Coast to Coast Day 0 - Whitehaven to Lamplugh, July 7th, 2006

Distance: 14.64 miles
Max Speed: 28 mph
Avg Speed: 9 mph
Photographs from day 0

Introduction (thanks Google maps):
To set the scene let's describe the gladiators on the Smith team. When this outing was first conceived it was just my Dad, Malcolm (aged 61) who found out about the route and set to the planning with much gusto. Soon my brother Jon (aged 25) was enrolled in the adventure after the end of his incredible journey from Beijing to London (and thereafter to Chester) by bicycle.

As I live in Washington DC, I didn't hear about the trip until it was fairly well planned but needless to say it was a great opportunity to spend some quality time with the family and I jumped at the chance. Fortunately, it also coincided with an uptick in my own off-road biking interest so I was already at an acceptable fitness level (nothing approaching my brothers ridiculous stamina of course). For reference, I'm aged 31, but in my mind I'm still a 16 year old tearaway.

The last, but absolutely not the least, Smith gladiator was my Mum, Barbara (aged 21) who held us all together, provided mobile support, prevented (most) arguments from high spirited alpha men, was always there in the evening to listen to our endless stories and drink a few victory pints in the evenings with us.

A brief description from Sustrans about the C2C:

This long distance trail combines a gentle passage through the Lake District, a demanding crossing of the Pennines, and ends with a downhill descent to the east coast of northern England. It's a varied and challenging route with spectacular scenery, and the added bonus of sculptures scattered along its length.

Usually undertaken west to east to take advantage of the prevailing wind, heather clad in the the summer, snow capped in the winter, this remote area may be wild on any day of the year. But, given good weather, the North Pennines have the most beautiful empty countryside to be found in all of England. The C2C Cycle Route leaves the west coast at either Whitehaven or Workington and runs through the northern Lake District before climbing onto the roof of England and the grandeur of the Durham Dales.

It emerges in Consett, a town whose industrial past has been almost erased, and then passes through towns arid villages where there are lingering reminders that this was once one of Britain industrial heartlands - Beamish Museum near Stanley is a reminder of that past. It was a place of Victorian inventiveness, where ships were built to sail the oceans of the world and coal was hard won to fuel them.

The route ends on the North Sea in Sunderland or Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It now also links to Carlisle, joining the start of the Scottish National Cycle Route to Inverness. The C2C is based on minor roads and 56 miles of traffic-free paths. Short sections may have to be walked; a pleasant experience without heavy traffic to contend with.

Some parts of the C2C are high, rugged and exposed - even in summer. This adds to the beauty of the route but take note of the weather forecast, take suitable clothing and be careful on the more isolated parts of the route.

We arrived at the starting point on the West coast of England, Whitehaven around the middle of the afternoon and after being cooped up in the car for 3 hours driving from Chester we were keen to stretch the legs and get a small start on the journey before dinner. This had the added benefit that on the day 1 of the ride in the morning we'd already be out of the town and could get on with the business at hand of enjoying some seriously top English countryside.

After the traditional wheel-dipping in the Irish sea, the book promised 'a bit of fiddly navigation' out of Whitehaven centre onto the Whitehaven to Ennnerdale cycle path but really it was a piece of cake. The route is fantastically well signposted in true English style such that you can't miss it (well, ok, only sometimes - see day 2).

Pavement-side urban routes quickly gave way to smaller disused trails and the ride out of the town provided a nice gentle start. On a route that initially followed the line of a disused rail network we passed through several former iron mining villages as the railway serviced local mines.

The true mountains of the Lake District were soon in sight as we pedalled away from the salty air of Whitehaven into increasingly pleasant countryside. Keen observers will note the rather sturdy construction of certain signposts in the pictures. When in a mining town, build everything out of iron I suppose! Certainly wouldn't like to be looking the wrong way and wobble into one head-on while clipped in :) They added a great sense of history to the route.

The weather could not have been kinder as the sun beamed down on a perfect afternoon we all radiated excitement about the upcoming adventure. Stopping frequently in small villages and at scenic outlooks we made our target of Lamplugh church where Mum was to pick us up and take us back to the hostel for the night.

