Cycled to Windermere and back in 1 day.

It was my week off and Thursday 24th Feb was the day that I could get out on my bike and go for a decent ride. The alarm was set for 5.30am, I was up at 5.20am so that was good. After some porridge and a few brews I was off out Wha-owww!

It was dark and damp but the forecast was to be nice today (Fingers crossed) I set off heading for the Lake District that was my plan and probably when I arrived there to spend a little time there and catch the train back!

Its a long slog up to a little village called Mountain halfway to Keighley, then its mostly downhill from there. As I arrived in Keighley it was light and I was felling better although the weather was still grey and damp!

On the downhill into Keighley my shades fell off and into the road, I was travelling at speed by now and thought I couldn't be bothered to stop so I left them (The thought of having to stop, go back to retrieve them was too much hassle plus they were a cheap pair anyway) luckily !

After Keighley I had a choice to go along the main bypass towards Skipton or take the old road to Skipton - The old road it was although lots of potholes to contend with.. but much nicer scenery going through little villages like Steeton and Eastburn, also had to stop at the level crossing for local trains to pass by.

After a stop at the petrol station after the level crossing for Sandwich and water/sports drink it was off again towards Skipton (A629) I carried on along this road and rather than going into Skipton centre I opted to get straight onto the A65 towards Kendal. This road is quite bad for cyclists in places - Plenty of sharp bends etc with lots of HGVs flying past you..

Out of Skipton I'm heading towards Settle.. although no stopping into Settle centre but onwards along the A65 - Got to Little Chef and stopped off for a brew and Beans on toast after an hour of chilling there, I'm back on the road its still grey and damp but back home its supposed to be sunny! Typical ha ha.

Whizzing along after my food and drink, I go through a nice place Kirkby Lonsdale nice bridge in centre.

Its a welcome sight when I pass over the M6 this makes me feel good as I'm more of less in the Lakes now. Still plodding on I take the A590 then onto the A591 which takes me into Windermere. I take a shot of a flying Chinook passing by over Ings. By the time I reach the Windermere sign I am a little tired, and think do I go down the nearly 2 mile descent to Bowness or just turn back here and start to go back minus the hill climb back up from Bowness..

Theres no option you can't go to Windermere and not go to the waters edge at Bowness :-) Its sooo nice there, and it lifted my spirits. Its funny that after I reached Bowness the sun came out for a short while, plus I ate a few bags of crisps (Salted) and this really perked me up - Must have needed salt replacement cos it did the job and I was again full of energy!!

That's it.. I'm cycling back (Well as far as I can get then it could be Train time somewhere along the way back).

I was at the end of the A590 and going over the M6 (The sun was out and now it was the first I saw of the blue skies (Brilliant!) That inspired me to now carry on- I was headed back the same way I came along A65 (This time it was near sunset and darkness! By the time I reached the village of Long Preston it was getting darker, all I wanted was a bag of chips for the salt intake again.. There was no chippy that I could see in Long Preston so I carried on in the hope there would be one in the next village of Halliwell (Yes!! there was a tiny chippy just off the main road) now it was in darkness.

I was chatting to the people who have the chippy they asked where I've been cycling (You can imagine the look on their faces when I told them where I'd been and where I was going back to ha ha) Also another cyclist pulled into the chippy for food, the owners told him what I was doing his reply was (That bag of chips is going to get you back to Huddersfield?) I said Yes :-)

Back out after chips and a brew I was buzzing again, but now it was pitch black on the A65 - Scary !! With wagons and cars speeding up behind me all the time, also having to watch very carefully for potholes in the road - very tricky!

The only street lights I had on way back was going through Keighley centre, most of the roads back had no street lighting. I was more or less out of Keighley district and high upon a hillside when I stopped to take a pic of Bradford in the distance (Wasn't sure if it would come out or not but it did). From this point it was more of less downhill - Phew what a nice cycle down into Brighouse - with Street lights too (Bonus)!!

Now I'm in Brighouse, I forgot the last climb up towards Bradley - the hill is a killer especially after such a long day ! After over 15hrs I'm back home totally knackered but very chuffed that I have a new daily Cycling record 164.4 miles in one day (Previous record was cycling from Holyhead in North wales back home to Huddersfield that was 157miles.

Three Peaks challenge!

From Tuesday 2nd Aug at 5.07am until finish Wednesday 4.30am.

