The Hell of the North-West

I thought I'd write a quick note about the Whitton, having just completed the damn thing...

...and before you ask, yes I did walk up Hard Knott
You've seen the pictures, you've read the blogs but simply nothing can prepare you for the moment when you clap eyes on it 100 miles (yes 100 miles) into the ride. You're riding through a leafy tree lined road and the vegetation gradually thins out. Birds are singing. Sheep are baa-ing. A sheer wall then appears in front of you with a ladder zig-zagging vertically upwards, looming ever larger and nearer.

A bolt of forked lightning cracked in the distance and a rumble of thunder was heard. After we crested the summit the heavens opened...

Very poetic, no? The weather certainly performed even if my legs didn't.

Pain and one 30 minute thunderstorm aside, it was a truly incredible ride. The biggest problem was actually dehydration as the sun beat down and the temperature soared into the mid-twenties - in the Lake District! The vast majority of it was hugely enjoyable, whether honking up Honister or chain-ganging with some random riders on the busy A66.

I'm not sure I could "recommend" it given this sheer intensity and extremeness of the beast, but it's certainly something special. Some mind-boggling statistics: 8 energy bars, 6 energy gels, 3 energy drinks, one sandwich, 3 flapjacks, 3 bananas (not including breakfast and dinner), 7500 calories burned, 3500 metres climbed, 112 miles covered, one very exhausted rider. But if you fancy a pop next year, do it. The scenery and roads are nothing like those down south.

Enjoy...

Derek

Well done!