On the 20th March, I received the following email from Fred Whitton sponsors Saddleback…
Names have now been pulled from the Fred Whitton draw hat…
We can report back great news… you are now entered in to the 2012 Saddleback Fred Whitton Challenge!
As soon as I saw that email I regretted entering the draw. How the hell was I going to get myself in any kind of shape for 112 miles / 12500ft of climbing in 7 weeks? I quickly came to the conclusion that I’d have to go and practice riding hills, something that I usually actively avoid doing! So I got changed, pumped my tyres up and went and rode some hills. It wasn’t too bad. I didn’t die. I did decide that I’d need lower gearing to get me round the course though. The compact chainset was borrowed from my Sabbath and fitted to my Tarmac along with a 11-28t cassette. If I needed lower gearing than that then I was in real trouble.
A week in the Lake District over Easter gave me some hill practice (mainly mtbing but did manage to get one road ride in with 3 decent climbs) but I was still woefully short of hilly miles in my legs. Twitter came to my rescue. Emma & Ali were both entered in the Fred. Emma aiming for a fast time, Ali just looking to survive and raise lots of money for Macmillan. We arranged to go for a hilly ride over in Hebden Bridge. 56 miles & 7644ft climbing later I was a lot more confident of being able to survive the Fred. It was also agreed that I’d ride around with Ali. We both seemed to climb at a similar speed so we’d be able to battle round the route together :)
Three weeks later and the big day was upon us. Had a very kind offer from 2 Twitter friends to stay at their place the night before so drove up to The Lakes on Saturday to meet them and one of their friends Craig. We drove over to Coniston to register for the event and I got to pick up my VIP goodies from Saddleback – some Castelli Body Paint shorts, a Castelli Fred Whitton jersey, some Vredestein tyres and a bundle of energy & recovery products. I really was getting the VIP treatment. Afterwards we headed of to eat cake (thanks Craig!) then back to Paul & Jen’s place for a relaxed evening of food, chat & bike fettling before settling down to an early night.
My alarm rudely woke me at 0455. Really not a time to be getting up on a Sunday morning. Oh well, it had to be done. Quick shower, change into bike clothes and into the car for the drive to Coniston where the event started. Breakfast (a crossant and a pain au chocolate) was consumed along the way. There was a bit of traffic chaos getting into the event site but managed to get in and setup in time to meet Ali & Emma just before 0700 which is when we’d agreed to start. We dibbed in and set off into the unknown. I hadn’t studied the route and was hoping to spend most of the day in blissful ignorance of what lay ahead. I even made sure my cycle computer wasn’t showing distance ridden. I figured it would depress me so went with the time, current speed and heartrate. I also told Ali not to tell me how far we’d ridden!
It wasn’t long before we were climbing. Hawkshead Hill. A mere blip on the Fred Whitton route profile but a fairly tough start at that time of the morning! After spinning through Ambleside was a sharp climb up to Troutbeck (where I stayed over Easter) followed by the first major climb of the day – Kirkstone Pass. It was a long old drag to the summit but we both felt better having got it out of the way. A quick gel and a slurp of energy drink as I crested the summit (was determined to try and keep my body well fuelled) was followed my a nice fast, flowy descent. Eventually we ended up at our first official food / drink stop. Jen and her friend Steph had very kindly agreed to provide 2 stops along the route. So we’d spot them easily they’d be flying a huge Flanders flag. It was a lovely sight. We’d given them drop bags with fresh bottles & food and they had supplemented these with flapjack, water and mini cans of Coke. Splendid!
The next climb up Matterdale End didn’t seem too bad but then followed the long slog up the A66 to Keswick. We were passed by a couple of fast looking riders, decided I’d expend too much energy trying to tag onto the back of them but they then appeared to slow and we drifted back up to them. A wheel to sit on and shelter myself and Ali from the biting headwind. Result! Through Keswick (with lots of people cheering from the roadside) and then out to the next 3 climbs – Honister, Newlands & Whinlatter. There was a time cutoff at the top of Whinlatter (1300) but we were looking well on course for that. Chipps caught us on the road to Newlands. Nice to see another friendly face. Soon the climb up Honister was upon us. This was where things got really tough! According to Strava it was 2.2km at an average gradient of 10.5% but there were sections *much* steeper than that. Many people were struggling, quite a few were walking. We made it to the top though! The descent was steep and twisty. It ws taken carefully. The ambulance passing us on the climb reminded us that reckless descending should be avoided at all costs!
Before the next climb was the first official food stop. As we’d topped up food & bottles earlier on we decided to ride staight through and up Newlands. Another toughie. 1.9km at 10.1% average gradient. We both cleaned it though. High fives at the top followed by an ace, fast descent and onto the bottom of Whinlatter. This was a longer but slightly less steep climb – 3.3km @ 7.1%. We were also heading towards the wonderful Jen and Steph at our 2nd unofficial food stop. The Flanders flag was again a lovely sight. More food & drink, a rest & a chat and we were on our way again. Dibbing in just along from our stop we were 40 minutes inside the 1300 cutoff despite the 20 min break we’d just had – both very pleased with this.
The next section of the ride was by far the worst. A relentless, cold headwind & some chewy climbs sapped morale. By the time we started the climb up Cold Fell we were both struggling. On the top the wind was ferocious. I told Ali to sit on my wheel and we battered ourselves into the wind. Even when the road started heading downwards we still had to pedal. Soul destroying and we knew we still had the hardest part of the ride still to come. We eventually got to Calder Bridge and the 2nd official food stop (and the next time cuttoff – 1600 – which we were 85 mins inside. Yay!) A cup of hot tea & a bit of flapjack revived flagging bodies and we set off towards the evil sting in the tail.
Whoever thought that putting Hardknott Pass 98 miles into an already very hilly ride must have been having a laugh. Whoever thought that building a road up there in the first place was even more mental. The first sight of it was terrifying! 2.6km @ 12.1% average doesn’t tell half the story. Some of the sections were over 30%!!!! I got myself up the first really steep part and tried to recover on the next sectio which was very slightly flatter. I then rounded a corner to be met by a wall of tarmac followed by another one. Struggling to keep the front wheel on the ground I was somehow still going until I lost my balance and was forced to put a foot down. Gutted. No way to get going again on such a steep section I had to walk 10-20 yards to the next corner. Decided to have a rest and wait for Ali and cheer her up the crazy steep bit. She was soon in sight and managed to clean the section I had failed on. Hero! I hopped back on the bike and we winched ourselves to the top, both elated at getting over such a tough climb. A very steep, twisty descent followed and took us to the bottom of Wrynose. Yes, there was another evil climb to come 1.8km @ 8.1% with some much steeper sections. A massive tailwind helped and we got the top.
There was no stopping us now! All of the major climbs were behind us. It was just the descent off Wrynose to do followed by the drag back to the start at Coniston. Even this had some steep bits in it (well they certainly felt steep with over 100 miles / 12000ft climbing in the legs!). It had started to spot with rain by now as well. Thankfully it held off until we reached the finish. It was great to be chered down the finish straight where we we met by Emma, Paul, Craig & Jen. It was also a massive relief to have finished!
We dibbed in and then went and got our times. The ride had taken us 10 hours and 22 mins including stops. A properly long day out in the saddle! My actual riding time was 9 hours and 9 mins. Much faster than I’d expected to be :)
It feels so good have have got round such a tough course. What made it even more special was riding round with Ali and playing a small part in her fundraising effort for Macmillan. So far she has raised over £3380! A huge effort. Hopefully a few more people will sponsor her and get the total to over £3500…
You can read Ali’s excellent ride report HERE