Having a support vehicle was a great way to make this a complete family outing. Every evening we'd meet up with her in the car, mark the spot and pile the bikes on the back to our lodge for the night. We'd all hang out for the evening with a nice meal and (several) beverages, while the next morning we get a courtesy shuttle back to the same spot to begin the next day. Shiny. Thanks Mum!

Following our pick up today it was temporarily back to Whitehaven for a tasty Fish'n'Chips and Mushy Peas back at the seaside, a couple of pints, a semifinal World Cup game, and a fairly pathetic attempt to convince my jetlagged body that it was actually tired and needed the sleep. Job done, day 0. Real thing tomorrow which I faced with a mixture of nervous energy and hope that I'd done sufficient preparation given my longest prior cycle ride was 20 miles (albeit off road ;-).

I was keen to try out my fancy new Suunto T6 with the Bike Pod for this trip and captured a monitoring log for each day. For the techno-inclined fitness fan, it's brilliant capturing altitude, speed, HR, EPOC, and more besides. Complete overkill for the amateur athlete? Certainly. Lots of fun and data to archive and explore? Hells yeah! Scoff all you want, Dad! It's critical data I tell you!

Below is a clickable log I captured for the easy day 0 loosener:

Route for day 0, courtesy of "The Ultimate C2C Guide":

Coast to Coast Day 1 - Lamplugh to Hartside, July 8th, 2006

Distance: 56.93 miles
Max Speed: 31 mph
Avg Speed: 7 mph
Photographs from day 1

4:30 AM rolls around all too quickly when you've been asleep for a few hours. Luckily my internal clock had no clue what was going on and with a cup of tea, a cup of coffee, 3 shredded wheat and a pat on the back, we were out of the door before it knew what was happening.

Thanks to Mum we were swiftly ferried back to the church in Lamplugh where we finished the previous day's ride. Once again we could not have asked for better weather to begin the day. The air was fresh, a light mist rolled down off the hills and the just-risen sun added that extra special finishing touch as we pedalled out into the countryside. With any luck we'd get the lion's share of the miles under our belt before it got too hot.

We headed out of Lamplugh on the way to High Lorton on perfect English quiet country roads, rolling up and down moderate hills surrounded by miles of dry stone walls with only hares, rabbits, and the occasional sleepy looking sheep for company. All the time we could see the true mountains of the Lake District monitoring our progress and as the moderate climb after Kirkland village warmed our muscles, I think all of our brains began to ponder just how how it would get for the end of the day's assault on Hartside.

Pondering soon vanished into more immediate concerns as a steep but beautiful climb over the Whinlatter Pass sent the heart and lungs into overdrive. This being the first real climb of the tour, it was funny to see Jon grinding up it like he was spinning an easy gear on the flat whilst holding polite conversation. No matter, we'd all agreed in advance this was an adventure, not a race. We'd regroup at the top of each major climb so that we could each ascend at a cadence that suited us.

Whinlatter Forest has many marked trails and is something of a haven for off-road riders. On a different trip I'd have liked to bring my full suspension bike out and barnstorm the singletrail, but that wasn't the order of business today. There were miles of countryside spread out in front of us in that everlasting snake. Reaping the rewards of the uphill slog, we descended out of the forest to some spectacular views across the flood plain around Keswick and on to the Lakeland peaks. Keswick was where Mum would be hanging out later on in the day and from the photos she took it's gorgeous.

Shortly after scooting through Keswick we came across a steep climb up to the stone circle at Castlerigg. Hard work from what I remember, but it was still early in the day and we were alone with the rocks and the view, despite the guide book's promise that 'you will never be alone' at this attraction. There are benefits to rising with the farmers! It has been noted that many of the stones of Castlerigg seem to reflect features in the surrounding hills, as though the landscape site is an interplay between the sacred space and the landscape beyond. Looks like a bunch of rocks to me, albeit very pretty ones. After getting our long hair, cloak, beard and druids fix, it was time to move on.

