Kirkstone Pass

The final part of The Struggle in the distance.

Kirkstone pass is the highest road in the Lake District. It provides a difficult challenge for any of the three routes. The shortest route from Ambleside is also the hardest, with a gradient of over 20%. This climb is termed ‘the Struggle’ for obvious reasons. The total net climb is 396m. When I climbed the hill, it took 15 minutes from Ambleside to Kirkstone pass. Note – the weather at the top of the climb is often different to the weather at the bottom (always a sign of a good climb)

The easiest way is a long drag from Windermere past Troutbeck The gradient is never more than 16% and averages less than 4% from Windermere, there are even sections of downhill, which give you a bit of a breather. However, the climb is very long from Bowness to the top is about 5 miles. Has the feeling of an alpine climb, and the scenery to your right is fantastic.

The other way is from Ambleside up to Kirkstone pass. Straight out of Ambleside you hit a section of 20%. This bit is really tough and means you are going to be suffering for the rest of the climb. After about a mile, there is a short respite with a small section of downhill. The final ascent is another section of hairpins at 20%, this is really tough after the previous sections.

• Kirkstone Pass

Honister Pass

Honister Pass. On the road from Keswick to Buttermere. It is a tough climb, but affords great views.

Honister pass – you might end up walking!

Fred Whitton Challenge

• Hills of Fred Whitton Challenge
• Cycling in hills of Lake District

Grizedale Forest

If you are looking for relatively easier rides, the lake district offers some nice roads around Grizedale forest. They are not flat, but rolling, the climbs are nothing extremely challenging and make a nice ride for the moderately fit cyclist. In addition, Grizedale forest has some excellent off road sections for those who want to do some mountain biking.

In the north lakes there are many more testing climbs such as Wrynose and Hardknott. – Make sure you have plenty of spare brake blocks, the descents are steep hairpins – you will find that cars in front soon slow you down.

- Final Tip. The only drawback to cycling in the lake districts is the almost inevitable rain. Also it is likely to be a bit colder on the top of climbs, therefore, be prepared for the worst. I have needed gloves, even in the height of summer.

Expect the unexpected when cycling on holiday. Here a herd of cows blocks the road in rural Ireland.

After an eventful couple of weeks in New York, I feel inspired to offer a few tips for cycling when on holiday. Apart from the very obvious lessons of avoiding the centennial eruptions of Icelandic Volcanoes, these are some important tips for a good cycling holiday.

Careful Set Up.

Whether you rent or take your own bike, make sure, your saddle height exactly matches what you ride at home. Take a tape measure. If you vary your saddle height by more than a few mms, you can cause injuries, especially on the knees. It is important to have other measurements the same or very similar – though saddle height is the most important.

Take Own Pedals and Shoes.

If you can’t take your own bike, at least take your own pedals and shoes, this helps maintain same cleat position.

Take Your Whole Saddle Bag. Getting a puncture in a foreign country can be even more frustrating than in your own country. In a foreign country, you need to more self-sufficient should anything go wrong. If you take your whole saddle bag, you are less likely to forget anything like tyre leavers or chain tool.

Carrying Your Bike on A Plane. For the best cycling experience, you really want to take your own bike. Taking a bike on plane is not as bad as it first appears. Just take care to pack and pad the bike really well. It may well be worth taking a training bike, rather than your top of the range bike. Because it may be more difficult to keep bike locked and there is always the possibility of something going wrong in transportation.

Full Suitcase.

The problem of cycling is the sheer volume of extra clothes you will need. Unless the weather is ultra predictable, you will need to plan for every weather condition, from overshoes to suncream. There is nothing worse than wandering through a Bulgarian shopping Mall hoping they will sell a size XL armwarmer.

Be Prepared for Distance.

If you plan a week long cycling holiday, there is nothing worse than killing yourself on the first day, so you spend the next three days limping around as your muscles recover. Be careful of getting carried away – especially if you are riding with much stronger cyclists. Don’t let your ego make you do too much.

Recovery Days.

If you have a long hard day, the best way to recover is still to go out the next day, even if for just half an hour or an hour to spin the legs.

Stretching on Plane.

If it is a long plane journey, be careful to remain well hydrated and take the opportunity to stretch. This is especially important if you have been training hard before travelling.

Bottled Water.

If you’re travelling anywhere where tap water is suspicious don’t risk getting a stomach upset. Drink bottled or filtered water, be careful also of salads washed in water. Locals may have developed immunity, but, you won’t have that immunity from our chlorinated variety.

