This was a big day which I had an eye on the last couple of weeks so decided to give it a plot and it came out around 5,500ft climbing and 18 miles so thought that is doable for me. Due to the perfect weather conditions I parked out of Patterdale to avoid the masses of walkers, tourists and pay and dismay parking
Too complicated to explain but done the descents on different rides although St Sunday heading south was new to give it a whirl
When I got to Nerthermost I decided it wasn't much further to hit Helvellyn summit and would be rude not to before going down Birk Side. I could tell my energy was waning when descending Bbirk Side and was a bit concerned but thought, be OK I'll get my second wind
Once at the bottom the heat was stifling like 36°C and I could barely pedal along the fairly flat fire road. I eventually got to the bottom of Sticks Pass on the Thirlmere side and thought shit, I've now got to get up here and I'm properly goosed. I wear a HRM and had to keep stopping due to fatigue and my heart was pumping around 190 - 200 BPM which I considered quite dangerous for a guy my age. Even when resting it wouldn't go below 150 BPM but I had not much choice than to keep going, didn't fancy going back down and round on the road. Anyway after 2 bags of Haribo, an energy bar and a couple of hours I finally reached the top, what a relief 🥵
Did the Sticks decent and then at the plateau was considering my intended route and was adamant I was continuing on Sticks and by this time it was probably around 5.30PM from a 9.30AM start. Anybody who knows me will vouch that I tend not to take the easier and usually more sensible option so off I headed to Seldom Seen and have to say it was well worth it 👌
From a dehydration point of view, I started with 3 ltrs water, added another 2 on the way round and didn't have a pee all day 🤔
Ended the ride with 6,300ft elevation and 22 miles in them conditions, absolutely horrendous
21 май 2024
