Lakeland 200 - yet another ITT

[mountainbaker]

Regardless of your enjoyment (or lack thereof), really well done Ian. Looks really tough, and doesn't sound fun doing those passes in the dark. Look forward to reading the blog post.

[Wotsits]

Well done Ian & great time

[Ian]

Cheers for the comments guys.

Back home now and ride up on Strava: http://www.strava.com/activities/195015195

Quick analysis suggests I lost a lot of time having to push climbs that geared riders would have been able to ride. Also, my segment times for the night sections are massively down on what daylight times would/ should be. It appears there is no segment up/ down Blacksail and Scarth Gap passes.

Working on the blog at the moment.

[kbrembo]

Well done....

Back on Singlespeed?

[Ian]

Yes, singlespeed.

--

Right, get this - my Lakeland 200 ride didn't count for the Grand Fondo challenge because I took longer than 24 hours. K'off, Strava

[Alpinum]

Not sure riding a bike for 27 hours and the concept of enjoyment are compatible.

Well done Ian. All in one go and on SS... As if it would've been too easy.

Just trying to imagine riding (and HAB) through the Lakes. Sounds grand.

No sleeping kit what so ever? Space blanket, that's it?

Anyhow, keep it up. Looks like you've found a good rhythm after that series of mishaps

[Ian]

Now you mention it, a space blanket was a slight omission from my kit. I had a spare top and a waterproof jacket. Several times I thought about putting them on and finding somewhere warm to lie down. My rucksack had a foam pad in the back for sleeping on.

[Alpinum]

Now you mention it, a space blanket was a slight omission from my kit. I had a spare top and a waterproof jacket. Several times I thought about putting them on and finding somewhere warm to lie down. My rucksack had a foam pad in the back for sleeping on.

Rucksack… hhhmmm… sounds like a fair amount of techy tracks and HAB…
Mmhhh… *slobber*

Only about 30 – 50 g heavier and could come in more usefull in some cases is this:
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... ng-bag-p61

Thought a similar one is often found in shops labelled by ME, but not sure.


On another note: The alpinists favourite is putting your feet into the rucksack for a bivy. In the 60ies Millet even advertised one of their rucksacks to be half a bivy bag.

[Ian]

Right, make yourself a cuppa and settle down to the write up.

By way of some pre-text, I traveled up to Kewsick on Thursday afternoon/ evening. I stopped at Tebay for some food on the way. They had beef and chorizo chilli on the menu, which looked lovely but turned out to be horrible, so I picked away at the rice and left it at that. I went to bed around 9:30pm in the van, with alarm set for 3:30am (for 4:00am start). At 1:30am, I woke with a very uneasy stomach and the need to go to the loo quickly. After a swift exit of the aforementioned chilli, I returned to my sleeping bag and tossed and turned for another hour before getting up at 2:45am. Not quite the start I'd hoped for.

http://ianbarrington.com/2014/09/16/lakeland-200/

[Alpinum]

Right, make yourself a cuppa and settle down to the write up.

Evian and spearmint chewing gum for me...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Nice write-up Ian, I was feeling for you as I read it

[Richpips]

Good write up. It's hard enough doing these things feeling fresh, never mind when you've had a bad night before.

If I do it again, I'd start from Wasdale, getting Black Sail out of the way first, with High St at 1/2 way. A disadvantage (though maybe advantage) of starting there, is it is hard to escape back to if it all goes pear shaped.

[Wotsits]

Great write up, thanks for sharing

[Ian]

Wasdale would be an interesting start point. I was of the view that an early start out of Grizedale or Coniston would see you over both Black Sail and High Street in daylight hours during mid-summer, leaving the generally straight forward Staveley to Grizedale section for any darkness that descends.

Not having any real Lakes riding experience was a disadvantage I think. I think if you rode this sort of terrain regularly, you would a) get very strong and b) get slightly desensitised to the overall difficulty.

[Richpips]

Not having any real Lakes riding experience was a disadvantage I think. I think if you rode this sort of terrain regularly, you would a) get very strong and b) get slightly desensitised to the overall difficulty.

