Leeds and Liverpool Canal Charity Ride!
- Thread starter Hop3y
- Start date
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Rohloff_Brompton_Rider
Formerly just_fixed
all the toilets were unlocked when i did it last year, well the ones i used were anyway
Milkybarman
New Member
Good luck with your ride, Myself and two friends are doing it this Saturday (June 4th 2011), so the advice / tips on this post have been helpful.
A group of friends did the ride last year, over 2 days, so in an attempt at one-up'ness, our plan is to do the ride in one day. We have a lift from Bradford (where we live) to Liverpool at 3.30am, so hope to be riding by 5am. We've done a couple of warm up rides (54 miles last Sunday) and have a time of around 15-16 hours in mind for the full course. During last weeks 54 mile'r (from Apperley Bridge to Gargrave and back), weather was bad, and Keighley to Gargrave is tough riding. To make matters worse, we suffered 5 punctures and a broken valve (all on one bike). So, we've all upgraded to slime tubes. If you're not using slimes, I can seriously recommend scabs for repairs. We used those last week, and if you can find your puncture, there is often no need to even take the wheel off the bike. But still, a lot of time wasted on repairs, which will hopefully not be repeated next week.
A group of friends did the ride last year, over 2 days, so in an attempt at one-up'ness, our plan is to do the ride in one day. We have a lift from Bradford (where we live) to Liverpool at 3.30am, so hope to be riding by 5am. We've done a couple of warm up rides (54 miles last Sunday) and have a time of around 15-16 hours in mind for the full course. During last weeks 54 mile'r (from Apperley Bridge to Gargrave and back), weather was bad, and Keighley to Gargrave is tough riding. To make matters worse, we suffered 5 punctures and a broken valve (all on one bike). So, we've all upgraded to slime tubes. If you're not using slimes, I can seriously recommend scabs for repairs. We used those last week, and if you can find your puncture, there is often no need to even take the wheel off the bike. But still, a lot of time wasted on repairs, which will hopefully not be repeated next week.
Milkybarman
New Member
we did the ride Saturday. A few points / tips - the most important one - we rode from Liverpool to Leeds, for a couple of reasons ; firstly we live within 10 miles of the Leeds end, so we thought it would be a good idea to know the home straight, but also because generally the wind would be in our favour at this time of year (west to east). But, rather annoyingly, the wind was in the opposite direction (east to west), so straight into our faces, with gusts of upto 25mph. We'd seen the forecast, so knew to expect it, but with hindsight (and what I advise to you), we should have changed the route back and rode to Liverpool. The wind played a major part in the ride ; for around 60 - 70% of the ride, we found ourselves continuously pressing, with no respite. Had we taken the opposite route, it would have been much much easier. I reckon when we were into the wind, it was costing us 2mph, and probably cost us 2 hours in total, and made the ride a lot harder than it needed to be.
