Home and Dry!
A very difficult day which ended with a team of tired, soggy cyclists but with Help For Heroes £1,500 better off!
Costa-to-Costa, Saturday 6th August 2011
The highest point of the National Cycle Network was one of the lowest points in my sporting life. At 609m high, Black Hill was 81 miles into our 130 mile Coast to Coast ride and I was falling way off the back of our four man team. I was soaked through to the skin and my body was struggling with the now conflicting demands of generating heat and generating energy. Generating heat from consuming energy had ceased to be a solution as I struggled up the 18th climb of the day. Counting my cadence now required use of my long term memory and I could not shake off the conversation I’d had with team sponsor and former professional cyclist Phil Corley, the week before. “You’ll be riding a compact?” he asked with more sincerity and less humour than our conversations usually contained. I dismissed the suggestion as unthinkable, I never ride compacts, but my 39-25 was now taking me nowhere slowly.
What had started as a light hearted jest, formulated into an idea, then a serious opportunity and finally became a challenge. I had always wanted to ride the Coast to Coast across England and my partner Sarah had done so several years ago and wanted to do it again. The trouble is that I never like to spend too much time on my bike. Cycling for me is about reaching an objective as soon as possible (not that recent race results would substantiate this) and therefore I was not keen on taking 5 days to do so. My other problem is that I drink too much coffee. After an army career that was fuelled by tea, I was only able to wean myself off the NATO standard by replacing it with coffee. So much so that my life was becoming punctuated by coffee stops - Costa-to-Costa had become my daily routine and a bit of a catch phrase.
Thus an idea was born, why not ride Costa-to-Costa? People of all ages and abilities do it every year, but I doubt many people cycle across all 130 miles of England in a day. Even less likely that they achieve this within the opening hours of Costa Coffee in Whitehaven and Costa Coffee in Sunderland, some 8 hours and 50 minutes. After all, what is a cycle ride without a coffee stop?
So, to the logistics. As ever I was reliant upon administrative support from Sarah as I tried to balance the burdens of my over committed life with at least thinking about doing some training. Sarah excels at detailed planning and allows me to offload numerous tasks including travel, nutrition, route navigation and recovery. We had elected to do the ride on road bikes to meet the demands of the Costa-to-Costa deadline and armed with the excellent sustrans Sea to Sea map, Sarah had quickly reduced the route to bite size chunks, creating diversions where the official route took off-road tracks. She then wrote out instructions for each of us to carry to ensure that in moments of doubt, we had good references to follow. She also approached Whitbread for permission to use Costa Coffee and created the websites www.britishduathlon.org/costa-to-costa and www.justgiving.com/costa-to-costa to help promote the event.
The choice of Help For Heroes as a charity to fundraise for was a no-brainer. As a rule I avoid combining fundraising with my sport. I prefer to retain flexibility and only compete when I am fit and able, as opposed to feeling compelled to participate because of a charity commitment. I also hold some fairly strong feelings about the need for charities such as Help For Heroes. I simply do not understand why ex service personnel should have to resort to charity donations for their wellbeing. Perhaps the government should think twice before deploying the armed forces unless it is able and willing to underwrite the treatment of all of its ex service personnel. That said, however, I have been the recipient of support at the charity funded Combat Stress, which diagnosed PTSD after I had returned from Rwanda and I have been keen to give something back in return for the exceptional care and treatment I received.
The choice of team mates to share the event was also relatively easy although we struggled to find a date when everyone was available with all their competitions, work and family commitments. Finally we settled on Saturday 6th August despite it conflicting with the ITU Dextro Energy World Championship Triathlon Series race in Hyde Park where we had hoped to spectate. This date allowed me to have at least three companions, local training partners Phil Holland and Doug Smith would be joined by long term friend and fellow competitor, Stuart McGowan. Phil is fast becoming one of the best triathletes in the country. With a successful couple of seasons in duathlon behind him including a European Gold medal, Phil is quickly upsetting the established order at events around the country. Stuart has a longer record of success and has achieved what Phil seeks in having won Gold at both World and European events in both triathlon and duathlon. Doug, renowned for his incessant ability to talk, holds all the records at Ironman in his club with cycling his strongest suit. I was to be amongst giants of multisport!
With Doug away at Ironman Austria and Phil successfully competing in triathlons and Duathlon as far afield as Silverstone and Plymouth, we never got to train together as a team however Stu and I did manage to ride the very hilly Chiltern 100 mile sportive during the build up. About half way through the ride my lack of training was already evident. I did manage one further session, an evening ride on the Monday before with Doug and Phil but we were not often in the same county let alone on the same road and again I was feeling my lack of preparation.
