Cycling in the Lake District. Richard Barrett
are probably best to try to go ultra-lightweight and limit yourself to frame bags or a single rack bag. And don’t even think about clamping a rack to a carbon seat post. Buy a cheap alloy one instead.
Hybrid or city bikes
The only difference between road bikes and city bikes is normally the quality of the fittings and that most city bikes have flat handlebars. So in addition to fitting wider tyres, many people fit bar ends or even butterfly bars to give more choice in resting tired hands.
Mountain bikes
It is also worth considering fitting bar ends or butterfly bars to a mountain bike – and if your bike has full suspension you may need to fit the type of rack that clamps on to the seat tube. You might want to consider changing the knobbly tyres for lower profile urban tyres, which have less rolling resistance giving a far quieter ride. Locking off the suspension will also waste less energy when riding on good tarmac roads.
An obligatory cake stop in Great Langdale (Stage 5A and Route 2)
Preparing your bike
It is not a good idea to buy a new bike immediately before setting out on a touring holiday as new brake and gear cables will undoubtedly stretch and require fine tuning and you need time to become accustomed to the bike. You will be riding for extended periods of time, so it is very important that you adjust the bike to your size. The saddle is at the right height when there is still a slight bend in your knee when the pedal is at the bottom of the stroke. The way to check this is to place your heel flat on the pedal when it is at the bottom of the stroke and set the saddle height to this. Then when you put your foot on the pedal in a normal riding position with the ball of the foot centred on the pedal you should find your leg is still slightly bent. The handlebars should be level with, or just below, the height of your saddle but try a couple of positions until you feel comfortable. Riding for long periods can result in cramps in the hand, so consider adding bar-ends to flat handlebars and changing hand positions frequently. Having padded bars and cycling gloves with gel inserts in the palms all add to comfort, but remember to take each hand off the bars from time to time to flex and stretch the fingers too. One of the commonest aches suffered by riding for long periods of time is across the shoulders and occasionally in the lower back. The best way to prevent these is to pay attention to your posture, try to keep your upper body relaxed and to ride with your arms slightly flexed rather than locked on to the handlebars.
Laden for an autumn tour complete with a heavy DSLR, lenses and a tripod – since replaced by a light mirror-less camera
Unless the gears on your bike are suitable for the terrain you will be riding, you will find yourself struggling up any hills. It is always better to have a low gear in reserve than a high gear you never use and typically this means having a cassette with the largest sprocket having virtually the same number of teeth as the smallest chain ring – say a 28 or 30 tooth sprocket with a 34 or 36 tooth chain ring. However, if you explain where you are going to the folk at your local bike shop and tell them about the biggest climb you are likely to encounter, they will be able to fit the gears you need.
It is always advisable to have your bike serviced a couple of weeks before your trip, allowing sufficient time for any worn parts to be replaced and run-in before your departure. Some people will have the knowledge and tools to do this themselves; otherwise your local bike shop will be happy to do this for you.
Wheels should run smoothly and show no signs of dishing or buckling. Check to see if there is any side-to-side play in the hubs or any missing or slack spokes.
Tyres should be in good condition with plenty of tread left on them and no signs of weathering or weaknesses in the walls. They should also be inflated to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer as the less rubber there is in contact with the road, the easier it will be to pedal. You should also remember that the Lake District is not just stone walls. Hawthorn is common in roadside hedges in the farmlands on the periphery of the national park and from midsummer onwards roads can be littered with thorny trimmings that easily cause punctures. For this reason tyres with a protective lining of Kevlar are essential – but, alas, still not infallible.
Brakes should be effective with plenty of wear left on the brake blocks and room remaining for adjustment in the tension of the cables which should move smoothly and not show any signs of kinking or undue wear.
Pedals and crankshaft should turn smoothly without any play in the axle.
Gears should change smoothly and silently without the chain overriding the chain rings or sprockets when selecting high or low gears.
All fixing nuts and bolts on mudguards and carriers should all be tight.
Even if there is nothing obviously wrong with your bike, apply oil to the chain and gears, check for loose spokes and excess play in brake and gear cables and have a short ride to make a final check that it’s in tip-top condition before you leave home. If you do require the services of a bike shop on the road, see Appendix A for listings.
Preparing yourself
Unless you know how to use them, all the tools or spares you pack will be useless. So it pays to have at least one person in your party who can carry out the most common roadside repairs and do makeshift remedies for more major problems that will get you to the nearest cycle shop. Pack a small cycle maintenance manual as a backstop, but consider attending a cycle maintenance course as this will give you the hands-on skills you will be eternally grateful for when you find yourself fiddling with faulty gears in dwindling daylight.
To enjoy your tour and prevent each day from becoming a personal challenge, you should ensure that you attain a level of fitness that enables you to complete each day without becoming exhausted. As getting over the higher passes is physically demanding this may mean starting a personal fitness programme three or four months before your departure to give you sufficient time to build up stamina so you can complete the required distances and ascents comfortably. Start off with a ride that is just within your current fitness level and ride it a few times until you can ride it comfortably on two consecutive days. Then double the distance until you can ride the average daily distance needed for your planned tour without feeling unduly tired at the end of each day.
If you are going to encounter steep hills, practise ‘feathering’ the brakes – gently applying and releasing pressure on alternate levers – to control your speed on descents. It will prove invaluable when descending some of the steep Lakeland passes surrounded by moving traffic.
Carrying luggage, particularly a full set of panniers laden with camping gear, will slow you down dramatically. The accepted rule of thumb is that riding with a full load halves your average speed and comfortable daily range. So, regardless of what type of load you decide to carry, you should either do some laden training runs until you can achieve the distances needed for the tour or you should aim for training runs that are twice as long as you will cover on the tour. The first of these is perhaps the best choice as your bike will handle very differently when weighed down with a full set of luggage and it is better to get accustomed to this on quiet back roads before riding in traffic.
What to pack
Climbing over the high passes is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience if you are weighed down by luggage. Fortunately the plethora of accommodation and high number of cycle shops for spares and repairs means you can keep the bike as light as possible. So here are some tips for lightweight touring in hilly terrain such as the Lake District:
Think layers and add-ons rather than carrying a number of alternatives and only take one of each item of cycling clothing.
Take two T-shirts and two sets of underwear and socks, but only one of each item of leisurewear.
Consider cross-dressing. Meaning choose leisurewear, such as long-sleeved merino T- shirts, that can double as an extra layer for riding and a cycling waterproof