The sun was beating down late into the hazy
afternoon; I’d been riding since 3am this morning and still hadn’t even covered half the
required distance on Day 2. I was tired, exhausted, and hungry having got
through 165 of the toughest kilometres I’ve ever ridden on the ElliptiGO. I faced a choice: do I
turn left and check-in to a B&B I’d passed or turn
right and head on up into the hills and deep into the night….
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| Tim Woodier and Stuart Blofeld at the start of the Mille Pennines Audax ride in Blackpool |
This is my report for the Mille Pennines Audax. A 1000
Kilometre three day cycle tour of the very best of the north of England (and a
bit of Scotland). Of course I was doing it on my trusty steed ~ ElliptiGO-GO!!
The tour was split into three loops ~ Day 1 was a 251KM loop of the Lake
District; Day 2 was a 330KM loop of the North Pennines; and Day 3 was a 340KM
out and back loop to Robin Hood Bay across the Yorkshire Dales and North York
Moors. The event started and finished in Blackpool with a total time limit of
75 hours, and 13,600 metres of climbing (one and half Everest’s!). It looked
really tough on paper, so imagine what the stark reality looked like out on
those hills!!!!
I registered for this ride last year and in that
time have probably decided at least three or four times not to even start. Training
was not going very well (read: non-existent). I didn't have the time to get the
miles in, due to work, or do any kind of specific training in the hills.
Nevertheless in the end I decided I would start the ride but because I almost
didn't start this showed a lack of total commitment to the ride which probably pre-determined
my mental state for the ride. I say this because a ride of this intensity and
toughness requires 100% commitment to finishing; anything less than that will
immediately reveal any chinks in your armour and numerous reasons to slow down,
stop for longer at controls, change plans or strategy or simply quit.
The Mille Pennines requires 110% commitment to
succeed and going into this ride it was doubtful whether I had that. I think the other
reason for doing this report is that many times we only blog when we are
successful in our endeavours with social media posts of ‘smashed it’ and photos
of shiny medals. Yet we shy away from speaking of our failures for fear perhaps
of being seen as weak when things don’t quite go to plan. Yet I think the
opposite is true. People want to understand and learn from others mistakes.
That’s where the real value is in this process. We are all guilty of
sugar-coating our experiences in life and on the road. This report is not one
of those, I want to simply state the facts and provide some real insight into
the reality of Audax.
I also want to draw particular attention to the Elliptigo. I think many
people probably don't appreciate how much harder it is to compete in an Audax
in a multi day event on the Elliptigo. We are seen alongside cyclists in these
events and have been for many years now. We have been very welcomed into the
fold by the Audax community whom welcome all types and all contraptions no
matter how diverse. Yet I think now that we are established and have had many
successes in long distance Audax that there may be an expectation that once
you've committed to a ride and you turn up you are expected to finish, barring
a disaster. But the reality is far from certainty, and you are on the absolute
limits of Audax most of the time when competing on the ElliptiGO especially on
a course like the Mille Pennines which was extremely hilly and very technical.
So what did this ride require to finish it ~ in simple terms it had to
be completed in under 75 hrs which for a course of 1007 km meant maintaining an
average speed of 13.4 kilometres per hour. Easy right…. Errrrmm no not really. If
you factor in stopping time and also time to sleep over the three days, then in
reality our moving speed had to be at least 18kph or higher to allow you enough
time. And if your moving speed reduces, (because for example it’s bloody
hilly!!!) then obviously you have less time to stop and less time to sleep! So
that was the challenge that lay ahead.
Day 1 ~ The Lake
District (251KM)
So Friday morning (7 July) at 10 a.m. Tim Woodier and I set off from
Blackpool with 80 or so other cyclists to complete the first 251KM loop around
the Lake District. Day one was a fantastic ride. It was tough, there was some
big hills; famously ~ Hardknott Pass in the south of the lakes with its 33%
gradient which shares the accolade of being the steepest road in England
(Rosedale chimney was on Day 3 which is the ‘other’ steepest hill in England).
This was the second time that I’ve tackled Hardknott Pass and it's the first
time that I was able to successfully ride up every inch of it without having to
walk. Tim breezed up it with a massive smile of his face. Lunatic!