Sarah and I travelled up to Whitehaven early on the Wednesday to allow a couple of days for final preparations and to relax. Such is our hectic life these days that this was, after all, our summer holiday! Two days were then spent checking the first 50 miles of the route to Penrith where we were able to collect Phil and Doug who had travelled up on the train. Stu and his partner Michiko had travelled the day before thus allowing Sarah some time to brief Michiko on her role as the driver of the second support vehicle. We also had time for a coffee or two and were able to make contact with Karl Moir, the manager at Costa Coffee in Whitehaven. Through vast sums of European funded regeneration money, Whitehaven was looking a bit less tired and a lot less sorry for itself than the last time I had visited. The harbour has been refurbished well and the walkways, cafes and restaurants made a pleasant spot to spend a couple of days.
So, to the day itself. An early breakfast was followed by the final preparations of the bikes and loading the cars. The day’s nutrition and an array of spare wheels were divided between the two vehicles and arranged by expected time of need. Whilst not quite a beautiful summer’s day, it was cloudy and reasonably bright but with no sea breeze to help us on our way. The advantage of cycling west to east is of course to make use of the prevailing winds. We left the guesthouse on time, made the C2C start point in the harbour on time and conducted the photo call. Part of the regeneration has provided Whitehaven with a C2C sign to mark the start (or finish) point and we set up our Help For Heroes banner to mark our departure. Photos complete and it was onto the bikes for the 2 minute cycle to Costa Coffee where Karl and his team were preparing for our departure with 4 espressos. This was another photo opportunity and again we posed in front of the Help For Heroes banner. Coffees over, it was 08:10 and we now had 8 hours and 50 minutes to make Costa Coffee in Sunderland. Costa-to-Costa was under way.
For those that don’t know, every road out of Whitehaven is uphill - very uphill! Because we would not be on the correct C2C route for the opening 10 miles, we had opted to follow the B5295 toward Cleator Moor, past the opencast mines on High Park and then the B5294 through Frizington to Rowrah. It was pretty much uphill all the way to Rowrah, with a few small descents to help settle us in. We then picked up the first C2C signs at Kirkland, the 10 mile point, and the start of the first proper climb up to 300 metres. Phil and Doug had been in a playful mood, sprinting to the village 30mph signs and trying to beat each other over the hills. I settled back with Stuart, happy to be keeping an eye on the navigation and my energy levels. So far the weather was holding, I was drinking well and on target with my gels and food.
We were now on the boundary of the Lake District National Park with the peaks of Blake and Gavel Fell shrouded in mist and comfortably made the first check point with the cars at Loweswater - 17.5 miles down and just over an hour in to the ride. A quick change of drinks bottles and we were away again. I think at this point Sarah began to relax. She had carried the burden of the administration and navigation and to finally see us underway and seemingly happy was a weight off her mind. I too was happy 45 minutes later when we pulled up outside the Whinlatter Pass Visitor Centre 15 minutes ahead of schedule, with 24.5 miles complete and Scale Hill and 2 of the day’s big climbs under our belts.
Some light holiday traffic delayed our progress slightly in Keswick and some drizzle was the first negative of the day. The cars were waiting just outside Threlkeld on the A66 and we donned rain jackets as the drizzle quickly became a downpour. This 11 mile stretch had been billed as an opportunity to make some good progress due to the good road surface and fast descent to Troutbeck but now it turned into a soggy slog with the passing cars throwing up clouds of spray. At the 43 mile point we turned off the A66 for the village of Greystoke, which has some of the prettiest houses in England. The taps were turned off soon after and now began the chilly 6 mile descent into Penrith. Any hope of drying out and warming up was quickly dispelled as the temperature was still hovering around 11 C and the spray off the road keeping us soaked through.
We met the cars again in Penrith for a scheduled food stop and I elected for a change of clothing, foolishly thinking that we had left the worst of the weather behind us and wanting to be comfortable for the roads through the Pennines. We had made Penrith in 3 hours and 10 minutes - bang on schedule - but the rain had cost us the 15 minutes we had gained up to Whinlatter and we spent another 15 minutes sorting ourselves out for the next stint. Out of Penrith, we hit the first steep climbs but, despite The Lakes being behind us, we were riding through lakes and rivers on the roads. My change of kit was quickly wasted. We were now on the moors and fells but were deprived of the views by the continual low mist. The rain returned and began to dampen our enthusiasm despite the progress we were making. Phil continued to toy with Doug and every now and then they would spin back around and pick us up, cheering us up with their banter.
