C2C

MAY 12th - 14th 2000

The Comberbach Mummers get on their bikes!

Quick Links: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Route Summary, Thoughts, Equipment, Signs, GPS, Participants. 

This all started off as a way of getting fit!  Take a handful of 30/40-something men, get them on bikes for the first time in 20+years and let their ego's do the rest!  What started out a a sensible idea to get a bit of fitness back by having the occasional bike ride escalated into "Let's do something to test us!" So about Christmas '99 we decided to do the Whitehaven to Sunderland C2C cycle route to test ourselves.  We put in lots of practice (over 600 miles between Jan and end April 2000 including some hills in North Wales.  As we live in Cheshire finding serious hills involves traveling.  At the end we had 14 cyclists (including some fit ones) and two support staff.  The dates picked were May 12th/14th - and attempt to do the 140+ miles in three days.  We researched it on the WWW (quite a few sites) and thought we knew what we were in for!  The thinking went DAY 1 Relatively easy - just an odd steep bit, DAY 2 The hilly day, DAY 3 All downhill!  Close - but no prize.

We hired a minibus and borrowed a large van for cycle carrying (Thanks to Anthony Taylor of Northwich Glass for this). Accommodation was booked in a hotel in Whitehaven for the Thursday night, the Youth Hostel in Keswick for Friday night and the Youth Hostel in Alston for Saturday night.  The hotel in Whitehaven was a) Cheap and b) Very Dodgy.

Total cost turned out to be a touch over £100 for each of the cyclists and a bit less for the support staff (we paid for the minibus for them to drive!).  This didn't include evening "refreshments" but did include breakfast and evening meals plus packed lunches from the youth hostels as well as specially designed T-Shirts (Thanks to Ron for the last minute effort here).

With 14 people of varying fitness/ability levels it was never going to be just one group doing it together and in the end it split into several groups - each with their own route choices.  The age range of the cyclists was 17 - 50+ (we will spare Joe's blushes!). The C2C is 'sponsored' by SUSTRANS a charity devoted to long-distance cycle routes in the UK. They provide maps and a stamp card which proves you have been on the route - and allows you to send off for a T-Shirt afterwards. 

I can only describe what happened in the group I was in.  We chose the all surfaced route option where applicable.  Most people did, except for a few who chose the inclined plane on the last day- a rough, steep ascent onto an old railway track.

A big thank-you to Mark Walker who undertook all the organising and had to put up with the rest of us - all professional meeting disorganisers - trying to disrupt him.  Special thanks to Jeff Holland and Tony Mattison for excellent support work.

So, for 'my' group - we split the route as follows:

Day 1    Whitehaven to Greystoke    51.9 miles, 5:07 hours of cycling

Wonderful weather - dry and warm but an easterly wind - into our faces all day. Dipped the bikes into the sea (I seemed to get dipped in also). Whitehaven is left via an old railway track but you keep getting diverted through council estates for no reason - very curious.  Whinlatter pass was not as bad as feared, one short sharp climb then some gradual stuff with a bit of off-road thrown in. Keswick for lunch.  Our minibus driver got a parking ticket in Cockermouth for taking up more than one parking space in a deserted car-park and only paying for one space! Talk about 'jobsworth'. Leaving Keswick is short and steep but we all took the path by the river - an old railway - really nice riding over some very nice bridges with views of the river.  Slight detour off A66 following the C2C signs probably added a couple of miles that we needn't have done.  Got to Greystoke late pm - great last few miles downhill. Back to Keswick in the bus and van (after refreshment  - of course.)  Some of our party decided to stop at Keswick.  Night out on the town.