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| Celebrating like a loony at the top of 33% gradient Hardknott Pass, Lake District |
We set a target to complete day one before midnight and we rolled into
the overnight control at Sedburgh at 11:40pm meaning it took just over 13 and a
half hours to complete the 251 kilometres. A moving speed of over 20 km per
hour and we only stopped for a total time of 45 minutes throughout the entire
day which is why we are able to complete the whole course in that time. We knew
Day 2 was going to be really tough (understatement!) so we planned to leave the
control by 3 a.m. We had some late dinner, slept for 2 hours, got up and had
breakfast, and left for Day 2. Our first goal on Day 2 was to complete 80KM by
10 a.m. so that we had the same distance left (250km) and time as on Day 1, and
perhaps finish by midnight again,
Nutrition
I slept well and felt like I had recovered from day 1. The sun was already
up by 4am and it looked like it would be a warm day. The first control was
Hawes which because it was so early required a cash machine receipt as proof of
passage (Audax rules). Next it was an unscheduled breakfast stop at a Greggs
store around 7 a.m. Because Tim’s pace was already hotter than a Gregg’s steak
bake he arrived a good 10 minute before me. Thanks for the cappuccino Tim! He
was fresh. I wasn’t and I need a longer stop to get some breakfast. I told Tim
he should go on as I knew our pace wouldn’t be the same from this point on and
he was going to be a lot stronger in the hills. He agreed and set off to tackle
the Pennines. I ordered a porridge, a bacon and cheese turnover, and another
cappuccino. I definitely didn’t eat anywhere near enough on Day 1 and I already
felt like I was in a fuel deficit and lacking energy. This didn’t get any
better throughout the day.
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| Breakfast at Greggs! |
Getting the nutrition right on Audax isn’t easy. And because of the
speed limitations of the Elliptigo versus a cycle you don't have the time to
sit in a cafe and eat a decent meal. You have to eat on the GO, quite
literally, which requires planning, discipline, good solid guts and lots of
reserves of flapjacks (Tim’s favourite!), sausage rolls, pork pies, chocolate
bars etc ready and stashed in your pockets.
I didn't get my nutrition right on the Mille Pennines. I didn’t bring
enough food with me as I was going to rely on the mandatory control stops where
we had to buy food/drink to obtain a receipt as proof of passage. Why bring
food with you and weigh down your bike if you have to buy stuff on the ride
anyway right!.... Well maybe because the shops that you stop at don’t always
have what you want or fancy at the time. On day one I didn't eat much more than
a sausage roll a banana and a couple of pieces of Tim's flapjack. I also nibbled
on some of my fruit and nut mix but I was shot by Day 2. I was really feeling
the effects, and was in need of a decent meal. Hence why I spent a good 45
minutes in that Greggs store. I didn’t know it then (or perhaps I did) but even
that early on Day 2 the long breakfast stop probably signalled the end in terms
of my seriousness about completing this event. As I said before an event like
this on the Elliptigo requires you to hardly stop at all and in that one first
stop it had equally my entire stopping time of the previous day ~ this was time
I just didn’t have.
Day 2 ~ North
Pennines (330KM)
Day 2 would be tough with 330 very hilly kilometres to cover. We thought
it could realistically be finished in under 24 hours although Tim was more
positive that he could complete it in around 20 hours. The pessimistic part of
me thought it was far more likely to be 26+ hours. I've completed Audax events
in the past that also had a lot of climbing and long days. In 2014 I completed
the Mille Cymru in Wales, which was another 1000KM multi-day ride, and just
last year I completed a 7-day 2,100KM ride in Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way.
However the climbs in the North Pennines were exceptionally tough; they were
both steeper, more severe and longer. Another crucial factor in the Pennines
was that there was also next to no recovery time on the descents either as it
was either sharp up or sharp (and steep) back down which required you to be on
the brakes all of the time. You couldn’t relax or coast or make back any time
on any long winding descents. There wasn’t a single one all day! So time
couldn’t be clawed back, and that was a pattern all day long. Climb after climb
after climb. It was relentless. And being honest the fast frenzied fun from day
1 was fading and being replaced by a hazy slow fog in my mind which I couldn’t
kick.
