A couple questions (bike advice and the C2C)

AndyMalone

Hi,

I'm due to be doing the Whitehaven-Sunderland C2C in September with a couple of mates and I have a few questions I was hoping some people might be able to help with...

1. I ride an Allez (double) and will be trying to stick to decent trails and tarmac. The route maps I've read show some 'no traffic' segments but it isn't clear what sort of surface they are. Are these going to end up MTB trails that I'll struggle with? My other companions will be on hybrid I think but as I only have a road bike (and there is some climbing) I was hoping it would be ok.

2. At the moment I have the standard 23c slick tyres that came with my Specialized Allez but I've been looking at getting something with a bit more tread and a bit wider. Maybe 25c Gatorskins or Schwalbe Marathons. Is this a good move for the route?

3. Clipless... I've fairly recently put SPD-SL pedals on the bike and have some road shoes. I'm having a few setup problems with these (a bit of pain on my knee) but expecting to have that dialed out by the time of the ride. My big question is will clipless for the C2C be a bit of a nightmare with potential stops, obstacles, etc...? Would I be better going back to the old pedals/trainers combo for this ride to make it easier (unfortunately I don't have MTB shoes or anything).

4. Training. I'm quite new to cycling (got my bike in March) and I'm under no illusion that I'm some sort of pro. My intention in the run up from now is to try and do 10-15 mile rides every 2-3 days either out and about or on my turbo if it's very late/horrible and then maybe a couple of bigger days (40 ish maybe?). Do you think this will be enough to get me to a sensible level of fitness/ability?

5. Is there anything else I should be mindful of?

Thanks for any help.
Andy

BikeSwan

1. It really depends on the individual bit of trail. Some will be offroad fire road, some will be poorly paved roads. In any case a road bike with standard tires might find it hard to cope. Try researching the individual parts of the trail your looking at then decide on a route round if the specific part is too "gnarly".

2. For the C2C I think it would be wise to switch your tires to something a bit wider (more comfort) and also with a bit more tread (more grip). My general rule is always run a tire one "grip" level above what you think you'll need (If doing XC then run Trail tires, etc). Some type of cyclocross tire might work very well for the C2C, like a Schwalbe Racing Ralph HS425 (700 x 33c). Just make sure your bike has enough tire clearance for the tire your going to buy. Your local bike shop could be an invaluable asset to helping you pick tires. In any case, I would advise against using a "pure" road tire like the 23c's you've currently got. Also, see what tires your friends are using, if you all get to a section which is to gnarly for the entire groups tires, you will all have to find a route round, so it's less of an issue for just you.

3. The ideal set up would be mountain bike clipless pedals and shoes, but if you dont want to invest in more pedals and shoes, then the next best thing would be road pedals and shoes. As long as your road shoes aren't full carbon racing shoes you should be fine. If you wear normal trainers your feet will be so tired by the end of the day you wont want to ride the next day. It's surprising how much difference the stiff soles of cycling shoes makes. Remember to take a spare set of shoes for walking around the campsite, etc.

4. You should base your training plan around what sort of milage your going to do on the C2C. If your doing 100+ km's every day on the C2C then you'll want to be doing 100+ km rides once or twice a week as training for that. Then, about a week before you start the C2C, you could be doing 100+ km rides 2 days in a row. Obviously if your reasonably fit, you should have no problem completing the C2C in an acceptable time span anyway.

5. Remember to go really in detail about what your taking with you on the C2C. A packing list is great, but be sure to actually pack your panniers (or whatever your using to carry your stuff) before the event. Chances are you'll have it all laid out on your bed, and then you'll realize there's no way it's all fitting into the storage you've got.

Good luck Andy with the C2C! I'm actually walking the C2C in a few weeks, and I cant wait! Have fun, and dont be hesitant to talk to your friends or any other bike enthusiast for advice. We all love sharing info about the sport we love!

amaferanga

Most of the offroad bits are easily avoided. Just look at a regular map and it'll be easy to come up with an alternative. From the Waskerley Way onwards you should be okay on your bike with 23mm tyres (assuming that the surface hasn't deteriorated significantly since I used it about 4 years ago).

AndyMalone

Thanks for the advice. I'll scope out the route a bit more but sounds like it should be ok on the road bike.

I'll check out tyre options, I'm not 100% sure but I think the Allez can only get tyres in up to about 25s so may have to stick with that. I'll have a word with the LBS.

We are planning to do it in three days going with B&Bs (lightweight). My fitness is ok but not amazing, the benefit I have is I'm only a shade over 9 stone so there is less of me to lug up Hartside compared to the other lads on the trip so I hope that evens the balance a bit.

Good call on the packing list, I've started making a note now of things I'm expecting to take so I can get on it early.

Cheers,
Andy

amaferanga

Hartside is easy. The hills after it are the ones to look forward to (from Nenthead, Crawleyside, etc.).

fatdaz

I did it last September on a road bike with 23mm slick tyres and double-sided MTB pedals. None of the "off road" sections were particularly troublesome - IIRC they are all relatively flat and they are more like lose stones/gravel than rocky hillsides. There were 7 of us on road bikes and we had 1 puncture between us across the whole event (although that was 30 minutes out from Whitehaven).

I'm not a great or confident rider and I had no problems with the terrain other than pain on some of the hills - I agree with amaferanga - Garrowgill (I think that's what it was called) and Crawleyside were horrid :-)

kayakerchris

This was the first big ride i did with my son 3 years ago. We did it in 2 days and stayed overnight in a B&B. My wife drove the car and brought us Mars bars half way through the second day.

We did it on standard carbon road bikes, board man and felt. We had 23c tyres but I would probably go for 25 or 28. We had two snakebite punctures on the last day on the trail.

You can take the road down from win latter rather than doing the off road bit. Coming out of Kendle we took the path which was fine to avoid the main road.

The waskerly way is very fine chippings and fine for road bikes. If I was doing it again I would probably stay on road as there were a number of gates, etc which slowed us down and a lot of people to avoid who were not used to road bike speeds.

Overall a great ride.

AndyMalone

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like it's going to be a challenging but ultimately fun trip!

Kendal Black Drop

kayakerchris wrote:

Coming out of Kendle we took the path which was fine to avoid the main road.

I presume you mean Keswick rather than Kendal (there's no such place as Kendle).

daveyroids

I have done the C2C on a road bike with MTB SPD pedals and good tyres. Tyres such as marathons or durano's should be ok. I would be nervous doing the off road sections with road shoes and cleats. Don't think they will be safe at all. And just be careful on the offroad sections as with road tyres you have very little grip especially cornering.

There has been some recent resurfacing work going on up on the Waskerley way. Don't know how extensive the works have been and not sure what surface has been laid.