Day 2 Eskdale Green to Kentmere

It always takes time to get the routines and processes in place and the faff to be reduced, especially when you are working in a newly formed/refreshed team. 

Two hours of packing, bike tinkering, breakfast eating etc etc and we were ready. We stated how we were deffinetley at the forming stage of Tuckman's stages of team development!

A road section to warm up the legs and relax back into the saddle before heading towards Hardknott pass. The route took us off to the south and for the next two hours we were really slowed down by the soggy terrain and the uphill. Our shoes had almost dried over night, but again, we had to give in to the wet feet. A little procrastination and lightening spirits never hurts...

Feeling fed up with the amount of pushing, we deviated from the route to find something which was marked as a track on the map. It did end up putting a big dog leg onto our route, but it provided some descent riding at last, bringing us into Seathwaite and tarmac. This wasn't to last long and we were soon back to...more pushing. 

Our Strava stats of 1.43 hours to do the 2.4km uphill section of the Walna Scar Road, demonstrates our solid ability to pace ourselves for what is the toughest day of the route! 

We hoped that the track was going to be the same on the downwards side, but from our previous experiences we were not 100% confident. As we reached the brow, craned our necks to look down towards Coniston, our hopes became reality. In front of us lay 3.4km of off-road downhill. It provided some fantastic riding, it proved to be the best downhill section of the ride. 

Screeching into Coniston, faced with droves of tourists, we quickly refuelled before continuing on to Ambleside. The pockets of tourists kept appearing as we rode through Elterwater, near Rydal and finally Ambleside. The riding consisted of a mixture of lanes and fast going off-road cycle paths, a flat tyre and giving directions to a crew filming a greasy haired chap. 

A stop in Ambleside allowed for Matt to purchase some new cycling shorts and for some food for the evening and tomorrow. We hadn't got the amounts and correct types of food right the last couple of days, so knowing we were not going to be passing a shop until Shap tomorrow, we needed to think carefully. 

Being 6pm at this point, and about 13km left to go, we briefly discussed options. Use of the road or sticking to the route and where we will be safest of the light fades and tiredness takes effect. We decided to stick to the route. Getting back in the saddle after nearly an hour in Ambleside, we were really feeling the affects of being on the go for 9 hours. 

Coming across this flood-destroyed bridge forced us to refocus, a trip whilst carrying the bikes across this perched bridge would not fair us or kit well.

It was now 7pm, it had taken an hour to do 6km. Time to reassess the plan. Making a decision when food deprived and exhausted is difficult and can easily lead you into a heuristic trap. The last section was taking us off road into unknown terrain. A couple of mountain bikers came past. I asked them if they knew what the track was like, they didn't know. Google maps gave an on road distance as 15km and 100m of assent, the off road was 6km with 300m of assent. With a bit of a gut instinct decision and the known of tarmac, we went for the road option. Within an hour we arrived at the camping barn. 

We had Maggs Howes camping barn to ourselves. It is in need of some TLC but equipt with what we needed (a kettle, shower and cooking facilities) and an abundance of signs keeping us on track. Within no time at all, we pulled together and tagged teamed showers and cooking to enable us to have smiles on our faces and food in front of us again. It always amazes me how quickly this cycle happens. 

Stats:

Moving time: 6 hours 20

Distance: 62.5km

Elevation gain: 1737m