Throughout the day I was stopping more both too refuel and recover from
the big climbs. By midday I was up against it in terms of the distance still to
cover and the pending cut off times. But in reality the imposed Audax time
limit on this ride was just an external factor that was completely outside my
control. I couldn’t ride any faster than I was, and I was maintaining a healthy
18kph moving speed which on this terrain on an ElliptiGO was more than
respectable.
By 2pm I was starving and had to stop to eat a proper meal. The previous
control town which we hit around 10:30-11am was not too long after breakfast so
I didn’t feel like lunch at that time, and instead I just drunk a large pot of
tea. But come 2pm and after some more huge climbs I was ready for lunch. I knew
I didn’t really have time to stop for lunch but I stopped at an amazing looking
tea room that popped up in the middle of nowhere in a tiny village. The White Monk
Tearooms are set in a former Church, and as a Christian this place such
screamed out at me to stop. Decision made! The lunch was amazing (see pic). I
was content, I was in control but it was also very apparent that time was
slipping away too.
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| The White Monk Tearooms |
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| Best quiche I've ever had!!!! |
Throughout Day 2 I really questioned what I wanted to achieve on this
ride and my mindset was such that I didn't have a strong overriding desire or commitment
to finishing the Mille Pennines and completing the entire event distance. That
was just how I felt. So my mind wandered and I started to list lesser goals
that I could savage from the weekend. A strong alternative that took my
attention was not to ride day 3 at all. This appealed to my self-preservation
mechanism as the sheer enormity of the distance that still lay ahead over the
whole weekend and just in Day 2 was simply overwhelming.
When writing a ride report such as this we have a tendency I think to
capture each moment and decision in real time as if it actually happened that
way. What we remember and piece back together in these write ups is often not
actually how or exactly what happened, or the order it happened. My decision
making in that late afternoon sun was far from clear, and I just continued to
clock up the KMs after lunch. I just rode on in a daze, fixated on the distance
I still had to cover that day. I couldn’t shake it and every KM seemed to take
me no closer to the finish.
What become more certain to me as the afternoon wore on is that I didn't
think I had the required speed, energy or strength to get through day 2 and
continue into day 3 and I had to come up
with another plan. But I wasn’t thinking clearly and so all I could think was I
had to stop. It was that simple. So I started looking for places and rode pass
a nice looking campsite/lodge called the Boe Rig just outside Bellingham. People
were out playing, and laughing, drinking and eating. How could that not appeal!
It was Saturday evening. I didn’t want to continue. I stopped and pulled up the
ElliptiGO with the usual keen stares and looks of ‘what the heck is that
thing’. To cut a long story short they were full and didn’t have any free
rooms. I rang another hotel they recommended. They were full too. I ordered
half a pint of Grolsh and sat there contemplating what lay ahead. The thought
of riding into the night was ludicrous. It was now 5pm, 14 hours after we set
off this morning and I’d covered just 165KM. I still had 170KM to go, and doing
the maths in my state that would get me to the control well after daylight and
beyond the cut off time. I felt completely stuck and had no idea what to do.
Sounds sad and helpless now but in my state it was bewildering.
The lady behind the bar suggested I turn back down the road and head
back to Bellingham where there were a couple of pubs that have rooms. And thus
we come to the start of my story. Do I turn left and head back or turn right
and continue!?
I still had no idea what to do as I left the Boe rig and rode over the
stoney entrance track to the main road; left or right. I had hours to think
about this up to this point but I didn’t genuinely want to make the decision to
actively call it a day. Its far easily to let events just play out and force
your hand. But now I had to make a decision. Left or right. Continue into the
long hazy night, or call it a night? The handlebar twitched I hit the main road
and turned LEFT.
My Mille Pennines DIY Tour
The relief of just making a decision had set me free. I still didn’t
know whether I could even get a room somewhere but I had for the first time
taken control and set my own destination. I went to the pub that the campsite
had recommended but they were also full for the night but the chap behind the
bar said he’d call a B&B which to my good fortune had just had a last
minute cancellation which allowed me to get a room for the night. £45 inc full
English breakfast. I’ll take it!!
