Coast to Coast in one day?

chris_bass

Hi

I recently cycled from Birmingham to Paris and did 100 miles a day for 4 days.

I'm thinking of trying coast to coast in a day! would this be do-able? i'm thinking of doing it for charity so need there to be a sufficient challenge element to it!

bompington

Depends where on which coast! Could be easy: Forth to Clyde
or better, head further north: Dingwall to Torridon for example.

Or if you really fancy a challenge, what about the most westerly point of the british mainland to the most easterly?
Bit of a trek in one day though.

amaferanga

If you mean the C2C Whitehaven - Tynemouth then it's only about 135 miles so if you can do 400 miles in 4 days then 135 miles in a day shouldn't be too challenging.

chris_bass

i didnt have specific points in mind really, if its a nice route then thats good enough for me! not too windy though! as i'll be heading in one direction all day it would be just my luck to have a head wind the whole time!

chris_bass

Whitehaven to Tynemouth looks the most likely, most of the routes seem to mention some slight off road sections, are there any road only routes people know of? My bike definitely wont be going off road, well it wouldnt get very far anyway!

amaferanga

Its very easy to miss out the offroad sections on the Whitehhaven - Tynemouth C2C. Just look at a map. Also worth avoiding the ridiculous C2C recommended detour up through Mungrisdale between Keswick and Penrith just to avoid a few km on the A66.

maddog 2

see the thread on the sportives forum

giantorangedale

amaferanga wrote:

Its very easy to miss out the offroad sections on the Whitehhaven - Tynemouth C2C. Just look at a map. Also worth avoiding the ridiculous C2C recommended detour up through Mungrisdale between Keswick and Penrith just to avoid a few km on the A66.

Yeah much better to get squashed by some idiot on the A66.

amaferanga

giantorangedale wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Its very easy to miss out the offroad sections on the Whitehhaven - Tynemouth C2C. Just look at a map. Also worth avoiding the ridiculous C2C recommended detour up through Mungrisdale between Keswick and Penrith just to avoid a few km on the A66.

Yeah much better to get squashed by some idiot on the A66.

Seriously? So do you take detours of several kilometres often to avoid a few hundred metres on an A road? How many times have you been squashed on the A66? Have you even heard of people having issues with traffic on the A66?

Its like any A road - not pleasant if you're on it at the wrong time, but mostly ok, especially if its just for a few hundred metres.

giantorangedale

amaferanga wrote:

giantorangedale wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Its very easy to miss out the offroad sections on the Whitehhaven - Tynemouth C2C. Just look at a map. Also worth avoiding the ridiculous C2C recommended detour up through Mungrisdale between Keswick and Penrith just to avoid a few km on the A66.

Yeah much better to get squashed by some idiot on the A66.

Seriously? So do you take detours of several kilometres often to avoid a few hundred metres on an A road? How many times have you been squashed on the A66? Have you even heard of people having issues with traffic on the A66?

Its like any A road - not pleasant if you're on it at the wrong time, but mostly ok, especially if its just for a few hundred metres.

So its gone from a few km to a few hundred metres?If your not commuting what does it matter if it takes you out of your way on more pleasant roads.I can't beleave your last point,the A66 is a well known accident black spot.

ian_s

See this recent thread on a similar theme too
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12799096

The A66 bit is really a matter of opinion. Its a fast, unpleasant major A road but is only a mile or so (can't really remember, but not far). The Mungrisedale section is a long detour, but on pleasant, scenic country roads. Its probably going to cost you an extra half an hour or so.

You take your choices..

amaferanga

giantorangedale wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

giantorangedale wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

Its very easy to miss out the offroad sections on the Whitehhaven - Tynemouth C2C. Just look at a map. Also worth avoiding the ridiculous C2C recommended detour up through Mungrisdale between Keswick and Penrith just to avoid a few km on the A66.

Yeah much better to get squashed by some idiot on the A66.

Seriously? So do you take detours of several kilometres often to avoid a few hundred metres on an A road? How many times have you been squashed on the A66? Have you even heard of people having issues with traffic on the A66?

Its like any A road - not pleasant if you're on it at the wrong time, but mostly ok, especially if its just for a few hundred metres.

So its gone from a few km to a few hundred metres?If your not commuting what does it matter if it takes you out of your way on more pleasant roads.I can't beleave your last point,the A66 is a well known accident black spot.

It's a few km in total that you have to use, but split between two or three sections that are I think less than a km, hence why I said a few hundred metres. So is the part of the A66 that I'm suggesting people use an accident blackspot for cyclists? And if you're cycling 135 miles in a day it's likely that the last thing you want to do is take a several km detour.

All I can say is that I've done the C2C four times and used that section of the A66 every time without any issues and I don't recall it even being busy.

durhamwasp

You see LOTS of C2Cers on the A66, theres a fairly wide lane either side of the road. I certainly wouldnt recommend doing the whole Keswick-Penrith on it, but its worth doing the suggested detour on it for a while.

slickster81

I trained up for a solo C2C over summer. I say summer, it was the day in August where it was torrential rain!

Anyway, I took a direct road route between Morecambe and Middlesbrough. This turned out to be 101 miles, so pretty short for a C2C! A steady 6 hrs 30 min riding time. I've got a Garmin map if anyone wants it.

millimole

If we're ignoring the traditional c2c then I've done Prestatyn to Leicester (220km), and an add on of 125km to King's Lynn, would make a do-able less than 200 mile ride in under 24 hours without too many hills and not too much traffic if you plan sensibly east of Leicester.

rodgers73

I did the C2C via a route of my own choosing and spent a fair bit of time on the A66 and its a mark of how problem free it was that this is the first I've heard of it being a dodgy road.

Maybe a fuss over nothing here?

I remember long straight wide sections where I felt perfectly ok.

giantorangedale

rodgers73 wrote:

I did the C2C via a route of my own choosing and spent a fair bit of time on the A66 and its a mark of how problem free it was that this is the first I've heard of it being a dodgy road.

Maybe a fuss over nothing here?

I remember long straight wide sections where I felt perfectly ok.

Voted most dangerous road in Cumbria by Cumbrians in 2007.

barney69

I've done 2 coast to coasts in 1 day (each)

I've done C2C (on my MTB) Whitehaven to Tynemouth, 135 miles and fairly hilly 7am - 9pm

Then on my own last year I did Hadrian's Cycle Way (on my Dawes Ultra Galaxy tourer) Ravenglass to Tynemouth (via silloth) 175 miles, 4am start 9pm finish, had strong headwinds for 60 miles up west coast which made it really difficult but kept going as I was doing it for charity. I was the first person to have achieved it :-) http://www.cycle-routes.org/hadrianscyc ... trips.html

I've also done Walney to Wear South lakes over 2 days

This years challenge was LEJOG, solo and unsupported over 9 days on my Dawes - it was fantastic www.nigelend2end.co.uk.

Looking for next years challenge now

rodgers73

giantorangedale wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

I did the C2C via a route of my own choosing and spent a fair bit of time on the A66 and its a mark of how problem free it was that this is the first I've heard of it being a dodgy road.

Maybe a fuss over nothing here?

I remember long straight wide sections where I felt perfectly ok.

Voted most dangerous road in Cumbria by Cumbrians in 2007.

*shrug*

Seemed fine to me!