Ben Nevis time;
3hrs 53mins.

Scafell time;

4hrs 55mins.

Snowdon time;

3hrs 15mins.

The idea to do the 3 peaks all started when I returned from my last big cycle ride. I wanted to do something else but I don't really have that much time to do another mega adventure!!

That's where I only really need a day or two off work to complete this, and with no training... this really would be another challenge!!

I was working all day on Monday 1st Aug. I finished work at around 6pm. Then it was up to Fort William I eventually arrived there at 12am ish! after nearly hitting several Stags that just appeared on the darkness of the roads in the Glencoe area...... I looked for a cheap hotel just so I could get my head down for around 4hrs! This did not happen so I ended up sleeping in the car in a truck stop park. I could not really get a great sleep it was on and off all the 4hrs or so, when I decided to make a move it was around 4.40am, that just gave me time to drive the short distance to the Nevis car park, still half asleep I paid the parking fee, got my gear together and I was off !!

The weather was poor, but it was just starting to get light (Very misty not going to be any views on the summit that's for sure)
I was walking away, although it was misty and drizzling it was rather warm, and for that reason I wanted to change into my shorts.. trouble was I didn't put them in my rucksack !! So instead I was down to my undies :-) (Well it was cooler)

I walked for around 45mins and was next to the lake part way up the mountain, I was tempted to go for a quick dip in there, but thought No, I need to carry on (Thing is.. I wished I would have done it now!) Next time I will..

After around 2 and a half hours I was at the summit (Brilliant! ) was a feeling to get there, although nobody there but me. I was straight down after taking a few snaps, then my plan was to try and run/jog all the way down to make good time.. I did end up jogging around 80% of the way down which I was happy with that. Not looking at the time I carried on until I reached my parked car at the Nevis car park, I opened the car door put keys in ignition, and Bamm! time came up on dash display 9.00am ! WoW... Record time 3hrs 53mins. The last time I was timed on the 3 peaks was back in 1996 on a Organised trip with coaches for Cystic Fibrosis, and the time then for Ben Nevis was 4hrs 38mins . I was very pleased with my time this time considering I'm 14yrs older this time.

So it was 9am and I was off now driving to my next Mountain Scafell.. my plan was to start Scafell on Wasdale Head side (I knew this was the easiest way but the steepest way) I drove through Glencoe and took some pics along the way stopping at Loch Lomond too (Very nice places in Scotland). I thought the adventure had come to an end when the traffic came to a halt along the A82 to Glasgow just along the side of Loch Lomond, a 4x4 car had overturned blocking the road temporarily (Thank god) It was soon moved and I was on my way again (Nobody was injured by the way in the crash)

I was driving along the A74 and was feeling a little hungry by this time, also my fuel was running low so I pulled into a services for some grub! and Fuel ! After an hour I was off again, was really bad traffic but I suppose that's what you get doing it in the working week! I was now along the A66 towards Workington and guess what ?? Yes another 4x4 car was overturned Amazing !! 2 in the same day.

4pm and I'm at Wasdale Head at the base of Scafell and wastwater (Very nice around here) I head off and the summit is only just covered in cloud! Brilliant, could get a great view from this one :-) I was trekking up Lingmell and turned around to take a snap shop of WastWater (Nice pic) then after carried on up, when I got the the 2 main rock faces the Cloud cover dropped dramatically, so much so I could not see the steep climb up in between Scafell and Scafell pike!

So I carried on up not realising I was slightly right of where I should have been going up, I was encountering very steep/rocky slopes, very dangerous in misty wet conditions but I carried on up. My though was I could not turn back down here it would be too dangerous, so I scrambled on up until I reached the top of the main rock slabs. I did then see a little narrow path which I knew was at the top. I turned left and walked around a hundred yards the I saw the place I should have come up from Phew! that was risky the way I had just come up then..

I had a good idea in which direction the summit was from here so i carried on in the direction I though and eventually after a lot of here and there I reached the summit Yeah! Number 2 summit done.. I started to get the iphone app up on my phone to check where I was once I left the summit and made my way to where I thought I had come from, the gps app was saying I was not where I thought I was.... ohh dear! where am I? The app was now playing games and kept moving positions all the time so I could not get a proper fix on my position, so I was wandering around the summit in the thick cloud cover, eventually I had to trust the app and took a slope down the Mountain, when I was near the foot of the Mountain and the cloud broke I could see the view !!

