Coast 2 Coast 4th&5th May

 

I did this two day cycle ride as part of a team from work. We decided that although we all rode to work on a regular basis, something more of a challenge and as a team should be done this year. After a few discussions we agreed on the Whitehaven to Tynemouth route of the Coast 2 Coast Cycle Route.

Although myself and Ian regularly do longer distances the rest of the staff only rode 10-15 miles at a time so a challenge of this distance was a good one. They all started to train 6 months ago and we arranged new bikes through the cycle to work scheme, plus with the benefit of 50% Council grants we had a shower and a cycle shelter fitted at work.

So after a lot of logistical arrangements we set off after work on Saturday night. All 8 of us in my car and a rather large trailer with 8 bikes and all our kit, plus food and water to last the first 24 hours! A tight squeeze but ok. Our first night in a camping barn was cosy and very basic but we set off early as I new we would be trundling along. The weather was kind to us over the 48 hours except for the last 6 miles of the first day when the heavens opened. A good night sleep in the Cumberland Hotel (Pub with rooms really) at Alston set us up for another good day.

We completed the 140 miles or so in about 16 hours cycling time averaging around 9 miles an hour with plenty of additional stops but for a bunch of mostly non cyclists it worked really well. I was pleased with their efforts as the route wasn’t easy with over 10,000 feet of climbing and all on Mountain Bikes at that.

The best bit is that we have raised over £8000.00 for the Sheffield Children’s Hospital so it was all worth while. A great team building exercise and just to make it a bit more interesting for me; I did the whole ride on the big ring, including several very large climbs!

Next challenge for me is the White Rose Classic next month.

 

Jonathan