Day 2    Greystoke to Nenthead        35.9 miles, 4:01 hours of cycling

Dropped off in Greystoke, weather getting warmer but still easterly wind (it is supposed to be at our backs all the time - not in our faces).  Nice gentle ride into Penrith, lost the route for 1/2 mile in the centre and when we started up the first hill of the day, out of Penrith,  one of Rod's pedals snapped - stress fracture in very new pedals (only a month old).  Down into Langwathby where Julie (John's wife) was waiting with home made cakes and tea/coffee - much appreciated.  The start of the serious stuff.  It wasn't long before we saw Hartside - it's big and long and it's just a slog.  It takes ages to cycle up, with frequent stops for drinks and rest - about 2 hours elapsed.  Halfway up is the silliest sign on the route, you are going up a 1in8 climb at about 5 mph and there is an official sign warning cyclists to 'Slow Down through Farmyard', very droll. At top of Hartside we had lunch and changed into warmer clothes, the wind was stronger and noticeably cooler at just under 2000 ft.  What should have been one of the highlights of the event, about 6 miles downhill was spoilt by the headwind.  You couldn't really get up a nice speed without pedaling - shame.  The wind made the route to Garygill much more difficult than it should be.  It's basically a gentle undulating road - but with headwind it seemed much worse.  You know you are in for trouble when you get to Garygill, it's a lovely village, on the Pennine Way, with a really old-fashioned general store - worth a visit for this alone.  The only problem is every way you look you see hills - lots of them - non of them gentle.  We had chosen the surfaced route out of Garygill, it's called Downgang Hush.  It started of very nicely, by the stream then turned right.  At this point you think you have gone wrong as what appears to be a cliff is straight in front of you - it's about a 1in4 and goes on for ages, coming at the end of the day it was just what we didn't need.  The last few miles took ages and at this point we decided we were going to call it a day in Nenthead.  The original plan had been to carry on the extra few miles out of Nenthead to the top of the route - the highest point on the C2C - but this was clearly going to be outside our capabilities for the day.  The only consolation is the the descent into Nenthead from Garygill is also 1in4 - so it's a bit quick.  Apparently the locals complain about cyclists running into their parked cars as the route turns very sharp right at the bottom of this hill - doesn't it Simon!  I can honestly say I have never felt so tired in my life before.  The 4 hours of cycling 'movement' took 8 hours to achieve.  We thought the worst was over - we were wrong!  Back down the road to Alston YH (in the minibus) - which was very nice - wonderful grub and a smashing location.

Day 3    Nenthead to Roker                59.2 miles, 5:38 hours of cycling

Last day - up fairly early - some of the group set off at 7:30am to be sure of getting there!  It's even warmer today, wind still from the east. From Nenthead there are a series of stiff climbs, the first up to the top of the C2C, just over 2000 ft.  You drop down and go up again then do this once more and you get to Allenheads. After this you drop into Rookhope.  Here you can chose to go up the inclined plane - 1in5 and very rough, for about a mile.  We chose the alternative, surfaced road.  It started out OK, had a little short sharp climb then a short sharp descent.  At this point we met one of our team, who was in another group ahead of us, coming up the road we were descending - he had got lost and was following the signs - but didn't realise they were pointing back to the start!  This road dropped us into Stanhope.  The hill out of Stanhope can only be described with expletives!  It is very steep - greater than 1in4 on the bends, and goes on and on.  By the time we eventually got to the top even the fit Rod said he was hurting. The rest of us couldn't speak. The inclined plane is probably a better route selection if you have mountain bikes and it hasn't been very wet.  But then comes the last, long glorious off-road bit.  The route into Sunderland is on old railway tracks and is a gentle descent for many miles.  At the start of this it is deserted, other than for other C2Cers, and is a wonderful feeling.  Great views, gentle pedaling and an easy 20+mph can be sustained.  As you get lower down it gets more people on it and you have to be a bit careful.  The route is called the Waskerley Way and just before you reach Consett you suddenly find yourself on the Hownsgill Viaduct, which is really spectacular, being 100+ft up in the air.  You don't get any warning and the sides are 'open' railings.  If you suffer from vertigo stick to the middle and don't look down!  I should have stopped to take a picture - but I was going too fast.  Into Consett and it all changes.  You are abruptly back into civilisation and the check point is in the Safeways Supermarket.  A memo to Safeways here - Why don't you have a toilet in this very large shop?  From Consett the route gets a bit bizarre. At one point you are zigzagging through what appear to be World War One trenches - very strange and a total waste of effort. The route continues to descend into Washington, passing Beamish on the way.  It is probably worth a stop - but we didn't!  We had stopped for a quick pint of refreshment (and a loo) just outside Consett.  Eventually you descend to the River Wear, where you cross the river.  For me the route should end here - the rest just spoils it.  Firstly you go back up a hill, short but steep, onto a cycle path to Sunderland.  From here on in (about 10 miles) you are treated to a poor surface, lots of broken glass (we reckon they must hold conventions on broken glass in Sunderland).  Some of our team saw kids with air-rifles - apparently this is quite common, and we were 'buzzed' by lads on motor bikes - remember this is a cycle path!  To add insult to injury, you have to cross the Wear again but his time the route drops down to the river, goes under the spectacular Wearmouth Bridge and then takes you up a very sharp climb to cross over the bridge - you could stay on the main road for the 1/4 mile and miss this bit out!  At this point we met up with two other team members, Chris and Nigel, who had found an interesting route that took them very close to the Angel of the North (we were content to see it from about 5 miles away but they had cycled past it (apparently on the A19!!).  A short ride down to the Marina in Roker, get the final stamp - a very cheerful lad congratulated us on  completing it as he stamped our card.  There was a rock concert and beer festival going on in the Marina.  We didn't have a drink as we wanted to get back home (definitely a first for Mummers).  We posed for the final team photo, dipped our wheels in the North Sea and loaded up for home.  Most of us were sun burnt - despite having SPF 20 on our exposed bits.

