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| Calder Cycleway |
I was away by 8.30 and almost immediately missed a sign and ended up lost in Carlisle. A bike shop opened their doors specially to help me (thanks!) and I was soon on the Calder Cycleway, part of NCN7. What a lovely change from the noisy hell of yesterday!
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| Off road at Bridgend |
At Bridgend I followed an off road trail that was just about rideable on the road tourer. A brown cycle sign must mean 'bring a mountain bike!' There were some very confusing signs further on, and I followed another "Off Road" sign over a hill, only to find myself at a farm with no indication of where to go. I went back to the main road, through Raughton Head, where another wild goose chase following an "off road" sign saw me adding an extra kilometre and a bonus climb of 80
metres I could have done without.Confusion reigns! Near Raughton Head
The countryside started to have that Lake District look about it, and the distant hills were a grey smudge. Undulations were in fashion, and the headwind became ominously strong. Progress slowed to a 6kph crawl through Greystoke Forest, and by the time I reached the back road to Matterdale it was raining in earnest. At Thornythwaite I turned onto the A road which I'd follow all the way to Windermere. It was downhill to Ullswater, then surprisingly undulating along the lakeside to Glenridding where I stopped
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| Confusion reigns, Raughton Head |
under a large yew tree, adjusted the brakes, and switched on all the lights. It was murky enough in Glenridding; Kirkstone Pass would be grim.
In a perverse sort of way I’d been looking forward to this climb, but with the
weather now completely dire I was no longer relishing the prospect of toiling through
rain and thick cloud on a narrow road.
After nearly 900 kilometres of laden
cycling and an Everest of climbing under the belt, surely this would be a doddle and I’d do
it in one hit?I started off quite well, but fortitude was inversely related to altitude, and
as the rain increased in intensity and I entered the grey maw of the cloud,
rests became more and more frequent,
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| Lock up your trikes! |
and the handlebars became a temporary pillow.
The wind markedly increased at one point, and with mistaken hope I assumed this
was the Venturi effect of the wind speed increasing as it funnelled over the
pass summit, which must now be surely just around the corner. In fact there was
a far less complicated explanation: it was just getting windier, and I was
nowhere near the summit. way up in the gloom I saw the faint dots of distant
headlights appear, and I sobbed quietly. But all bad
things come to an end and after 45 minutes of purgatory the road started to
level out, I managed to get out of ‘granny gear’ and was soon in the Kirkstone Pass Inn having a welcome pint.
The descent to Windermere was a joy, apart from a couple of unexpected uphills, and a persistent chirping from the back wheel that suggested a budgie had taken up residence. I was soon at friends Pete and Dawn's place in Windermere, for R & R, and generally being spoilt rotten with food, wine, kit washing and blobbing out.
Day stats 82km 1206 Metres of ascent
Off road 10km
A road 31km
B road 4km
Unclassified road 37km