I think local knowledge counts for a lot. You'd knock a good chunk of your time off next go.

[ericrobo]

Out of interest Ian, what does the bike weigh (unloaded) ? And I would imagine that you planned not to have to bivvy or anything but just catch a nap when needed ? So travelling light makes a massive difference when on the HAB sections. What gps did you use and how many batteries ? (if batteries)...

[Ian]

I think huge bike is about 25lbs unladen. I carried everything in a rucksack to keep carrying the bike as light as possible.

I took no bivvy kit. I expected to be done about 7 hours earlier than I was, so did not expect to need to sleep.

I used a Etrex 30 with lithium AA batteries. The same batteries went on to do the Shindig too.

[mountainbaker]

Thanks for the write-up Ian. It sounds like a dreadful route. From what I've read elsewhere it misses some of the better riding in the Lakes and goes over passes just for the sake of it (having to hike-a-bike back down the other side). Maybe someone should plan a better route. Who says it has to stay the same if it's not great.

[atk]

It'd be interesting to see if the MBRUK Lakeland Loop would be more-or-less rideable... http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=hqp ... anguage=en

Route shares some parts, but at least it skips Scarth Gap...

[Wotsits]

It'd be interesting to see if the MBRUK Lakeland Loop would be more-or-less rideable... http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=hqp ... anguage=en

Route shares some parts, but at least it skips Scarth Gap...

That route still goes over Black Sail (although the easier way), & that detour from Eskdale to Ulpha is a biggie. I'd well rather go over Harter fell than do that detour. Plus h-a-b up onto High St & a shortish push up Walna Scar..

Problem is with the Lakes is that if you're going to do a loop that includes the Western & Eastern Fells, your looking at h-a-b or big detours..

Did a loop similar to the 200 couple of weeks ago, was a change to the original planned 150 & ended up a 125. You can bypass the 3 h-a-b's of Black Sail, Scarth Gap & Honister by going up & over Sty Head. Ok, the climb is difficult & the descent down to Seathwaite is a right butt cletcher, but it's still a great route..

Trying to post up a bit of a report but am having problems uploading any photos

[Chew]

Problem is with the Lakes is that if you're going to do a loop that includes the Western & Eastern Fells, your looking at h-a-b or big detours

^^^This

Any loop you try and create in the Lakes is hampered by the geography and there being no tracks/bridleways on the western side. Yes theres loads of great riding in the Lakes, but it tends to be concentrated in certain areas, which doesn't help when trying to link everything together. Also for people who ride in the Lakes often will know that all the best day rides start with a carry

The one thing to remember is that Alan designed the route specifically to have significant hike-a-bike for preparation for the CTR

[mountainbaker]

Don't get me wrong, I can see why Alan designed it the way he did. And I'm sure it's great training for CTR, HTR, AZT etc. I guess if the route exists, people are going to have a go at it. Not much you can do about that!

And of course, it's supposed to be bloody hard, even for Ian.

[greenmug]

I think these last posts hit the nail on the head. If you don't know better you do the LL200 like you might a nice tour of the peaks or other long distance routes that aim for max satisfaction. The LL200 is a test. It is there if you want to challenge yourself physically and mentally. I didn't realise this before attempting it and the whole thing made me angry and question doing these things for a while. I had a long time to think about it on the 2nd attempt and realised its true nature. After that my approach was one of pushing myself against the challenge rather than wondering if the next hill would be ridable.

Would be great if possible if there was a riding loop in the Lakes, even if linked with a chunk more tarmac. That way everyone could chose the beast or the fun route.

Chew, birth of child this year has meant lack of focus but this thread reminds me of the Dales250. Still keen?

[Ian]

As stated at the end of my write up, a lot of the difficulty stemmed from starting in Keswick and leaving the hardest bit until the end and in the dark. Strava segment times suggest that Scarth Gap descent is rideable. (7 mins vs my 28 mins). Also, I got lots of "bonus" hike a bike for doing it singlespeed.

[Chew]

Chew, birth of child this year has meant lack of focus but this thread reminds me of the Dales250. Still keen?

Not a lot done on it since this time last year. Just need to find the time/motivation to ride it in one go.