Through Langwathby at 59 miles, Stuart’s shorts began producing foam which bubbled up and blew out from behind. Such had been our lowering morale, this amused us for at least the next hour before the climb up to Hartside spread us out before our scheduled lunch stop. Up to now, Phil had ridden each climb in his big chain ring, but on Hartside he was defeated by his faltering gears. Being unable to select his lowest two gears must have been hellish on that climb. I passed the appropriately named village of Unthank and, even in my lowest gear I was barely making progress with the café not appearing to get any closer as the road meandered upwards. Stuart came by in the final mile and I tried to attach myself to him in the hope of gaining some momentum. Finally I reached the summit, the rain continued to fall, the car park was a lake, Stuart looked ashen, Doug was unusually quiet and Phil was completely apoplectic with his malfunctioning bike. We were half way, just 10 minutes over our schedule and it was time for a well earned hot cup of tea.
I followed Sarah into the café to find it bursting at the seams. Every cyclist on Hartside that day had the same idea - time to get out of the rain. Sarah and Michiko had been collecting money from some of the customers but it is fair to say that most were wrapped up in the own world, and engaged in deep reflection, much the same as we were. Key on most cyclist’s minds was how can I dry out, warm up and avoid what can only be an extremely uncomfortable descent. I made another change of footwear, reverting back to my triathlon shoes and spent the rest time struggling with my overshoes as my fingers slowly came back to life. In the process I missed the cup of tea which was being passed around which was a mistake but I did mange to force a ham and cheese roll inside me.
Back outside we noticed how much cooler it was when not cycling and I was the first to roll away on the descent noticing that Stuart had gone to his car for a change of jacket. First Phil and then Doug came by as I free wheeled awaiting Stuart. It really was cold now and the spray from the road ensured that I was again completely soaked. This was meant to be the fastest section of the day, an almost straight descent for 5 miles into Leadgate, and I was barely moving. I should really have pushed on - Stuart was more than capable of catching me - but, by the time he came by, I was a shivering wreck again. The climb towards Garrigill was far from the steepest of the day but it was certainly one of the slowest as the rain returned. I reached Garrigill to find a group of cyclists pondering their maps. The weathered signs appeared to point in both directions with the one we needed to take apparently pointing back in the direction we had come. The other cyclists took the other option and it was tempting to follow. Sanity prevailed however as I made just my third navigational check of the day at 77 miles. As my cold hands fumbled with Sarah’s direction notes, Phil found a building to shelter behind out of the worst of the weather. He was white and shivering hard and I suggested that he took 10 minutes out in one of the cars to warm up. The cars hadn’t reappeared however and so, with the correct turn taken, we carried on once more, this time with Stuart injecting the pace and, once more, I was holding the team back.
At these heights we were above the main clouds but deeply immersed in a sodden mist which was beginning to eat in to my soul. On the steep descent of Dowgang Hush, my hands were hardly responding at all and I had the option of brakes on or off and nothing between. I therefore opted for full on and continued to slow the team. We cycled straight past the cars at Nenthead and had to ride back to them. It had taken us 90 minutes to cover 10 miles and it was now 14:30. We had 2 hours and 20 minutes to ride the final 50 miles and Stuart highlighted that it was highly unlikely that we would reach our self imposed cut off time with our current rate of progress. What I really needed was a warm drink and a few minutes out of the rain and, without me, the team probably could still do it but selfishly I opted to carry on. My gears were also now playing up and I should really have stopped to do something about them. The indexing was doing nothing of the sort and this is so frustrating when there is no energy available for slipping gears. (When cleaning my bike after the event I discovered that one chain link had all but sheared. Although we had spares, I don’t think my hands could have coped and so it is probably best that I didn’t stop to check!)
Whether because he could no longer ride so slowly or because he wanted to warm up by working harder and probably a combination of both, Phil turned back on the climb up Black Hill and helped to push me up the slope. Reaching the highest point of 609m should have been a moment to enjoy; however, as relieved as I was to no longer be climbing slowly uphill, the discomfort of effort was now replaced by the more extreme discomfort of cold. With Phil’s assistance on the climbs we had made a slightly more encouraging 5.5 miles in 30 minutes and pulled up at Allenheads where the map promised hot refreshments. We rode up and down a couple of times before deciding that this was not to be until eventually we spied a partly obscured cafe sign just as the road headed out of the village. I stayed on my bike for, on this dismal Saturday afternoon, it seemed highly unlikely that anything could be open. But open it was and with some glee all four of us were soon sitting steaming inside this haven.