It was not the view of WastWater on the left.. it was open moorland (Where am I? I was thinking !) Well I got the phone out and tried the app again, this time it said I was down the other side of Scafell !! Blimey. I don't believe it, my thought straight away was I'm not going back up the Mountain and into the cloud again to be fooled by that application again.. I made the decision to walk around the base of Scafell (Harder than it sounds, I can tell you) especially in Bogs with hidden rocks and knee deep bushed to wade through..

After a few hours of thinking the iphone gps app was playing silly buggers again, I really thought I could be anywhere in the Lakes, the app was saying after 1 more hill I should see WastWater... but no, it was hill after hill after hill until I did eventually see the WastWater lake :-0 what a relief! I was back on track again Yessss... But I was losing time, also my wife was getting worried when I called to say I was slightly lost for a while :-(

I eventually arrived back at the car at 9pm (Legs shattered after the hike up the Mountain but I thought even more exhausting was the trek around the Mountain in the boggy base of the Scafell range.

I worked out that from Scafell to Snowdon was around 4 and half hours drive, I was off again driving through the unlit lanes heading back towards the town of Barrow and onto the main road out of the lakes. Once on the M6 it was plain sailing straight down to Llanberis arrived at 1.15am (Feeling quite knackered by now)But onwards and upwards.

I have done Snowdon in the past in the darkness so this was going to be a easy trek, also with no snow on the higher slopes even easier to get to the summit, I just followed the train tracks straight up. The weather closed in misty, raining was a drag but completed and back to car for 4.30am (No pic on summit Too dark/misty and wet) Once back at car it was a quick 30mins power napp before I headed home.

Job done ! Until next time...........

Run to Chew Res. Past Dovestones. (Saddleworth)

Just a quick run after work Bank Holiday Monday 31st May. Around 6 miles with a 1600ft ascent. First time I actually ran all the way to the top Amazing! My best was just over halfway previously.

Cycling from Huddersfield to Gibraltar Day 16.

Ronda to Moroccan border via Gibraltar

Well its my last day (16days) and I should make it today as its around 70miles to Gibraltar should be quite easy although I'm not out of these Mountains yet! Someone told me that its all downhill from Ronda, but the same person told me it was all down hill after the Pyrenees !! Ummm... :-)

One noticeable point when heading out of Ronda was 5 mins after setting off from my hotel. I came to a bridge stopped to look over the side....... Well!! Ive never seen such a Huge drop down, it was making me dizzy just looking over the wall of the bridge. And my thoughts were that maybe it is all downhill at that stage!

I'm heading out of town on the A369 towards Gaucin. And after around 20mins I'm climbing uphill so much for the downhill all the way, when I reach that particular hill top I have a downhill bit "Great I'm thinking" but as I'm freewheeling down this hill my speed is 12mph, I'm thinking probably get out to about 20ish mph now just freewheeling... but no my speedometer starts to go slower ?? What ! I'm thinking. How can this be I'm going downhill and my speed is slowing down, not that's weird and to date I'm still not sure why?

Its not long until I'm going uphill again, but heading up, my speed actually increases, (This makes no sense at all to me) was my thought.. was I dreaming ? lol. After more cycling the views were Fantastic of all the Mountains and villages, and there were more descents rather than ascents, around lunchtime I cycle into Gaucin and stop at a petrol station to to up supplies, there are plenty of motor bikers out on these roads, also lots of cyclists in these Mountains (It is Sunday by the way, so I reckon everyone is out and about).

When I get to Gaucin, I have to make a decision do I take the A377 to Manilva, or the A405 towards San Roque? The latter was taken towards San Roque, and I think it was the best choice as it was mainly descents all the way down, I must have been just freewheeling about 10miles down... it was unbelievable how much height I must have gained the previous day!

I'm just back on the flat after that long ride down (I didn't have my helmet on neither) oops! and heading towards Gibraltar, its nice and sunny again now on the final run in, a couple of hills in between but nothing too strenuous, on one of the hills I see 2 cyclists just on bikes (No panniers etc on their bikes) seems like they are out for the day. On the hill I overtake one of them he starts to talk in Spanish, I say "I'm English" and he says "Alright mate"....