I can’t describe the utter relief I felt at this point. To know that I
could actually stop here having completed 165 of the hardest kilometres I think
I've ridden on the Elliptigo, I'd be able to stop, eat a proper dinner, sleep
for the entire night and then pick up where I left off and complete day 2 the
next day. Why didn’t I think of doing that before! Its sounds silly but until
this point it had never occurred to me to do this to split the ride up. They
say that if you plan for failure then you will probably fail. I partly agree
with this statement but I didn’t ride to fail and not complete day 2. I gave it
my all up to a point, but spent more time stopped than the Audax time limits
allowed. At the ElliptiGO speed that isn’t even a lot of time.
In hindsight it was definitely the right decision; I really had no
interest in completing the event under these conditions, and what I mean by
that is that didn’t want to experience the severe sleep deprivation that I have
in previous rides. I started this ride because I thought I had a chance of
completing it within the limits, but it was clear by that left/right turn that
I was outside those limits. Now I could actually enjoy the ride and see
Scotland in the daylight.
I slept for a solid 10 hours at the B&B before tucking into a full
English at 8am and setting off at 9am for the remaining 170 Kilometres of Day 2
(on Day 3). Incidentally Tim had made it back from Day 2 before midnight up
with the first 10 cyclists to do so! And by the time I left the B&B and
continued heading north for Scotland Tim was already across the Yorkshire Dales
and half way to Robin Hood Bay!! That is an incredible ride!
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| Finally made it to Scotland by ElliptiGO! |
I cruised up to and past Kielder Waters and Forest and into Scotland,
turning west into a strong head wind. But the route also flattened out for the
first time in the event which made the GOing much easier. The route came back
down the A7, stopping in Longtown for a very nice lunch, and onwards along the A6
through Carlisle and back south to Sedburgh. I arrived back at the control at 7
o'clock where there was little action. No cyclists had yet returned from Day 3,
but they did that coming in from 8:30 onwards!
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| I set this little fella free on the return to Sedburgh!! Highlight of my trip :-) |
I bought some beers from the Coop for Tim and I, I ate well, chatted to
those coming in and went to bed by 11pm. Tim expected to get back around 1:30am
and wanted to leave by 5am to complete the last 80 kilometres back to Blackpool
to finish the whole event in under 3 days (72 hours). He did it in 71.5hrs!! A
new ElliptiGO 1000KM record for this validated distance on THE TOUGHEST 1000KM Audax ride in the UK.
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| Tim Woodier at the Mille Pennines Audax finish ~ 1000KM in 71.5hrs on the ElliptiGO! |
For me I slept until 6am had breakfast and rode a very wet but flat 80
kilometres back to Blackpool finishing by 11am. I expected Tim to be sleeping
at the control but there he was standing, and texting on his phone. I congratulated
him on an amazing ride and his first multi-day Audax! I can’t describe just how
tough this event was on an ElliptiGO and to not only finish in the time limits
but to come home in the top 10 with cyclists is an EPIC performance.
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| Tim Woodier and Stuart Blofeld reunited at the finish of the Mille Pennines 1000KM Audax ride 2017 |
Overall the ride for me has mixed emotion. It was and it wasn't enjoyable
all at the same time. Nothing of this magnitude is ever going to be easy but we
can easily delude ourselves and even romanticise about riding on the open road,
taking in the scenery and generally make it out to be all fun fun fun! It isn’t
always but it’s always an adventure and in the end I was really happy with the
decisions I have made on this ride and when I made them to make the ride more
enjoyable. I don’t have any regrets about not finishing the event distance because
it was simply beyond me and I wouldn't have completed the required distance in
the 75 hour cut off.
In summary it was Day 1 in the Lakes that was the
stand out day for me. The beauty of the Lake District far surpasses the
brutality and bleakness of the North Pennines. Tim and I rode well and
conquered some big climbs, and I’m extremely pleased to say that I’ve now climbed
the steepest road in England on the ElliptiGO. Well come on you have to let me finish my report with a tiny bit of sugar
coating and an enormous cherry on the top!
STRAVA DATA FROM MY RIDE
Day 1 ~ The Lakes (251K)
Day 2 ~ North Pennines (166K)
Day 3 ~ Scotland (171K)
Day 4 - Return to Blackpool (80K)
STRAVA DATA FROM MY RIDE
Day 1 ~ The Lakes (251K)
Day 2 ~ North Pennines (166K)
Day 3 ~ Scotland (171K)
Day 4 - Return to Blackpool (80K)