Once the shivering had stopped - it was unsafe to hold hot coffee mugs for several minutes - talk turned to whether we should continue or not. The time was now 15:10 and we had ridden 86 miles in 7 hours; 5 hours of which had been in a tropical downpour. We still had 44 miles to go and were obviously not going to reach Costa Coffee in Sunderland before it closed. Stuart had been pushing the pace in the last hour or so because he had felt on top of his game, the break coming at an inappropriate time for him. Partly to test our resolve, he elected not to continue. Knowing that I would continue to slow both Phil and Doug, I offered them the chance to push on and would therefore aim to complete the ride at my own pace. After a second hot pastie and cup of coffee, I felt as though I could at least carry on although I didn’t fancy putting my wet cycling kit back on. Therefore, with me now dressed in Sarah’s spare kit and with newspapers tucked down our jumpers, back out we went to cover the last steep climb out of Allenheads and the 10 miles to Stanhope, after which it would be 33 glorious miles out of the Pennines and down hill all the way to the coast.
Because we had been unable to conduct a recce of the final 2/3rds of the course, I had tried to memorise both the map and the gradients depicted in the Sea to Sea sustrans guide. I clearly remembered that once we hit Stanhope it was down hill all the way. Imagine my disappointment when we turned out of Stanhope to face a 17% climb for 2 murderous miles. In the early, steeper parts it took all my resolve not to quit and, once more Phil came to the rescue and pushed me along on the upper slopes where we were for the first time afforded a view worthy of our efforts. The view was, however, as bleak as my thoughts at that time!
At Parkhead, Sarah called out that there were “no more climbs” but I wasn’t going to fall for that one! What I misheard was that there were “no more signs” for at this point we again left the C2C off-road route and were back on to Sarah’s directions. A few steady miles later and we were riding through green fields once again. The sky was back where it belonged - namely above us - and finally there was some let up in the rain. Despite being pleased to be out of the weather, Consett was a dreary return to urbanity and the A693 an unwelcome return to sharing the road with cars. I did remember to call out both the 100 mile point, just after Parkhead, and the 112 mile point (Ironman distance) just after Consett. My suggestion that we should now run a marathon, was given the response it deserved!
Now hopelessly out of kilter with our schedule there was no point in calling a rest at the Beamish Open Air Museum, we had already had more than our share of stops, although we had one more delay as my legs finally decided to cramp up. The final critical turn for us came just after 124 miles at Barley Mow, where I managed to cycle straight past the Barley Mow, now that’s something I’ve never knowingly done before!
Finally, at Washington, the A195 dual carriageway. Not something you really want to be tackling at going home time late on a Saturday afternoon. A couple of mad dashes across sliproads and we were on the A1231 for Roker. With Phil and Doug allowing me to take the lead I was almost able to restore some pride in my cycling on the final miles and, after a tour of Roker, we arrived above the marina and stopped just short of the monument, all pleased with the day’s work. “Well let’s get to the f***ing finish line then!” was Sarah’s emotive shout and so we did. Total time 11 hours with 9 hours and 56 seconds in the saddle, just 11 minutes slower cycling time than we had planned.
After dipping the wheels and a photo call (it really hadn’t been a day for photos), with no Costa Coffee option it was straight to the seafront B&B for a hot shower and straight out to the restaurant for supper. Doug and Phil conducted the evening’s entertainment - can nothing stop them? - whilst we tucked into steak and chips and a few well earned beers.
We awoke the next morning to Sky news of riots in London and a long journey home. Typically, the sun shone all the way!
Although we failed in our attempt at Costa-to-Costa, we still achieved Costa-to-Coast in some of the hardest cycling conditions I have encountered since a similar day on Bodenburg where Sarah was again able to bail me out. I am delighted with and proud of the support received from team mates Phil, Doug and Stuart on an extremely difficult day when it would have been quite acceptable to simply call a halt at half way if not before. Chapeau to you all! Doug and Phil had remained humorous for virtually the whole day, Phil only being briefly silenced by his chattering teeth at Garrogill and Doug turning uncharacteristically quiet on that 17% ‘extra’ and unwelcome climb out of Stanhope. Over the last few years I have become more willing to offer my age as an excuse after being trounced by Phil in yet another training session or race, yet Stuart never mentions the fact that he is nearly twice Phil’s age and is still able to match him over all but the toughest of terrain. Stuart kept me company for much of those miles and talked me through the worst of the conditions. Without these guys I think I would still be out there. Thanks to Michiko for her patience and understanding as we struggled through the day and for supporting Sarah in that less than enjoyable role of support car driver. Special thanks, of course, to Sarah for the detailed planning and commitment to making this happen. As ever, without her support I would be unable to put any of my more extreme ideas into action.
Finally, a big thank you to all who have sponsored us in this Costa-to-Costa challenge and enable us to raise £1,500 for Help For Heroes.
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The team