Other stuff - we set off at 5.40, from the original start point of the canal, in Canning Place, in the centre of Liverpool, then traced the path that the canal would have run, before picking it up at the current start point. The Liverpool stretch is dirty, the canal is a rubbish tip, not pretty at all, but once you've covered 15 - 20 miles, its clear again. The ride in general, was ok, we were reasonably well prepared, and knew what to expect. We didn't have a support vehicle, but had arranged for someone to meet us at the half way point (Church), with hot food, clean clothes, a bit of maintainance gear. At this point, one of our team of 3 quit ; he had been struggling since about 40 miles, so knew he wasn't going to make it home. Other than this stop, the only real break we had was at Gargrave (after about 90 miles). We were getting cold, so stopped off for some very sweet tea and 10 minutes sat in the sunshine at the Anchor Inn. Other than this, we tried to ride for an hour at a time, then took a 5 minute break. The path is generally good, there are stretches of upto 5 miles at a time, where its paved / tarmac'd, the rest was hard dirt, and as the weather had been dry, it was compact, easy enough to ride, but occasionally it was quite rutted, so you had to keep focused. The only mechanical problem we had, was a broken chain on about 70 miles ; we removed a link, and within 15 minute, back on track. The ride took us just short of 16 hours, I think riding time was about 13.5. Where the track was good, we were pushing for between 11 - 13mph, where it was bad, worst case we were down to about 7mph. Once we had passed 70 - 80 mph, exhaustion set in, and it was just a battle of endurance, with will-power taking over. It is physically / mentally very demanding. Ankles, wrists, hips, shoulders and arms felt like lead by 90, with 40 miles still to go (our total mileage was about 130). Energy - other than hot soup / sandwiches at the half way point, we relied on mars bars, marathons (snickers), dried fruit and nuts, which were fine, instant energy (you will need lots). Fluids, generally just water, there are villages en route where you can fill up, and also canal boat filling stations where you can top up. Toilets - none of the british waterways were open, so had to rely on bushes. Maintenance - we carried a small tool kit, which enabled us to rejoin the chain, then just spare tubes / patches which weren't needed, because no punctures ! we had slime tubes, so use these, the thought of having to repair / replace a tube when you can hardly lift your arm above head height does not bear thinking about.
This is a seriously tough ride, you really need to be mentally prepared aswell as physically. If you have any doubts about your ability, you will not finish. Once past 90, it's a pure mental battle to the end. We finished at 9.20pm, the last stretch of 10 miles through home territory were ok, we'd expected it to be the hardest bit, we ached like you will not believe, it was getting to dusk, we were cold and it was starting raining - but the stretch to Leeds was ok, good paths and not a lot of pedestrians.
Good luck - be prepared for a long hard day, check the weather, reverse your route if you have to !
Next year - coast to coast.
Other stuff - we set off at 5.40, from the original start point of the canal, in Canning Place, in the centre of Liverpool, then traced the path that the canal would have run, before picking it up at the current start point. The Liverpool stretch is dirty, the canal is a rubbish tip, not pretty at all, but once you've covered 15 - 20 miles, its clear again. The ride in general, was ok, we were reasonably well prepared, and knew what to expect. We didn't have a support vehicle, but had arranged for someone to meet us at the half way point (Church), with hot food, clean clothes, a bit of maintainance gear. At this point, one of our team of 3 quit ; he had been struggling since about 40 miles, so knew he wasn't going to make it home. Other than this stop, the only real break we had was at Gargrave (after about 90 miles). We were getting cold, so stopped off for some very sweet tea and 10 minutes sat in the sunshine at the Anchor Inn. Other than this, we tried to ride for an hour at a time, then took a 5 minute break. The path is generally good, there are stretches of upto 5 miles at a time, where its paved / tarmac'd, the rest was hard dirt, and as the weather had been dry, it was compact, easy enough to ride, but occasionally it was quite rutted, so you had to keep focused. The only mechanical problem we had, was a broken chain on about 70 miles ; we removed a link, and within 15 minute, back on track. The ride took us just short of 16 hours, I think riding time was about 13.5. Where the track was good, we were pushing for between 11 - 13mph, where it was bad, worst case we were down to about 7mph. Once we had passed 70 - 80 mph, exhaustion set in, and it was just a battle of endurance, with will-power taking over. It is physically / mentally very demanding. Ankles, wrists, hips, shoulders and arms felt like lead by 90, with 40 miles still to go (our total mileage was about 130). Energy - other than hot soup / sandwiches at the half way point, we relied on mars bars, marathons (snickers), dried fruit and nuts, which were fine, instant energy (you will need lots). Fluids, generally just water, there are villages en route where you can fill up, and also canal boat filling stations where you can top up. Toilets - none of the british waterways were open, so had to rely on bushes. Maintenance - we carried a small tool kit, which enabled us to rejoin the chain, then just spare tubes / patches which weren't needed, because no punctures ! we had slime tubes, so use these, the thought of having to repair / replace a tube when you can hardly lift your arm above head height does not bear thinking about.
