- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Second Lakes ride from last Tuesday:
In the pub last night there was a lot of talk about what kind of ride we should do this time. The consensus was that it should be easier but we still wanted to do a reasonable distance.
What actually happened was that we headed up into Grizedale which was a climb right from the off and carried on until we'd ascended 500 feet in the first mile. The climbing then continued into the forest as we followed the orange waymarked trail round the western side of the valley. I love cycling round here and the views and the downhill sections make up for the climbing (to me - other opinions are avalable
).
Having worked our way back down to the visitor centre and had our lunch it was back onto the tarmac and mostly downhill through Satterthwaite and Force Forge before doubling back and starting to climb again to Thwaite Head and the road to Graythwaite. I knew this bit was uphill and was going to be a bit of a pull but, my, did the map mislead me. Not only was it on the steep side for a single gradient arrow climb but it felt never-ending and we were all feeling the burn by the summit. Our reward was Green Hows Tarn which was new to me and was a pretty place to stop and recover slightly, followed by a swift descent to Graythwaite. There was another short climb here then another big descent which we couldn't make the most of due to being wary of the wet roads.
The road through Cunsey is mostly flat with views over Windermere which was nice but we knew there would be a climb to join the road to the ferry. What we didn't know was that this road was closed. I rode on ahead to sus it out but there was a wagon completely blocking the road and even if they were to let us walk the bikes through the works we wouldn't actually have been able to fit.
So a detour was required up to Far Sawrey (pretty place) which meant more climbing than planned but fortunately not as bad as I'd expected, followed by a fast descent on a wide road down to the shore of Windermere.
The lake shore path is a little rougher than last time we were here but still good to ride. There is a steep section where Doug got stuck in the wrong gear and needed to push to the summit to much ribbing as his bike is the lowest geared of the three.
Further along the path I politely gave way to a couple of walkers and hit a pothole. There was a loud crack from somewhere at the back of the bike but I didn't notice anything untoward when I checked.
We let a few faster riders past on the section to Wray Castle and were pleased to find we can't have been doing too badly as we started to catch them up again on the next climb.
After the castle we took another off road section that heads towards Ambleside. We weren't going that far though and rejoined the tarmac on the road to the Drunken Duck. Our original plan was to have a pub stop at Outgate as we haven't tried that pub before but being quite tired by now and knowing how much we like the Barngates beers I was quite pleased to see Gav stop by the Drunken Duck instead and none of us needed persuading to have our break here.
On the way back to Hawkshead I did a good deed by stopping to remove a roll of plastic sheeting that had fallen off a vehicle into the road, then enjoyed the downhill section, whizzing past another rider with ease.
Getting back to the cottage I found the source of the noise when I hit the pothole which was that a fixing on the rack had gone missing. Fortunately Gav had a spare bolt that fitted and I was able to secure it properly. Something to add to my emergency kit for another occasion.
28.4 miles at 9mph average with a top speed of 35.1 mph which I think is the fastest I've ever gone on the knockabout bike. It could perhaps have been even better if the roads had been dry. Doug and Gav tell me that their Strava shows well over 100 feet per mile climbing for the whole route so I think we can safely call that a hilly ride.
Climbing up into Grizedale. Doug and Gav weren't overly impressed with the first mile or so.
Forest riding. Some of these gravel roads are better maintained than the public highway.
Grabbing snaps from a viewpoint.
Back on tarmac and heading into Satterthwaite.
A pause for breath on the tougher than expected climb.
Up at Green Hows Tarn.
Not part of the plan. Time to reroute.
The shore of Windermere.
Following the shore path to Wray Castle.
This time the pints felt well earned.
In the pub last night there was a lot of talk about what kind of ride we should do this time. The consensus was that it should be easier but we still wanted to do a reasonable distance.