I'm gobsmacked! I ask "Are you from England" he replies "We live in Gibraltar" Its father and son, as we all seem to ride at the same pace we get chatting and I let them know where I'm going and where I've come from (They are well impressed what I've done on my own in that many days) "Thanks" I say, but I'm going to get the ferry over to Africa and cycle on that coastline, they tell me that I should turn right before going to Gibraltar and cycle to Algeciras to catch the ferry, but I tell them I have to go to Morrison's first, to see the general manager there (Gary) as I have been keeping in touch letting him know my progress along the way down here, so I will be having my photo at the store when I get there. The father and son inform me that I could be pushed for time to get to Africa if I decide to go to Gibraltar first, rather than later on..

I still decide to go into Gibraltar first to call in Morrison's as planned. I will then try to sort out a ferry to Africa if poss! The father and son cycle with me right into Gib, so that was great to have a bit of company on the last 10miles or so, I roll into the centre of Gib around 2pm. I have my dinner at Morrison's, paid by the deputy Mgr (Mark) Thanks Mark. Then soon after this Gary the Gm arrives, I ask them where I can get a ferry to Africa from, the look on their faces (as If I've not done enough lol)

I get the info but its a 10mile cycle to the port, after my dinner I'm off again, down to the Port to catch a ferry to Africa (Wha hooolo!) I'm excited I've got to Gib, but the thought of going over to another Continent is a real buzz, seeing as though I have cycled from my front door at home. I arrive at the Port at 5.25pm, its very hard to book tickets as there are so many desks/windows to book tickets at, everyone of them I ask for tickets they send me to the next window ! Eventually I get to the right window/ticket desk, to ask how much to Tangier, he replies "Too late 5.30pm last ferry, no more tonight" Damn! so then I ask "What time next to Ceuta and what time last one back?"

6.30pm was the next ferry to Ceuta and the last one back from there was 10.15pm.. Perfect I thought, how much ? Think it was about 50euros - I'm booked in, got my tickets there and back for those times, I'm very excited now.. Its around an hour to do the crossing, so looking like 7.30pm arriving over there, back to ferry port over there for 9.45pm ready to board at the 10.15pm return time.... this gives me about 1 hr to cycle as far West as poss hoping to touch the border then 1hr back in time to catch last ferry back (Great!! )

I arrive over on the African coast and I'm off the ferry and onto a main road (Coast road heading West, its still sunny although it will be getting dark in about 45mins so I don't hang around, I'm flying down the coast road until I cycle into a town called Benzu, I go through this little town and at the other side the road ends along the coast.... the only road then is a lane that heads up through a tiny village and up into the Mountains, I cycle on up here past the local people who are giving me some funny looks and chatting to one another.. a little past this village the road is open, and winds up the hillside towards the Mountains where its starting to go dark, also there are signs saying No entry!! I carry on until I see a watch tower.. this looks a bit border line ish !! I take a quick shot of the tower, just after I hear shouting.. Oops! I'm out of here... is that at me I'm thinking, well I'm not hanging around to find out, so the bike is quickly turned around, and I'm heading back down the hill, through the village, and back onto the coast road back to the ferry to get back to Spanish mainland.

I get back to port and I am in a queue with the cars waiting to be checked through, there are dogs with the police searching cars before they let them get onto the ferries (They are searching for drugs probably) By this time its dark, and I'm just waiting along with the cars for our ferry to arrive. About 10.40pm it arrives in port, that means I will get back to Spanish mainland around midnight! It is around that time, and I'm headed out back on the main road out of the Port heading for Gib, I end up cycling along the motorway hard shoulder for most of the way back :-) Nobody stopped me though, so that was great. Its about 1.30am now and I'm cycling back towards Gib to get to my hotel for the night.

I eventually get booked in at around 2am (On the way up to my room I take a quick photo of me in the lift ) :-)) silly pic I know but I'm still buzzing about where I've got to. It was worth it to get to the African coastline even if it meant getting back to my hotel at this time. The following morning, I'm back off to Morrison's to get my photo taken with a number of staff, after that its break my bike down, pack it up in cardboard, then its off to the Airport to catch my fight home at dinnertime...

Job done.. Time to relax on the plane, so its about 4 Bacardi and cokes on the flight back.. Great to have everyone meeting me at airport when I got back.

Total miles = 105 miles.

Average Speed = 12.5 mph.

Grand total = 1794 miles.

Grand Average speed = 12.9mph.

Average Daily milage = 112.1.