Hardknott / Wynrose routes from Ambleside?

[thecube]

thanks folks, some interesting replies there. I did rid the Struggle on my "commuting bike" last year, it's slightly more generously geard than my road bike. I have also ridden the kirkstone from Troutbeck, I think form Ambleside was tougher but not too much to be scarred of. It's about fitting things around my family too, so al day rides are out of the question - shame. Plus I want to do a little walking and running too. Mickey, I was equally concerned about the decents! Even down "the Struggle" back to Windermere is pretty tough on the brakes. I will remember about pacing, I do tend to have one speed! i will need to reign that in a little. I would dread having to stop, I mean how the hell do you get going again? Plus, living in leicestershire is hardly preparing me for the big steep climbs. But I am lucky in that there are afair few hills in this area of Leicestershire, i just need to keep going up and down them!

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

I am lucky in that there are afair few hills in this area of Leicestershire,

Which part of Leicestershire are you from? I'm on the NW border.

 

[thecube]

Which part of Leicestershire are you from? I'm on the NW border.

Loughborough. Near the Charnwood Forest, which is surprisingly hilly.

 

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Stones throw then really. In my mind one day I might set up a forum ride, if I do I'll give you a shout!

 

[thecube]

Sounds good, might need to get my mileage up before hand! I am more of a runner, so my fitness is OK, but leg strength not the greatest! But I can manage a few hours on a bike without problem.

 

[Pale Rider]

All sorts of horrible things can happen if you cook the rims on a descent, including tyre slip which will take the tube with it, ripping the valve off with predictably spectacular results.

Disc brakes don't heat the rim, but they torture the spokes, so it's all a compromise.

One technique is to bring the speed right down, let the bike go as much as you dare, then repeat.

Intermittent braking is less likely to overheat the components, but obviously you need to keep a good look out behind.

 

[thecube]

Well I did a quick but hard 28miles fro Ambleside today, went to Langdale and did a tough little climb that came out at the base of the Wynrose, then did Wynrose up and down, then Hardknott to the top and down to the fort, than the reverse route. The bike gearing was fine. I was amazed at the amount of traffic including a Tescos van! I found the Wynrose (east to west) harder than the Hardknott (East to west), and the easiest of all was the Wynrose (west to east), but all got the heart rate right up. I did not go all the way on the Hardknott since another cyclist talked me out of it, said the last mile was crazy, supper steep and the road surface dreadful. I t is quite an experience doing 3.5-4.0 mph for various 25-30% hairpins. I could feel the wheel slip sometimes, but keeping a constant cadence seemed to help this. Also felt I had to be out of the saddle and leaning forward to prevent the bike from toppling backwards. All in all a great experience with stunning scenery.

 

[jazzkat]

Well I did a quick but hard 28miles fro Ambleside today, went to Langdale and did a tough little climb that came out at the base of the Wynrose, then did Wynrose up and down, then Hardknott to the top and down to the fort, than the reverse route. The bike gearing was fine. I was amazed at the amount of traffic including a Tescos van! I found the Wynrose (east to west) harder than the Hardknott (East to west), and the easiest of all was the Wynrose (west to east), but all got the heart rate right up. I did not go all the way on the Hardknott since another cyclist talked me out of it, said the last mile was crazy, supper steep and the road surface dreadful. I t is quite an experience doing 3.5-4.0 mph for various 25-30% hairpins. I could feel the wheel slip sometimes, but keeping a constant cadence seemed to help this. Also felt I had to be out of the saddle and leaning forward to prevent the bike from toppling backwards. All in all a great experience with stunning scenery.

Sounds like you had a good day out.
I've seen some large vehicles going over Hardnott from the west, usually with an accompanying smell of fried clutch!
You should have gone all the way down to the bottom of Hardknott. It is tough at the start, but it's 'the' classic climb of the hill. The road is always full of gravel and potholes, although the worst were patched last year. Mind you, it's good to save something for next time.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Sounds like you had a good day out.
I've seen some large vehicles going over Hardnott from the west, usually with an accompanying smell of fried clutch!
You should have gone all the way down to the bottom of Hardknott. It is tough at the start, but it's 'the' classic climb of the hill. The road is always full of gravel and potholes, although the worst were patched last year. Mind you, it's good to save something for next time.

It may have been patched last year, but I can tell you having done them both last week on a laden touring bike that the Hardknott pass needs more patching. There is one section that has a gap down the middle and if you are on the wrong side of it at the start, that is where you will stay irrespective of any incoming vehicles (luckily I didn't meet any).

 

[jazzkat]

It may have been patched last year, but I can tell you having done them both last week on a laden touring bike that the Hardknott pass needs more patching. There is one section that has a gap down the middle and if you are on the wrong side of it at the start, that is where you will stay irrespective of any incoming vehicles (luckily I didn't meet any).

I haven't been over since the end of April, good to know.
The whole road is a mess really, it gets a lot of water and a lot of freezing over a year and there's no way they can get serious road mending machinery up there. I suppose we should be glad there's any tarmac on it at all! Someone told me that the reason that it's so rippled is that the truck that was laying the tarmac just dumped it a bit at a time as it went down the hill. Could be just a 'old tale', but I could imagine back in the day there'd be plenty of fried clutches trying to get trucks full of tarmac up there.

 

[thecube]

Well I didn't actually plan to go as far as the top of the top of the Hardknott to be honest, I would have gone all the way down but the guy said the road was awful and it put him off, so he detoured at Cockley Beck. I also did the Struggle yesterday, this is a tough little climb, I found it tougher than the Wynrose (west to east). Then down to Glenridding, and back up the Kirkstone, this was not as bad as the Struggle. Maybe tomorrow i'll do the Honister and Newlands pass. But today I ran the Fairfield Horseshoe, so see how my legs are in the morning. I really wish I lived nearer to this part of the country, I'd nip over to Great Dunn fell if I had more time. I did have a scare descending the Kirkstone pass into towards Brothers water, was doing over 46mph at one point, but then underestimated the speed into a corner, braked heavily and did a minor skid, but at these speeds and on these gradients it was very scary - wake up call!