The high summits of the Lake District were soon moving to the rear as we pedalled to a relatively flatter pastoral area in the Eden Valley, which (according to the C2C guide) has an accent on quiet market towns and glorious woodlands contrasting with the large-scale tourism. Succinctly put - the further we were away from anyone else, the happier we were. We followed some well signed but very lightly travelled roads on the way to Greystoke. In particular the gated road towards Mungrisdale was a lot of fun as we rotated gate duty and took in the fantastic views of the surrounding peaks. More quiet roads and trails eventually brought us down through to Penrith, somehow avoiding the mass of traffic and people that converge on the town.

After getting only marginally lost in Penrith, we found a steep lungbusting climb out of the city that needed several gulps of water to cool down at the top to recover. The downhill reward was all too short, and after a couple of miles gently undulating scenery we arrived at Langwathby.

I need to paint the picture at this point.

We're somewhat tired after a busy day cycling over, up, around, and (occasionally) down hills. It's later in the day so the sun is beating down, its stupidly hot, we've emptied and refilled the water bottles, Dad and I are sweating profusely. Jon looks like he might finally be warmed up.

We have a solid 50 miles trucking behind us which is great, except the real work is about to begin.

When I read through the guidebook before flying to England, I remember thinking 'that looks like a bit of a climb'. Unfortunately, profiles on a piece of paper don't really do justice to how you feel climbing said hill in aforementioned state. 'A bit of a climb' turned out to be 'A bugger of a mountain' with 10 miles of gradient that started out slow, and felt like it gets exponentially steeper towards the summit. While everything started ok, the legs started feeling very heavy about half way up and Dad and I resorted to pushing for a while. No shame in that, gives you a chance to admire the scenery.

Admiring the scenery with the sun beating down on your (shaved) head while pushing a bike with panniers up a steep gradient gets a tad tedious pretty bloody quickly. I resorted to a tactic where I'd hop on and pedal for a bit, then walk for a bit and that seemed to go easier on the legs. At one point when cramp started attacking both Dad and myself, we wondered if we would actually get to the summit today. Jon, meanwhile was merrily spinning away planning his next trip cycling up the North face of the Eiger or similar. Git.

After a rest stop though we'd mustered enough energy to summit and reach the VERY welcome sight of Mum and Hartside cafe completely exhausted. Victory! Cups of tea have never tasted better, and I think we demolished 3 pots of it. All the while clouds were rolling in and literally 5 minutes after we had finished the heavens opened with a massive downpour that continued most of the evening and night. Nice timing!

The evening was spent shuttled back to Penrith recovering and stuffing our faces in the Agricultural Hotel. This was a total pot luck choice as it was the first pub we came to on the way to the supermarket. It was brilliant! Excellent beer, very friendly service without being pretentious, and the food was excellent. Large portions of good food which went down a treat, heartily recommended. We'll give Mum the credit for finding that one :) As you can probably gather, there was no problem sleeping tonight as fatigue (and alcohol) took over.

On reflection it was quite an adventurous first day, but one that put many miles under our belt and meant we could begin Day 2 with the Hartside climb already under our belt. Overall a strenuous but very satisfying day indeed with some picture-perfect scenery. I won't mention anything about Dad's original inspired plan to reach Nenthead on the first day in this post. That wouldn't be fair, would it?

Day 1 Suunto log. Observe altitude and ground speed towards the end ;-):

Route for Day 1, courtesy of "The Ultimate C2C Guide"
Lamplugh to Keswick

Keswick to Penrith


Penrith to Hartside

Overall route map courtesy of Sea to Sea cycle route published by Sustrans:

Coast to Coast Day 2 - Hartside to Stanhope, July 9th, 2006

Distance: 24.56 miles
Max Speed: 43 mph. That's right, 43mph :)
Avg Speed: 10 mph
Photographs from day 2

The rain had continued quite heavily through most of the previous evening but Day 2 dawned with clear skies and and air lending the dew-soaked fields a sparkling, almost magical quality as we jumped back in the car and scooted up Hartside to our re-start point. There was some occasionally heavy mist rolling down Hartside and a lot of moisture in the air, which was a rare treat because back in DC a good rolling fog is about as rare as a good cup of tea; you just don't see it.