Route Summary: Total of 147 miles, 14:46 hours at an average speed of 9.95 mph which is better than we had expected.  Other groups in our party did better - but also did different routes. All distances and time measured by cycle computers so cycling time is time of wheels actually turning.  We were set the task of doing this without pushing up any of the hills - something nearly all of us achieved thanks to Rod (The Bully) Moutney.

Thoughts:  Its a shame about the last 10 miles or so - it spoils the rest of the trip.  The scenery is very depressing after the wide open Pennines.  I, personally, was very pleased with my achievement.  I never expected to complete it without pushing the bike - but I did.  If you feel like doing it - go for it - but do get some practice in, you can split it over as many days as you want, there isn't a right route.  Would I do it again ?  No - there are plenty of other challenges!  The other C2Cers are wonderful people - one of our team shred a rear tyre and he said that everyone stopped and offered assistance.

Equipment:  A good off-road bike - a road bike would probably not last the distance - especially on the glass filled paths at the end.  We all had ATB's, even though we did most of the surfaced routes where applicable - a lot of the route is off-road.  Take toolkits, spare inner-tubes, warm clothes, cool clothes, wet weather clothes, sun tan lotion.  Drink lots of water - we probably got through 4 litres a day and that's just while riding.  If you can arrange for a support team - its well worth the effort. They can carry the essential other items like tyres, chains, spare free-wheel etc. We noticed other groups with their support teams at various points.  A map is essential!  Studying it before riding is also very useful.

Signs: The route is marked with white-on-blue C2C signs (with little cycle also).  However there appear to be many 'alternative routes' and it is difficult to know which set of signs you should be following.  Some are also feeder routes from places like Workington and Carlisle. Greystoke is a classic case of this.  It has a cross-roads in the middle.  We sat at the end of the first day watching other groups go through.  Each of the four roads has a C2C sign.  They don't always tell you where they go.  In this case there are two routes to Penrith and two routes back to the start at Whitehaven.  We saw several people set off on the wrong route only to re-appear several minutes later.  As said before - study the route.

GPS: Not an essential item - but rather fun.   I have a GARMIN GPSII+ and I had a set of 51 waypoints for the route.  If I had remembered to re-charge the batteries on the last night it would have lasted to Roker - it ran out 8 miles short !  However if you want the waypoints they are here in WAYPOINT+ format, saved as comma separated text so you can read them also.  It did tell us we were well off route on the first day - but we were following the signs - not sure they were the right ones though, John (All I need is a map) Brighouse!

Participants:

Mummers: Phil, John (Igor's dad), Nigel, Mark, Chris, Graham, Dave R,

Friends: Joe, Paul, Simon (aka Igor), Rod, John H, Pete, Dominic