This is a seriously tough ride, you really need to be mentally prepared aswell as physically. If you have any doubts about your ability, you will not finish. Once past 90, it's a pure mental battle to the end. We finished at 9.20pm, the last stretch of 10 miles through home territory were ok, we'd expected it to be the hardest bit, we ached like you will not believe, it was getting to dusk, we were cold and it was starting raining - but the stretch to Leeds was ok, good paths and not a lot of pedestrians.
Good luck - be prepared for a long hard day, check the weather, reverse your route if you have to !
Next year - coast to coast.
Milkybarman
New Member
Canning Place, Central Liverpool - 4th June 5.40 am
Lock 1, Central Leeds - 4th June 9.20pmtowpathtreks
Regular
- Location
- Liverpool
Well done to everyone who has done this ride, rather you than me! (I am a fair weather cyclist and 127.25 miles is a bit much for my knees).
I will try to add some more advice to my site (towpathtreks.co.uk) and maybe some maps. Waterscape/British Waterways are starting a new project to map the accessibility of the canal network. When they have done this it will be very handy for cyclists who want to know about access points and towpath conditions.
Did anyone have any problems at the two tunnels? or with the bike gates on the towpath?
Also the canal originally started at Old Hall Street not Canning Place but dont feel you have to go back and do the whole thing again! And if you think the Liverpool end is bad now, you should have seen it in the 1980s. Its unrecognizable now.
I am always happy to add more to my site which is more about the canal than cycling so could use more cycling related help.
If anyone has any blogs about the ride I will add them to my site, I know people like to read up on it before doing it.
I will try to add some more advice to my site (towpathtreks.co.uk) and maybe some maps. Waterscape/British Waterways are starting a new project to map the accessibility of the canal network. When they have done this it will be very handy for cyclists who want to know about access points and towpath conditions.
Did anyone have any problems at the two tunnels? or with the bike gates on the towpath?
Also the canal originally started at Old Hall Street not Canning Place but dont feel you have to go back and do the whole thing again! And if you think the Liverpool end is bad now, you should have seen it in the 1980s. Its unrecognizable now.
I am always happy to add more to my site which is more about the canal than cycling so could use more cycling related help.
If anyone has any blogs about the ride I will add them to my site, I know people like to read up on it before doing it.
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
The bike gates are an absolute pain if the bike has high flat bars as on a hybrid and has panniers - the bike is then too tall to go in forwards and too wide to go in backwards. I found it a faff to negotiate my way through the Wigan 'bike traps'.
Rohloff_Brompton_Rider
Formerly just_fixed
towpathtreks
Regular
- Location
- Liverpool
I have seen people pass the bike around the edge of the gate, over the canal. Looks a good way to inadvertently wash your bike to me.
I understand why the gates are there, there was a problem with motorbikes on the towpaths 30 years ago, but the Leeds end of the canal seems to cope okay. These gates are hardly friendly for wheelchairs. Maybe the access review will see an end to them.
I understand why the gates are there, there was a problem with motorbikes on the towpaths 30 years ago, but the Leeds end of the canal seems to cope okay. These gates are hardly friendly for wheelchairs. Maybe the access review will see an end to them.
Rohloff_Brompton_Rider
Formerly just_fixed
the only way i could get my brompton folder past, or over the top, but the brommie is heavy.
Milkybarman
New Member
The gates were a bit of a pain, and their style changed along the route, from the kissing gate early on; to the cutout section around Wigan(reminds me of Dale Winton - Bring on the Wall!), to triangular cutouts later on, and then just normal style wooden gates where its a bit more rural. On the cutaways around Wigan, yes the locals would avoid them and go round the edge, with the bikes going airbourne over water - a bit too risky for us.
The two tunnels - we knew about these, so basically printed off plans from google earth, and pre-plotted the path that we intended to take, which worked out fine. There were signposts, but not sure how useful these were.