Related

• Tips for Cycle Touring

I was searching through Flickr and found this set of pictures from a cycling holiday. This picture by Hill Special is from near Bolton Abbey looking through the lower Wharfe Valley. It looks like the team of cyclists are encountering typical Yorkshire Dales weather i.e. Rain with a bit of sun creeping through. I love how they are prepared with great Waterproof Capes.

You shall not pass Go. Don’t collect £200

It’s from the 1980s, an era where cotton caps and woolly hats were more common than cycle helmets. I’m sure no one would want to crash into a dry stone with wall with nothing more than a cotton cap – but they do look stylish!

You just get the impression, they are riding into a terrific headwind coming from the sea. This can be one of the most demoralising times of cycling. The road is flat and before you know it you’re doing a cadence of 40rpm and a speed of 7mph.

And you think we had it tough?. Nice glasses.

Puncture repair in the dark.

I should have got a job in the new Hovis ad.
Thanks to Hill Special for permission for photos

• Waterproof Capes for touring at Amazon
• Tips for Cycle Touring
• Best Touring Bikes
• Irish Cycling Tour

I’m currently on holiday in New York.
It’s tough cycling round here. You have to get used to getting beeped by cars just for being in the road. Potholes are worse than England and there are not that many cyclists braving the streets of Queens, New York.

I’m trying to keep up with some kind of training but its difficult when it’s not so inspiring to train.

Today I was a lead cyclist in a marathon organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in Flushing Meadows park. It’s pretty tough cycling around at 11mph when its 6 degrees!

I return to England at the weekend.

Unicycling along the street

Bike under tree

Old Lady cycling along

The social side of cycling

Cyclist in jeans

People carrier

Even in Italy, there are plenty of cars

Magla Rose – Italian pink classic bike

RELATED

• Giro di Lombardia

I’m currently on holiday in Malaysia. I did not bring my bike nor have I hired one. I have done no exercise for the past two weeks. I was going to try and so some swimming but never got round to it.

I am staying in the city of Kuching. Push bikes are a pretty rare sight. Cars and scooters are the most popular means of transport

The only people I’ve seen cycling are old men. I never saw a woman on a bike.

This bike looks almost impossible to cycle. It’s being used for carrying goods. There is a saddle and pedals, but, I saw the guy pushing the tricycle.

The big cycling event in Malaysia is of course the Tour of Langkawi, which is one of the earliest pro cycling races in the calender.

The compulsory tourist shot…

Kuching Park

A Smiling Cyclist outside Stow on the Wold.

Sunday, I cycled 101 miles to Broadway in the Cotswolds. I rode 50 miles into quite a strong wind then turned back. Ironically, Sunday was the same day as the National 100 mile Time trail championship, I nearly entered. I took this as a tourist ride stopping to take a few photos. The Cotswolds, could be described as rolling countryside. There aren’t many major climbs to speak of, but, it rarely feels flat.

I can’t believe how much I ate in the 6 hour ride. There was a very nice bakery in Moreton on the Marsh, when I got some bread and an almond croissant.

In Broadway, there is a long climb out of Broadway up to Broadway Tower. It is about 3 miles long

My bike outside Bourton on the Water – a popular destination for Cyclists

Moreton in the Marsh had a fete.  A few cyclists take advantage of the car free roads.

A Cotswold village.

• Recovery rides

The recent Irish holiday was the first time I too a bike on a plane. I had always been nervous about taking a road bike. But, I knew that renting a bike would be a disaster. The more cycling you do, the more important it is to ride a bike with the same set up as your own. If you switch to different sized bike, you can cause yourself an injury. Also when you are used to riding a top of the range bike, there is no joy in reverting to a heavy mountain bike with fat tyres. My friends were amazed at how quickly I could cycle; but, alot of the difference is the speed of our bikes. When I tried their bikes it was torture – so slow!

Bike Bag.

I choose this Pro single padded bike bag from Wiggle. It cost £90. I was tempted to get a hardshell bike box, to give complete protection. In the end I choose the cheaper option. However, I added extra protection to the bag.

• Several layers of bubble rap.
• Some clothes padded between bike and bag.

The effect was that the bike was well protected and I didn’t notice any scratch.

I took my winter training bike, as I didn’t want to risk my racing bike; but, next time I would probably be happy to take any bike.