Up at the top it was a fair bit chillier, and promoted us to wear waterproof / shell layers of varying obnoxious colour. Of course Jon's was black, although whether through design or accumulated mud / grime from the cycle back from Beijing we weren't too sure. There was time for a quick surveying of the territory we had conquered the previous day before we moved off.

Although perhaps the Northern Pennines don't gain mass tourist appeal compared to the idyllic Lake District, the scenery on Hartside and beyond strikes a much deeper chord within me. This is not simply due to the river of sweat produced making the ascent. There is something more visceral about the starkness, the feeling of isolation, the uninterrupted wildness that make the landscape very powerful. I'm glad the masses stay elsewhere and leave this region unspoiled. Long may it continue.

According to our guidebook the great northern rivers the Tyne, Tees, Wear and Derwent rise here. Several hills are crossed but the area is in fact one massive block of ancient rock covered mainly in peat, 40 by 36 miles. This area also harbours a unique blend of flora (Mountain Pansy, blue Spring Gentians and various Orchids ), fauna (the Peregrine, Merlin, Otters and Red Squirrel) and industrial archaeology.

It was with somewhat feral grins, then, that we saddled up ready to reap the rewards of yesterday's climbing with a quick bizz back down the other side of Hartside to warm up the legs. Waving goodbye to Mum, we rounded the corner and span happily away, almost freewheeling for the first 4 miles or so which was very pleasant and gave many more chances to enjoy the countryside first thing in the morning.

The initial descent was fast and the adrenaline fix woke up the remaining parts of the cardiovascular system that cups of coffee could not. I would love to recount how I saw examples of each flora and fauna mentioned above but fine detail perception tends to dwindle somewhat when you're doing 35+ mph down a hill, can't pedal fast enough to spin your highest gear, and your wide eyes are streaming. As long as your brakes hold up for the hairpin corners, what a feeling! Great expanses of rolling moorland opened up before us and I began to understand why Dad always gets up at the crack of dawn to go cycling, back home. Simply put, there is nobody else about and for that particular moment in time, the surrounding land is yours alone.

Over time, rapid moorland manoeuvres gave way to a more gentle undulating roads that curved along the side of the valley and provided plenty of exercise with some occasionally steep climbs. Eventually this road meandered down to the valley floor into Garrigill, where we crossed the South Tyne river to hit the first serious climb of the day over the side of Flinty Fell. Garrigill itself was a lovely little village with pretty bridges and what looked like the worlds biggest mushroom residing proudly on top of a tree stump. The climb out was the complete opposite of the previous day's multi-mile slog - a relatively short (1 mile) but sharp uphill that left the heart pounding against your chest and lungs gasping for air.

Quickly following the Garrill climb was the climb out of Nenthead to the summit of Black Hill, which is the highest point on the entire C2C route at 609m. Here again there was a serious off road route which is very steep and rough. While we remained on the road it was noticeable that the scenery of the North Pennines became more wild and there were frequent reminders of former mining activity.

After all the hard climbing we had endured on the previous days it was nice to peak on Black Hill and spend the rest of the day in a (mostly) down hill direction and get some serious speed up. While you can really get moving down some of these descents, they are punctuated by some equally serious brake-melting hairpin bends that can occasionally have gravel all over them. It was on one of these descents that Jon and I hit the madman button and got our heads down to see how fast we could go.

Usually on all descents the three of us spread out, give each other some room and perform frequent cross-checks over the shoulder to make sure we're all still in line and nobody has had 'a moment'. After railing around one of the last hairpins both Jon and I didn't bother to check for a while because our eyes were wide and glued to the road ahead as we hit 43mph WITH panniers on the bike.

Quite the biggest rush on the trip to date - except when we turned around and there was no sign of Dad. Uh-oh. Massive sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs, thoughts of Dad shooting off the side of the hill at 30 mph or missing the turn and wiping out went flashing through our mind as we waited for 1 minute to see if he'd come whizzing by. When he didn't show up, we turned around and began sprinting up the hill as much as we could. Bear in mind this is a steep hill we'd just come speeding down, but adrenaline kept us going as we feared we'd find a red smear on the road that used to be our Dad. Instead we find him jauntily taking pictures of an old farm house and somewhat smugly pointing out the C2C signposted turn off to the right that both Jon and I had missed on our headrush down the mountain. As this point I fell off the bike, exhausted and had a nice lie down in a field for a while, feeling suitably sheepish.