There is one thing I'd mention, we did Liverpool to Leeds, and about 10 - 20 miles after Wigan, there was a fork in the canal, with the Leeds / Liverpool going off on a tangent to the right. At this point, you are on the left hand side of the canal, so need to cross a bridge. It isn't well sign posted ; the path around here is good, so if you're at speed, there is no way you'd realise you need to cross ; we completely missed it, so went on maybe 10 minutes before coming to a dead end. We asked a pedestrian, who put us right, but thought it worth mentioning. If you're doing Leeds - Liverpool, it wouldn't be a problem, as the flow of the water will take you in the right direction.
Regarding the condition of the canal at the Liverpool end - saying that its current (poor) condition, is a massive improvement on what it was 20 - 30 years ago - interesting ! One by-product of the lack of water bound traffic / build up of rubbish in the canal, is that wildlife is flourishing ! We saw loads of herons / swans / voles around this area. They obviously have a different approach to rubbish compared to us.
The two tunnels - we knew about these, so basically printed off plans from google earth, and pre-plotted the path that we intended to take, which worked out fine. There were signposts, but not sure how useful these were.
There is one thing I'd mention, we did Liverpool to Leeds, and about 10 - 20 miles after Wigan, there was a fork in the canal, with the Leeds / Liverpool going off on a tangent to the right. At this point, you are on the left hand side of the canal, so need to cross a bridge. It isn't well sign posted ; the path around here is good, so if you're at speed, there is no way you'd realise you need to cross ; we completely missed it, so went on maybe 10 minutes before coming to a dead end. We asked a pedestrian, who put us right, but thought it worth mentioning. If you're doing Leeds - Liverpool, it wouldn't be a problem, as the flow of the water will take you in the right direction.
Regarding the condition of the canal at the Liverpool end - saying that its current (poor) condition, is a massive improvement on what it was 20 - 30 years ago - interesting ! One by-product of the lack of water bound traffic / build up of rubbish in the canal, is that wildlife is flourishing ! We saw loads of herons / swans / voles around this area. They obviously have a different approach to rubbish compared to us.
towpathtreks
Regular
- Location
- Liverpool
There were calls for the canal to be filled in from the 1960s onwards. The only traffic on this end were the IWA rallies which were aimed at showing the canal was still in use and shouldnt be turned into a road.
back then the towpath was closed to the public. There were locked gates on the bridges. The only people on the towpath were kids who shouldnt have been there.
Now there is the new dock link and there is traffic heading down to the docks. the towpath is open and has been turned into a cycle path.
the water is clear at this end so you can see more rubbish, but I doubt it is any worse than Burnley or Blackburn. It can be quite weedy. Having a housing estate next to it means it does get bikes and garden furniture thrown in, but you get that anywhere. I have seen a fridge floating along in rural Yorkshire.
The branch line you mention is the old Walton Summit Branch, luckily it is only a quarter of a mile long now. I will mention it on my site though.
back then the towpath was closed to the public. There were locked gates on the bridges. The only people on the towpath were kids who shouldnt have been there.
Now there is the new dock link and there is traffic heading down to the docks. the towpath is open and has been turned into a cycle path.
the water is clear at this end so you can see more rubbish, but I doubt it is any worse than Burnley or Blackburn. It can be quite weedy. Having a housing estate next to it means it does get bikes and garden furniture thrown in, but you get that anywhere. I have seen a fridge floating along in rural Yorkshire.
The branch line you mention is the old Walton Summit Branch, luckily it is only a quarter of a mile long now. I will mention it on my site though.
OP
OP
Hop3y
Padiham Commuter
- Location
- Padiham, Burnley
Only 24 days to the ride. Thanks for all your advice so far! We're splitting it over 2 days as we live in Bunrley, so we're going to stop overnight and set off from Liverpool.
OP
OP
Hop3y
Padiham Commuter
- Location
- Padiham, Burnley
6 days to go now! We've just passed £2,000 sponsorship, I'm well excited.
corshamjim
New Member
- Location
- Corsham
I hope you get good weather and a following wind. Well done raising so much sponsorship too!
