Has anyone on CC "enjoyed" cycling in the Lake District??

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I love taking my bikes up to the Lake District. Okay it's a bit hilly but that can be sorted with the right gearing and the views make the climbs worth it.

Any excuse to dig out this photo again :
View attachment 107854
Taken just above the hairpins on the Eskdale side of Hardknott Pass.

And these two from September last year...



Top of the hardknott and rynose (sp?) passes though we did them from the ambleside to eskdale direction..

 

[Hyslop]

The ride out of Wasdale Head is good. If you can avoid the sheep!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jlr_y7LZoo

Do the tourist board know youre doing this?Give it a month or two,one of the monthly mags will pick it up,and recommend that you spice up your turbo work with 5 mins of "half wheel a Herdwick" at maximum threshold,remembering to press the" mutton button" on your Garmin to give an accurate reading(Wastwater depthxbreadthx cost of bike).Then,every pillock in Christendom will claim to have been fastest to St Bees or wherever!

 

[Piemaster]

Was there during last week of school holidays - last for us anyway, it seemed a few other areas were going back that week. No cycling for me (no bike) and I don't really do hills coming from the flatlands of East Yorkshire, but what I would have found off-putting anyway was the level of traffic and impatience of others even in the car.

Did enjoy an afternoon paddleboarding though

 

[hobbitonabike]

Same here: the last bit up to the house is a toughie which is always a sting in the tale to every ride.

I'm pretty sure that I couldn't do Hardknott though - did a short distance of 25% plus a while back and Christ that was hard enough.

Not sure I can do Hardknott either lol. But it gives me something to aim for and I am saving that bad boy till last!!!

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Not sure I can do Hardknott either lol. But it gives me something to aim for and I am saving that bad boy till last!!!

My limit is Gummers How which I freely admit I found very hard.

Not far from you - have you had a stab at it?

 

[mcshroom]

Was there during last week of school holidays - last for us anyway, it seemed a few other areas were going back that week. No cycling for me (no bike) and I don't really do hills coming from the flatlands of East Yorkshire, but what I would have found off-putting anyway was the level of traffic and impatience of others even in the car.

Did enjoy an afternoon paddleboarding though

Traffic really does depend on location. The rule of thumb for me is the easier it is to get to from the M6, the heavier the traffic is. Out round the North and West, with the exceptions of Buttermere village and Keswick, tend to be much quieter than Windermere/Ambleside/Kendal.

 

[mcshroom]

My limit is Gummers How which I freely admit I found very hard.

Not far from you - have you had a stab at it?

I've not had a crack at Hardknott yet either. Birker Fell from Ulpha has probably been my steepest so far. It's not so much the going up that worries me as I can use silly low gears if needed and if all else fails there's always the 24" gear option. It's the idea of riding down a 30% twisty, gravelly hill that puts me off.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Was there during last week of school holidays - last for us anyway, it seemed a few other areas were going back that week. No cycling for me (no bike) and I don't really do hills coming from the flatlands of East Yorkshire, but what I would have found off-putting anyway was the level of traffic and impatience of others even in the car.

Did enjoy an afternoon paddleboarding though

I guess local knowledge helps. There are masses of quiet roads/lanes to cycle on if you know where they are and how to link them up.

Some of the main arterial roads are a nightmare imo (A590/591 as an example) - although these are considerably worse (and for me a no go) in the tourist season.

Tbh courtesy of other drivers is not bad most of the year and better than where we used to live by far (S.E.London/T.Wells) although again it changes when the tourists are here in large numbers. Maybe they bring their bad habits with them. Maybe the locals get frustrated with increased traffic density. Maybe both.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I've not had a crack at Hardknott yet either. Birker Fell from Ulpha has probably been my steepest so far. It's not so much the going up that worries me as I can use silly low gears if needed and if all else fails there's always the 24" gear option. It's the idea of riding down a 30% twisty, gravelly hill that puts me off.

Well the descents put me off too - there's a fairly lengthy 25% between Chapel Stile & Grasmere that I went down on a wet day and it was very unpleasant. I've seen a number of riders come of on the descents from Wrynose/Hardknott whilst competing in the Fred Whitton - nasty!

 

[mcshroom]

Well the descents put me off too - there's a fairly lengthy 25% between Chapel Stile & Grasmere that I went down on a wet day and it was very unpleasant. I've seen a number of riders come of on the descents from Wryose/Hardknott whilst competing in the Fred Whitton - nasty!

This, and the stories from some of my mates at work of sliding down Hardknott sideways in the wet!

I may give it a go on the mountian bike. Big tyres and hydro discs might just be enough - if I can lug that heavy thing up the hill to start with

 

[jimhead]

Was there during last week of school holidays - last for us anyway, it seemed a few other areas were going back that week. No cycling for me (no bike) and I don't really do hills coming from the flatlands of East Yorkshire, but what I would have found off-putting anyway was the level of traffic and impatience of others even in the car.

Did enjoy an afternoon paddleboarding though

I found the drivers to be very pleasant when I did Hardknott earlier in the year. They would pull over to let us past so we didn't lose momentum up hill, shouting encouragement as we past. The smell of burning clutch was nasty though. The descent was hard work, you literally can't pull on the brakes hard enough to scrub the speed off.

 

[rideswithmoobs]

What all year round bike would you all recommend for lakes riding ?

 

[Piemaster]

I found the drivers to be very pleasant when I did Hardknott earlier in the year. They would pull over to let us past so we didn't lose momentum up hill, shouting encouragement as we past. The smell of burning clutch was nasty though. The descent was hard work, you literally can't pull on the brakes hard enough to scrub the speed off.

Could be just the areas we were in (Windermere and up to Keswick). I do hope so.

When I was working in Aberdeen there was a very quick descent on way back from work (and obviously a slog up it in the morning) with a T-junction at the bottom. After a couple of weeks and buttock clenching moments the bike got a new front fork with a disc brake. Couldn't swap out the rear cantis but the difference was substantial.

 

[mcshroom]

What all year round bike would you all recommend for lakes riding ?

Lake District - like anywhere else, a decent road bike with low enough gearing, or a CX/Tourer would be good.

For lakes, er, how about a pedalo?

 

[rideswithmoobs]

For lakes, er, how about a pedalo? [/QUOTE]

Ohhhh very jovial