Huh?
Month: May 2009
Dumfries
Heading into the wind again this morning, from Annan to Dumfries. Stopped to briefly chat to Matt from Wales who was going the ride in the opposite direction. No rain though, and the sun has been making am appearance. Yay scotland!
Carlisle to Gretna
On the CTC forums, someone posted about a neat new wee road which runs alongside the motorway from Carlisle to Gretna. I ended up having to google up the post again on my phone in the rain because the road is not really signposted. But once on the road it’s really good route. Smooth tarmac, direct route. It’s a bit exposed and locals use it as a strange rat run, but it’s way better than the alternatives.
So, here’s my directions. Left into industrial estate just before a7/motorway roundabout, pass by asda and further offices, ignore the deadend on the right as the road curves left, but do take the next turnoff to the right signposted for rubbish dump. Then just follow the signs for Gretna!
Scotland
Woo, Yay! And it stopped raining too! But who turned the wind on?
Carlisle
Couldn’t find a tea room in Penrith, so got back on my bike and rode the 15 or so miles up to Carlisle. It turned out to be some of the most enjoyable cycling yet. No navigation, A6 all the way. Big wide and pretty smooth road with very little traffic on it. I put Queen on the ipod and rode along having a blast. Only a couple of minor hills but most of it was gentle rolling countryside, gradually spending some of the elevation gained on Shap.
So Shap itself wasn’t as bad as i was expecting. It was good that it was early in the day. I ate so much pasta last night that i felt a bit unwell later! But it was worth it, because the strength which i lacked yesterday was back in spades today. Some extra chocolate after breakfast set me up for the climb. It was raining again as i left Kendal, but today i opted to go without rain trousers since they’re too warm. And i went for summer gloves, again because of overheating. They dry quickly if and when the rain stops. I took it easy up the first two lead-in hills, gradually warming up, but pleased to see that i was already up at nearly 300m elevation. A short downhill leads you round to face the real climb, which is easy to see because of all the lorries struggling slowly to get up the hill! It’s a steady slog to get up to the top, unlike the short steep climbs of yesterday. More akin to Cheddar Gorge than Cornwall. As i got onto the last half mile, the wind picked up and i could feel it actively helping me up the hill. I was so pleased! It was like something out of a classical greek story! A quick stop for a photo at the 425m top, where the weather was horrendous – i took a video but you can’t hear a thing because of the wind.
The descent was a lot of fun, despite the weather. You expend your elevation very gradually, and spend a lot of time at over 30mph. It continues much like that most of the way into Penrith really. I’ve found that i use the elevation feature on the gps as some kind of distance gauge – ie. I’m at 300m now so i have another 125m to go. It’s also nice to know if you’re likely to get a downhill run into town, since towns are usually built on rivers and tend to be low lying.
Given that I thought today would be one of the hardest days, it’s turned out to be not too bad and i’m having a lot of fun!
Next stop, scotland!!
Clarification for Sarah
See, aero bars and and aero bar. Both very useful, but in different ways.
Shap, done
Woo, i’m so pleased. Wasn’t half as bad as i was expecting. Rubbish weather, but that goes without saying! On to Penrith now.
Kendal
Finally into familiar territory, and restaurants which are open too. Today was much hillier than i expected and after last night’s somewhat botched pizza dinner i felt short on fuel later in the day. So, i looked out an italian restaurant tonight and have just eaten all of the pasta, ahead of tomorrow’s ascent of shap hill.
Gearwise, how are things working out? Aerobars, mirror and mudguards were all late additions to the bike and have all been brilliant. After i downgeared the bike, i still took the original sprocket with me – waste of time, never been close to using it. Kindle has been mostly a waste. I thought i’d have lots of free time to read, but in practise my evenings are pretty full with eating, clothes washing, showering, route checking and sorting out bnb’s. It was worth bringing the ipod; i was great to listen to it on my half day in Ross on Wye and i’ve used it a couple of days on boring quiet roads. I would’ve used it today too, except i had forgot to charge it. Riding clothes have all been fine. My sealskinz rain gloves are really too warm for this weather though. Only taking one set of clothes has been fine. I was my riding gear in the sink when i arrive, dry it by rolling it in a towel and it’s always been totally dry by morning. Waterproof map case was something that i figured i might need after the one and only training ride where i took a map – very glad to have it. The bungee cord i took has served several purposes, and now holds the map on my pannier pack. My Ortleib panniers have been bulletproof, but i’ve had them for years and knew they would be. I’ve talked lots about the gps before and how useful it is. Finally, i would not be without my high viz jacket. It’s a bit of a pain, being an extra layer, but i’m convinced it has made a huge difference to drivers being able to see me. I had a good example today whilst i was descending a wet hill at reasonable speed. Driver appeared from junction at left, slowed and looked both ways. He took his foot off the brake for a fraction of a second and then slammed it back on again as his brain registered the approaching cyclist. To be fair, he might have spotted me regardless, but it was setting up to be a textbook ‘look but don’t see’ situation.
The bike itself has been fine. I’ll need new brake blocks after all these descents! The only niggle is that the seat post keeps gradually slipping. No problems with the gears, and with all the rain and mud i’ve been through i’m quite glad for the sealed hub gears! I’m now very glad the other bike i was going to buy fell through.
Slaidburn hills
Video from the middle of nowhere, most of the way up an ascent up to 425m.