Globalti
Legendary Member
I'm anticipating having a few days of unused holidays in the Autumn and would like to do the C2C. I have bought the Sustrans map and am surprised to see that their version of the route is only 136 miles. I have a cycling/climbing pal who lives in Garrigill, half way along the route, where I could stop a night.
I suppose I could do it on an MTB over 3 or 4 days but this uses precious time and I suspect I might find it unchallenging. I've done 48 mile MTB days on Polaris, with a couple of thousand feet of climbing thrown in; I'm no roadie but I have a heavy Peugeot road bike, which is a comfortable and enjoyable ride. I reckon if I can do 48 off road, 70 miles on tarmac shoudn't be a problem, which would take me all the way through the Lakes, up the first Pennine hill and into Garrigill for the night. There follow a couple more big hills before the long gentle descent to the North Sea. If I got a stiff following wind, it would be even better, so later in the Autumn might be more appropriate.
To be honest my only major concern is how my back and hands might feel on such a long road ride. Would a pure road bike be appropriate anyway for some of the country tracks? Would it be better on my more comfortable MTB with slicks or semi-slicks?
What do others think of this rudimentary plan?
I suppose I could do it on an MTB over 3 or 4 days but this uses precious time and I suspect I might find it unchallenging. I've done 48 mile MTB days on Polaris, with a couple of thousand feet of climbing thrown in; I'm no roadie but I have a heavy Peugeot road bike, which is a comfortable and enjoyable ride. I reckon if I can do 48 off road, 70 miles on tarmac shoudn't be a problem, which would take me all the way through the Lakes, up the first Pennine hill and into Garrigill for the night. There follow a couple more big hills before the long gentle descent to the North Sea. If I got a stiff following wind, it would be even better, so later in the Autumn might be more appropriate.
To be honest my only major concern is how my back and hands might feel on such a long road ride. Would a pure road bike be appropriate anyway for some of the country tracks? Would it be better on my more comfortable MTB with slicks or semi-slicks?
What do others think of this rudimentary plan?