After no more drama, we finished up in Stanhope and made our rendezvous with Mum once more. At the end of Day 2 it was nice to have broken the back of most of the climbing work. There was, however, one very notable exception yet to come. In the morning, the challenge of the steepest, nastiest climb yet out of Stanhope would be waiting for us.

Before then, there were beers to be drunk and a great day to reflect upon.

Day 2 Suunto log. Kindly observe maximum speed.

Route for Day 2, courtesy of "The Ultimate C2C Guide"
Hartside to Nenthead
Nenthead to Stanhope
Overall route map courtesy of Sea to Sea cycle route published by Sustrans

Coast to Coast Day 3 - Stanhope to Tynemouth, July 10th, 2006

Distance: 42.15 miles
Max Speed: 28 mph
Avg Speed: 11 mph
Photographs from day 3

After a solid nights sleep, we began with a couple of wicked-strength cups of coffee as we mulled over what was to be the last day of our pedalling adventure together. First order of business was that particularly nasty climb out of Stanhope that we had been pondering over a pint the previous night. Not a long climb by any stretch of the imagination, probably just over a mile but the profile on paper looked vicious. We set forth with a deliberately positive attitude that it probably wasn't as bad as it looked. Pulling up to our starting point for the day it was immediately obvious that it was in fact just as ridiculous as we had feared. In our favour though it was early morning and we were brimming with energy so we looked at each other, shrugged, grinned and set forth to do battle.. In second gear.

I learned a great deal from my brother on these steep climbs. Usually I just pile into a hill, all guns blazing up on the bar ends in quite a high gear hoping to get to the top before I run completely out of energy. While this works well on the weekly commute, for multiple mile climbs the hill will laugh at you and spit you off crying. The only way is to be more patient, spin a much lower gear, keep regulating your breathing and you'll get there. With just a couple of quick 20 second stops for bursting lungs, we arrived at the top quite quickly with an immense feeling of satisfaction that all of the serious climbing on the entire C2C route was now behind us.

Ahead of us? Just about all downhill to the journey's end in Tynemouth. Miles and miles of downhill! Smiles all round as we tucked into a quick bite to eat, before waving to Mum and setting off along Waskerley Way.

O Waskerley Way! What a joy! Though the heavy skies promised to unload on us at any second, I think this section of the route was the highlight of the trip. Consistent downhill, a surface neither too rough or too boringly smooth and (of all things!) a tail wind led to easy cycling, high speed, and fantastic scenery. We were completely alone.

Bliss.

For the most part, Waskerley Way follows the western part of the former Stanhope and Tyne Railway. It passes through a range of habitats from mixed deciduous woodland and conifer plantations to open heather moorland. The guide book is not wrong in describing it as a supremely relaxing 10 mile cruise to Lydgett's Junction, dropping around 200 metres in the process and taking you over the superb Hownsgill viaduct.

Courtesy of Derwentside District Council site:
The Viaduct, which has stood for over a 130 years, is a magnificent example of Victorian railway engineering on the course of the old Stanhope & Tyne Railway between Consett and Rowley. Hownsgill Viaduct has no river or stream beneath, just a dry valley, or wind gap, which was an extreme handicap to the railway.

Before the viaduct was built the rail journey had been interrupted by this ravine and freight had to be taken across it on wagons which were lowered and raised by means of a stationary steam haulage engine. In 1856 the railway company, Stockton & Darlington, sought tenders for the construction of a viaduct. The chosen engineer, Thomas Bouch, was just about to embark on an exciting career of bridge-building and to be knighted for his work by Queen Victoria but was to end his life in disgrace because of the collapse of his greatest achievement - The Tay Bridge.

Hownsgill was constructed between 1857 and 1858 in brick, using almost three million white firebricks. It is 700 feet long, 175 feet high and has 12 arches, each with a 50ft span. It cost £12,500 to build and weighs approximately 12,000 tonnes. For those with a head for heights, a walk across the viaduct is truly rewarding with spectacular views of surrounding countryside.