What actually happened was that we headed up into Grizedale which was a climb right from the off and carried on until we'd ascended 500 feet in the first mile. The climbing then continued into the forest as we followed the orange waymarked trail round the western side of the valley. I love cycling round here and the views and the downhill sections make up for the climbing (to me - other opinions are avalable
).Having worked our way back down to the visitor centre and had our lunch it was back onto the tarmac and mostly downhill through Satterthwaite and Force Forge before doubling back and starting to climb again to Thwaite Head and the road to Graythwaite. I knew this bit was uphill and was going to be a bit of a pull but, my, did the map mislead me. Not only was it on the steep side for a single gradient arrow climb but it felt never-ending and we were all feeling the burn by the summit. Our reward was Green Hows Tarn which was new to me and was a pretty place to stop and recover slightly, followed by a swift descent to Graythwaite. There was another short climb here then another big descent which we couldn't make the most of due to being wary of the wet roads.
The road through Cunsey is mostly flat with views over Windermere which was nice but we knew there would be a climb to join the road to the ferry. What we didn't know was that this road was closed. I rode on ahead to sus it out but there was a wagon completely blocking the road and even if they were to let us walk the bikes through the works we wouldn't actually have been able to fit.
So a detour was required up to Far Sawrey (pretty place) which meant more climbing than planned but fortunately not as bad as I'd expected, followed by a fast descent on a wide road down to the shore of Windermere.
The lake shore path is a little rougher than last time we were here but still good to ride. There is a steep section where Doug got stuck in the wrong gear and needed to push to the summit to much ribbing as his bike is the lowest geared of the three.
Further along the path I politely gave way to a couple of walkers and hit a pothole. There was a loud crack from somewhere at the back of the bike but I didn't notice anything untoward when I checked.
We let a few faster riders past on the section to Wray Castle and were pleased to find we can't have been doing too badly as we started to catch them up again on the next climb.
After the castle we took another off road section that heads towards Ambleside. We weren't going that far though and rejoined the tarmac on the road to the Drunken Duck. Our original plan was to have a pub stop at Outgate as we haven't tried that pub before but being quite tired by now and knowing how much we like the Barngates beers I was quite pleased to see Gav stop by the Drunken Duck instead and none of us needed persuading to have our break here.
On the way back to Hawkshead I did a good deed by stopping to remove a roll of plastic sheeting that had fallen off a vehicle into the road, then enjoyed the downhill section, whizzing past another rider with ease.
Getting back to the cottage I found the source of the noise when I hit the pothole which was that a fixing on the rack had gone missing. Fortunately Gav had a spare bolt that fitted and I was able to secure it properly. Something to add to my emergency kit for another occasion.
28.4 miles at 9mph average with a top speed of 35.1 mph which I think is the fastest I've ever gone on the knockabout bike. It could perhaps have been even better if the roads had been dry. Doug and Gav tell me that their Strava shows well over 100 feet per mile climbing for the whole route so I think we can safely call that a hilly ride.
Climbing up into Grizedale. Doug and Gav weren't overly impressed with the first mile or so.
Forest riding. Some of these gravel roads are better maintained than the public highway.
Grabbing snaps from a viewpoint.
Back on tarmac and heading into Satterthwaite.
A pause for breath on the tougher than expected climb.
Up at Green Hows Tarn.
Not part of the plan. Time to reroute.
The shore of Windermere.
Following the shore path to Wray Castle.
This time the pints felt well earned.
Last edited:
went to the bike shop and got a seat post bag so I didn't need to use a rucksack and got planning the routes. Whilst planning the routes, which I normally do on Strava, I was reading another thread and 
I did have bail out options for the first 70 miles on the Friday and the last 70 miles on the Sunday as I could use the train between Leicester and Lincoln if need be.
between South Cave and Little Weighton. It would have been enjoyable in the sun, but in the rain it was tough. Anyway I get to the meeting point soaking wet and fed up to see 
) and we set off.
. I wasn't chancing that and so doubled back and kept climbing up and up and up to Caerffynnon.
