Early Learnings

One of the joys of cycling is the huge amount of equipment that goes with it, and the many unwritten rules and conventions that create the culture. Obviously the first thing I did was take a trip to my a local bike shop to break some of the rules.

I bought myself some proper clipless shoes, a new cycling jersey and a saddle bag (Rule #29). I had some baggy MTB shorts (Rule #18), a helmet (with visor Rule#35), gloves, lights and tools already.

My first few rides were pretty simple affairs, under 20 miles,  but they certainly ironed out a few kinks. I was getting a puncture on every single ride which I originally put down to old inner tubes perishing while being sat deflated for 3 years. Replacing the tubes didn't really help though and I was getting fed up getting super greasy changing tyres at the side of the road.

A quick chat with the hugely useful Cycling UK community on Google+ directed me towards some excellent Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tyres which have been brilliant, no punctures or slips. I also purchased a proper track pump and realised I had been seriously under inflating my tyres which might also have been contributing to the punctures.

Looked clean but the filth kept returning

Next up was some proper bike cleaning. The chain lube had dried out and become a paste with the dust that had settled. I tried hot soapy water and that didn't work. Next I bought some proper degreaser and that made things a lot better, but there was still a lot of muck coming out of the chain. In the end I went old school and put the whole chain into a jar of white spirits. This worked really well and is going to be my first choice from now on. This was made far easier with the addition of a slip link into my chain.

Perhaps the biggest fear of new cyclists is around clipless pedals and the risk of falling over at every single junction. I was quite used to having baskets on my pedals and not putting my feet down while riding so I actually found this quite easy at first. I went for a very forgiving setup on the Keo Look pedals and I never had much of a problem unclipping... until I stopped on a steep hill, tried to get started again and missed the pedal, ending up sprawled across a country road.

From that experience (and the twisted ankle that went with it) I learned to not stop on hills and also how to change the rear cassette on a bike. Quite a simple job with the right tools and the new 12-27t 9 speed cassette has made the hills a bit easier than the original 12-25t. I was originally tempted to go larger but this would have required a new derailleur and also would have broken Rule #5.

Having 27 teeth on the rear cassette (blue) gave an extra bit of
leverage for the hills compared to the 25 (orange) but widened
the gap between gears.

With the new gear ratios in place I started to find hills a little easier, and increasing fitness made 15-20 mile rides pretty easy. Now it was time to start cranking up the distance. Ben had a plan for an 80 mile ride and I had very little time to train.

Finding a Bike

One of the conditions I set myself on this adventure was a very strict budget. I figured I could complete the entire challenge with an outlay of no more than £1000. That was for everything, registration on the event, clothing, bike, travel, equipment. Some experienced riders might scoff at such a small budget and could probably spend that on wheels alone but I had no idea if this was going to be a successful project or not and couldn't justify any more.

A quick bit of research suggested that a more relaxed geometry bike might be more suitable, something called a Sportive bike. A quick Google brought up some interesting info, including this useful sportive buyers guide but it quickly became clear that my budget would have some consequences. Full carbon was certainly out, as was anything beyond bottom of the line bikes. Even working through eBay came up with various well used examples from Trek, Cannondale and Giant which would stretch the budget.

And then, in one of those rare but beautiful eBay moments when an item nobody else has discovered meets your budget and desires, I found my bike. With no bids at all was a Genesis Aether 20. A quick review showed it to be a solid entry level sportive style bike from a British manufacturer probably worth around £1000 new and ridden less than 100 miles in 3 years. A cheeky last minute minimum offer and it was mine for £350.

Collection arranged I headed around to pick up my new bike. The owner wasn't in but his wife seemed all too happy to get the bike out of the hallway. The tires were flat and dust had settled all over the chain but it was otherwise in perfect condition. I carefully drove it home, stripped off the rack and mudguards, pumped up the tires and took it for a ride.

I didn't have the proper shoes so I just balanced on the clipless pedals, wobbling along with the all too narrow handlebars and impossibly thin tires. I hit a straight stretch, cautiously lowered myself down onto the drops and there it was again... that amazing feeling of riding on the wind. The image of my old orange racing bike came flooding back and I cranked through the gears, thighs burning, eyes streaming. I can't remember when I named my bike Jenny, but I was certain from that point on that we were going to be friends.

We're Doing What?!

So, I had agreed to complete the coast to coast in a day. How hard could it be? My record distance in a single day was 90 miles on my trusty GT hybrid with panniers and wearing jeans. Yes, I had only been 21 and we had ended up sleeping by the side of a canal but we had done it.

Time to check out the scale of the challenge... and oh boy, what a challenge. A quick peek at the official site started to make the whole thing seem like a bad idea. This version of the coast to coast starts at Seascale and takes you through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and across the Northern valleys of the North York Moors. It is 150 miles of finest English countryside with 4500 metres of ascent. I got exhausted just watching the official route video below.



Looking at the results from 2014 the average finish time for a 37 year old male was 12 hours 31 minutes. The maximum was 16 hours but I don't even want to consider that amount of time in the saddle. Here are some results (you'll learn that I love a good chart) and it is interesting how consistent this is across over 700 riders.

Was I really going to sign up for this? I had quite a few moments of doubt, it was going to be a large commitment of time and energy and also money. However, I am a complete sucker for a challenge and a good story and this looked like a great chance to push myself and get super fit. I signed up, told enough people so that I couldn't pull out and then checked the requirements.

Parking, registration, camping, suggested equipment., No MTBs.... No Hybrids?!

Time to go bike shopping.

A Freshly Minted Roadie

I've been riding bikes all my life, I suppose like many children it was the best way to get around. It was mostly mountain bikes and hybrids, except for a brief run in with a bright orange racer which felt like riding the wind until it dumped me on the road. To this day I haven't worked out how I grazed my belly button but that was enough for me to give up on dropped handlebars and skinny tires.

Me (right) and my best friend, ready to depart for France

The closest I came after that was a very sensible GT hybrid for riding to college which got promoted to grand tourer while cycling through France. Three weeks on a bike with a tent and my best friend, so many happy memories, until the bike was stolen in Paris. I didn't mind though, three spokes had been replaced with string and if I never saw that saddle again I would be happy.

So how did I come to being a new roadie? I am trying to start a new tradition that involves me going on an adventure every year for my birthday in late June. 2014 saw me lined up on the final day of a gentleman's weekend in the Lake District with a hired hybrid bike and a foolish opinion of my own fitness. My friend Ben (who will be a regular in this blog) had found us a route and off we went. I should have figured there would be a problem when his very flash carbon road bike floated out of the boot to land next to my very heavy workhorse.

Ben disappears into the distance

The early pace was fast (e.g. mostly downhill) and then we arrived at the first challenge of the day. Wrynose Pass! This looked long and steep but I had many gears and could put my foot down whenever I liked. Ben shot off all shimmering Lycra and rock solid calves while I settled in for the long haul. In the end it was a lovely walk.

When we met up at the top we quickly shot down the other side racing the cars and thought ourselves the victors. It was a beautiful sunny day, far from traffic, desks, families and the big hill was behind us. Anybody who has ridden in The Lakes knows what came next. 35 miles of constant uphill and down dale, never in  a straight line. Only Jelly Babies and sheer bloody mindedness kept me going. But we made it.

Hire bike returned we jumped in the car for the journey home, pasty and chocolate milk in hand. "How do you fancy doing the coast to coast next year?" asks Ben. "Sounds alright." I reply, and that is where it all began...