Preston to Glasgow

[Ginge]

Hi,

I've decided to do a Charity Bike ride from Preston North End Fc to Glasgow Rangers Fc, its just over 190miles. I'm doing the ride over 3 days:-

Day 1 - Preston to Penrith
Day 2 - Penrith to Moffat (Tiny scotch village)
Day 3 - Moffat to Glasgow

I'm pretty much a novice apart from cycling a few miles to work everyday. Has anybody got any useful hints/tips they can give me abd also has anybody any experience of riding over Shap in Kendal. I've been told its horrendous.


Cheers
Ginge

 

[Nareloc]

Get some training in and travel as light as possible. They are my best tips! Seriously, the more miles you get in now, the easier the ride to Glasgow will be. Plenty of good routes near Preston, maybe up through the Trough, or Longridge Fell way. Shap is not as bad as many make out. It's not horendously steep, but it is long. Then you have a fantastic 8 mile descent to shap village as a reward!

 

[snorri]

There are a number of route options between Preston and Glasgow. Have a look at the Lands End - John O Groats section of the forum for suggestions, many LEJOGers pass through Preston.

Shap is really not so bad, unless the weather is bleak!

 

[Brandane]

Day 2 - Penrith to Moffat (Tiny scotch village)

Moffat; a tiny Scotch village??

A wee word of advice before you cross over to the good side of Hadrians wall: Scotch is a word used by American, English and other tourists to describe "WHISKY"! Don't start me about Scotch eggs, that's a whole different subject .

If you mean pertaining to Scotland, then you will be less likely to be deported if you refer to it as a "Scottish" village .

On top of that, Moffat is not tiny! I went to school there and it is a reasonable sized place with Pubs, Hotels, Restaurants, a Spitfire in someones garden, a nice park and boating pond, the famous Moffat Toffee shop, the narrowest hotel in the world (per the Guinness book of records), running water, electricity; the works!

Enjoy the cycle; NCN route 74 is quite a long steady climb from Moffat to Beattock summit, then it's quite pleasant until you get north of Lesmahagow where things start to get a bit industrial for the rest of the route into Glasgow.

 

[mercurykev]

I'm riding from Edinburgh to Preston and back again on Saturday - I aim to get back to Edinburgh sometime before lunch on Sunday. The route of pretty flat with Shap being about the only real lump and a bit of a drag over Beattock Summit. My tip would be to make sure you're comfortable on your bike because after long hours in the saddle the little niggles begin to show - you should be going on some practice rides to get the distance in and allow you to tweak your position for maximum comfort.

 

[Brandane]

I'm riding from Edinburgh to Preston and back again on Saturday - I aim to get back to Edinburgh sometime before lunch on Sunday. The route of pretty flat with Shap being about the only real lump and a bit of a drag over Beattock Summit. My tip would be to make sure you're comfortable on your bike because after long hours in the saddle the little niggles begin to show - you should be going on some practice rides to get the distance in and allow you to tweak your position for maximum comfort.

If you're heading for Edinburgh, there are a few choices of route that I would prefer to take rather than NCN74 up Beattock summit. For example, go to Moffat then just follow the A701 all the way to Edinburgh. It is an "A" road, but a relatively quiet and scenic one. I did it a couple of months back and I am no fan of cycling on busy roads.

The downside is the climb up to the Devils Beef Tub (about 5 miles north of Moffat). Not steep, but long!

 

[mercurykev]

If you're heading for Edinburgh, there are a few choices of route that I would prefer to take rather than NCN74 up Beattock summit. For example, go to Moffat then just follow the A701 all the way to Edinburgh. It is an "A" road, but a relatively quiet and scenic one. I did it a couple of months back and I am no fan of cycling on busy roads.

The downside is the climb up to the Devils Beef Tub (about 5 miles north of Moffat). Not steep, but long!

I'm not taking the Beattock route - I'll be using the A701 as you suggested but the OP who is heading to Glasgow will be.

 

[Stig-OT-Dump]

1 - get a rack and at least 1 pannier
2 - wear mits or gloves
3 - take some tape and cable ties
4 - lock your bike up safely at Bellahouston Park and get a taxi the rest of the way to Ibrox