which frankly doesn't sound much fun at all. Instead myself and my sister Catherine will be cycling from Snowden in North Wales, up to Scafell Pike in the Lake District and further north to Ben Nevis in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

I hear the obvious question being asked: Why? We are not doing this gruelling task for charity or out of necessity. Instead it is just a cheap, exciting holiday to the mountains which, being from pancake-flat Norfolk, we don't get to see a whole lot of. We both have done some cycle touring before: last year Catherine took her bike back from Budapest and I zigzagged down the French coast from Cherbourg to Bordeaux. So I hope that will stand us in good stead for what will be a very hilly (and almost certainly very wet) ride.

This trip starts early on the 27th of June 2012 when we will arrive Bangor and begin the challenge with the ascent of Snowdon. The plan is then to get to the Lake District in three days to climb Scafell Pike on the 1st of July before cycling the final 400km into the Scottish highlands to tackle Ben Nevis on the 6th of July. This is still an open event, and if anyone fancies a bit of hiking and cycling please feel free to join in!

The next couple of weeks will involve getting kit together, printing maps, planning routes, searching for campsites and doing a few practice rides!

I hope to post on most days during the ride, partly to keep friends and family updated, but mostly just as a record of this adventure for myself so in ten years time I can look back on it and say "Why the hell did I do that?".