Preparing your Bike for the Plane

I only had to undo the handlebars and stem and place it to the side of the frame. For this I only need 2 allen keys and is a fairly simple operation. I didn’t need to remove pedals (speedplay) and I just removed the two wheels.

It is important to secure all the bits tightly together. I highly recommend some reusable plastic ties. This helped keep everything together and prevented any movement, which can cause scratching.

Make sure you keep all the bits, tools and accessories in a safe place. Luckily my bike bag and a pocket within.

It took about 15-20 minutes to prepare the bike. It may be quicker as I get more experienced.

Cost of Taking a Bike on Plane

Amazingly the cost of my Ryanair ticket from Stansted to Kerry, Ireland was £0. However, to take a sports bag cost £50 return. Tax cost £20 and another suitcase cost £25. The extra suitcase was actually unnecessary as I could have put all my clothes in my bike bag.

• Bike bags online at Evans Cycles
• Bike Bags review
• Bike Boxes

Cattle block the road ahead.

The recent cycling tour to Ireland was a great experience. It was the first time I took a bike by plane; but, definitely want to do more of it. These are some suggestions for a successful cycle tour, mostly which come from experience of our recent trip

Get A Good local Map.

I was using a small scale, free tourist map. The problem was I turned down roads, not marked on the map. The road would suddenly come to an end at a farmers gate. It is really hard to navigate unless you have a proper map.

Don’t rely on Road Signs.

I really love Ireland, but, forgive me their road signs are often inadequate. Places would be signposted but you would later come to junctions where there are no signposts, and you have to guess. When they say Derry 10km, it could mean anything from 8-13Km.

Don’t Rely on Others to Organise.

Because I was riding with a group, I made less preparation than I would if I was riding on my own. I wish I carried more food and a proper map. Always be prepared for getting lost.

You will Never Regret Carrying too much food.

Many non-cyclists who cycle a long way will underestimate how much food you need to eat. People are used to 3 meals a day and many don’t realise that when cycling you need to be eating throughout the day. I saw one or two get the hunger knock. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad; but it could have been much worse.

Carry enough Dry Clothes.

One day it rained, waterproofs don’t stop all your clothes getting wet. Make sure, you have enough spare clothes; it’s difficult to dry clothes on tour.

Stick To Roads.

Be wary about taking short cuts across mountains on ‘walking paths’. My friends were keen to take a short cut on a path across a mountain. I refused because I knew walking with cleats was difficult. I took a 30km detour on roads and arrived in an hour. They took 4 hours to walk over a muddy mountain road, carrying their bikes on their backs. I didn’t gloat at all when they returned to the hostel as the light was fading at 10pm…..

Ask Locals gives reassurance.

Because I like a proper map and the road signs were limited, I was worried about cycling 10km the wrong way. So I often asked a local, just to check; this gave a reassurance so I could enjoy the ride rather than worrying about getting lost.

Ride your Bike before.

I took my winter training bike because I didn’t want to risk my summer bike. It is important to ride the bike before taking it on tour. This helps to iron out any problems at home, near a bike shop rather than in a remote area with less assistance. If tyres are on the verge of needing a change, change them before you leave, to reduce risk of punctures.

A Support Vehicle is Great

I was riding with 12 others, mostly inexperienced cyclists. Having a support van and support car was really helpful. It meant if the cycling got too much, people could take a rest in the car. It’s also useful for carrying provisions e.t.c. If you are experienced cyclists, you may not need a support van; but, it definitely helped our tour.

Don’t Overstretch Yourself

It is important to cycle a reasonable distance. One day, we cycled 100km, which is about the limit for someone who hasn’t done any cycling before. At the same time, I took some detours to make it 140km.

The Dingle Peninsula from Connor Pass

The past few days, I have been on tour in the South West of Ireland. Fortunately, the weather was kind, and we had two good days of dry, even sunny weather. It is said that the South West of Ireland is often drier than the rest of Ireland. I would definitely recommend this as a destination for a cycling holiday. There are some great roads, low levels of traffic and stunning scenery.

At the top of Connor Pass

On the first day we cycled from Dingle  to Cahersiveen via Connor pass on the second day we cycled through Molls Gap to Black Valley I was constantly amazed at the lack of traffic. There was something fascinating about cycling on a road where you are the only person for miles around.

The Dingle Peninsula. Near Mount Brandon, Ireland’s second highest mountain at 950m.

The climbs of were really enjoyable, they weren’t too steep; the average gradient was between 5% and 10%. Some like the Connor pass went on for 6km, but the lack of steepness meant our party could all climb up.