Читать книгу The C2C Cycle Route. The Coast to Coast bike ride онлайн

25 страница из 40

We planned to set off from the coast of Whitehaven, about an hour from my home near Penrith, at 7.30am on Friday 16 July. But, inevitably, last-minute preparations and alterations to provisions delayed our start to about 8.30am. Howling wind and heavy rain didn’t inspire much confidence, and Whitehaven harbour, where we suited up for riding, was unsheltered from the rain. So we didn’t hang around!

We struggled to find the cycle track that leads out of Whitehaven initially, but were soon impressed by the C2C cycle-path network on old railway tracks, where knocking off the miles seemed easy. Occasionally, these C2C paths turned into off-road sections on rocky tracks that would have been excellent and enjoyable on a mountain bike, but were a nightmare on road bikes, as we wanted to take all precautions to avoid punctures.

As we progressed through the journey, the weather improved steadily, which was fully welcome, since the start of the ride is still up there amongst ‘My top ten worst miles on a bike’. Cycling straight into a strong, wet breeze was not a nice way to start the day. But like any negative in life, it helped to challenge our commitment and made us appreciate good times to follow. And these we certainly had – on the best country roads the Lake District has to offer, cycling towards our destination with a brisk westerly tail wind to help us all the way. Great riding!