2009 Altura Racing Team L-R: David Cook, Chris Leverton,
Iain Jones, Julie Mann, Andrew Oliver.
Ambleside Weekend: Altura Racing Team head for the hills
2009 Altura Racing Team L-R: David Cook, Chris Leverton,
Iain Jones, Julie Mann, Andrew Oliver.
As I sat on my sofa stuffing as much pasta into me as I could manage, although I was watching the TV all I could think about was the howling wind, and the rain battering my living room window. Normally I wouldn't be bothered, but I knew that the following morning I would be setting off to ride the 90 mile trip to Ambleside in the lake district with the rest of the Altura racing team.
The plan was to ride from Darlington with Chris and Iain, stop in Hawes to meet Dave and Julie and eat some well earned lunch, and then ride the rest of the trip in the afternoon. Simple. The only problem was, we had to do the return journey the next day. Luckily this year Iain had managed to persuade fiancé Denise to drive across with our bags, and she seemed only too pleased to turn her Alfa Romeo into the 'team bus' for the weekend!
Saturday morning was a different prospect and as I opened the curtains whilst supping one of my infamous industrial strength coffee's I was surprised to see a sunny morning with seemingly little wind.
So off we set, heading towards Richmond and the first of the days climbs up over Downholme moor. I could see it was going to be a tough day with Iain and Chris keen as mustard to set a fast pace and test out their new winter riding gear courtesy of Altura. When it was my turn at the front the wind was rising but we pressed on, the thought of cakes and tea at the café in Hawes inspiring us to keep up the brisk pace. I was riding alongside Nick Millar from Darlington Cycling Club who was tagging along with us for the weekend, using it as training for a 10 day cyclo sportif he's riding next year; the nutter! (to see just how crazy Nick is, check out the Cent Cols Challenge website! ed.) We all soon learnt that the only time he stopped talking was when he reached in his pocket for some malt loaf. Andy, Steve and Georgina decided to forgo the usual "Barny café run" and rode with us to Redmire.
Dave and Julie rolled up outside the café just as we were tucking into carrot cake and huge mugs of coffee. So they had some catching up to do on the eating front, but we were soon out of the café, the full team in matching kit. We looked and felt pretty snazzy, riding up Garsdale towards Sedburgh the pace was fast with Dave on the front eager to get to the next "real climb". This came sooner than we all wanted and the loud chatter soon turned to heavy breathing as we climbed a horribly steep climb which is apparently called "eagles nest".
Over the top and a quick bite of a Powerbar we were now in Cumbria and looking forward to arriving in Ambleside. That is until someone suggested we would have enough time to ride the climb up Kirkstone Pass (ok I may have to take the blame for that one). So a final battle up another monster climb with everyone wanting to be first over the top. The thought of an egg butty at the end of the ride kept me going and we crested the hill all together in time to enjoy the final descent hitting speeds of almost 50mph!
So with day 1 over with we headed to the nearest café to refuel, before heading to the Ambleside YHA hostel. This place is great for anyone who likes the outdoors, there is a bike shed, cheap accommodation with a great breakfast and more importantly for some people, a bar! The place is full of like - minded people who have come to walk, cycle, climb etc and I was most impressed to find they also did a mean cappuccino! After checking in and a quick shower we trudged down to the town centre before having a mini feast at Zaffarelli's restaurant, filling up on pasta and pizza and a few pints of Peronni (we may be athletes but even athletes like a pint).
Day 2 soon arrived although it was a long night for some, those that were kept awake by Chris's snoring anyway! We walked out of the hostel to another sunny day, perfect conditions for a team photo next to lake Windermere. We were away early and this time with the wind behind us there was no stopping us as we were a blur of red and black wizzing through the lanes. Everyone else seemed just as keen to inflict just as much pain on my legs as the day before and before we knew it we were back at Hawes for some more coffee and cake, and then a little bit more cake, and then a little bit more coffee ;-)
We said our farewells and Dave and Julie headed off in one direction back to Preston, while the rest of us, carried on back towards sunny Darlington. Steve joined us again for the ride back from Hawes. With heavy tired legs the hardest climb of the weekend was the stairs in my house, but I was soon back on my sofa reflecting on a great weekend with yep you guessed it, another coffee!
Equipment:
To do a trip like this you need to make sure your bike and equipment are up to the job. Obviously we were in Altura clothing which was amazingly comfortable and warm, not to mention how great it looks. Panaracer tyres were up to the job and we didn't have a single puncture between us over the whole weekend. They also provided excellent grip on the steep Cumbrian roads which were covered in wet leaves. We all used the new Camelbak bottles filled with Powerbar, which kept us fuelled and hydrated over the weekend. So that we could count down how many miles were left to the next café all our bikes were fitted with Cateye Strada Wireless computers, and in case we took too long to get home, we all had Cateye lights fitted aswelL (EL 410 front/ TL610 rear; both small, compact and light, ideal for the job in hand.)