The council are not kidding - as we cycled across the viaduct, way above the tree line, the surrounding countryside completely opened up and you cannot help but feel the enormity of what you are standing upon. A truly fascinating experience and we could have stayed there quite a while if we had not got places to go! More merry downhill pedalling ensued, with some notable sections on resurfaced off-road trails which were very pleasant. Most notable of them all was the Derwent Walk Path which we followed for much of the time from Consett and was a surprisingly beautiful wooded area so close to the town.

Soon after we emerged from the lovely woodland into more urbanised areas with more bridges than you can shake a stick at. The end was in sight! With heads held high, we crossed the Tyne using the bridge at Derwenthaugh, picked up the pace on the pedals, began to spin away and -- were unceremoniously halted as Jon chose a most inconvenient time to get a puncture. This was made somewhat more amusing as Dad, not being so familiar with the Presta tire valve, once the tire was mended, simply ripped the bicycle pump off the tire without first unlocking it from the valve. It was one of those moments when you can see it about to happen, both Jon and I screaming 'noooooo' in ultra slow motion but to no avail! Dad was nonplussed, but amazingly the valve stayed in one piece. I think I remember Dad mentioning something about that might explain why all of the valves on his other tires were broken or bent in some way.. Sorry!

Newcastle upon Tyne hove into view. Once famous for heavy industry and coal and previously one of the largest ship building and repair centers in the world. The cranes and derricks around the Riverside are still an impressive spectacle today. Even more impressive are the multitude of bridges, most notably the Gateshead Millenium Bridge. This is the world's only tilting bridge and allows shipping to pass underneath and apparently highlighted by a spectactular high-tech light show at night. The route along the Tyne's north bank, Hadrian's Way, is a delight to cycle with smooth surfaces and freedom from traffic. Ample photo opportunities for everyone.

After a few miles squirrelling around some back roads, housing estates and roundabouts, we crested a rise and there it was! Tynemouth! Truly a pleasure after so many miles to cruise through town among all the fish markets, stores, and seaside town activities.

Pulling up to the finish marker of the C2C was in some ways a very welcome sight after so many miles but also bittersweet as it marked the end of our time together. The elation of finishing in a pretty respectable 2.5 days soon gave rise to much contemplation about the last few days and how truly free it had felt. No computers, no rush hour, and no mind-numbing meetings. Just you, your family, a bike, your thoughts and a destination.


While I did miss Kim a great deal, I truly felt like I lived out there in the open air on the hills, sweating buckets on the climbs, spinning crazily down steep descents, swerving violently to avoid suicidal sheep. It was with these thoughts in mind we guzzled what had to be the best Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas in the world sitting on the seafront. Laughing as we talked to cyclists about to begin the C2C in the other direction who enquired whether we were cycling too. "Just finished it" came our happy reply as we tucked into another fistful of chips smugly. This was swiftly followed by a few pints of Tetleys in a nearby pub as we relived the ride together and the stories we had to tell.

While the last few journal entries have been somewhat long, I wanted to put electronic pen to paper in as much detail as I could remember so that I would look back on it in years to come as a great family event. I truly appreciate being able to spend this time with Mum, Dad and Jon as we don't see each other nearly as much as we should what with Jon and I both bouncing all over the world.

I returned from the trip with a new found vigor for really doing something more with my life. Since then Kim and I have both been planning countless new trips and mischief. It's so easy to fall into the daily work routine and grind out the hours without really thinking about what's out there, what your goals are, and whether you are really doing anything about them.

A good friend of mine once used this quote as inspiration for chasing his dreams. It hits the nail on the head.

"When we die, we may be set to write an essay on our life story. Fifty years behind a desk will be summed up in a few paragraphs while a few days in the wilds will expand into the story." - Stephen Graham

It has been two months since our days in the wilds, yet the memories are strong.
I hope they always are. Cheers.



Day 3 Suunto log.


Route for Day 3, courtesy of "The Ultimate C2C Guide"

Stanhope to Consett

Consett to Wickham

Wickham to Newcastle

Newcastle to Tynemouth

Overall route map courtesy of Sea to Sea cycle route published by Sustrans