Choice magazine’s ‘fit and 50′ duo Clive Nicholls and Neil Costello took on a long distance ride. Clive tells the story…

Taking two to three days makes it a manageable target.

Coast to Coast

Cycling is a great way of getting fit, but sometimes you need an incentive to work that bit harder and keep yourself motivated. Lance Armstrong trains hard because he wants to win (the money is good, too) but, at our age, we need a carrot to improve our fitness.

At the Choice office we decided to take on the Coast to Coast bike ride. The distance (about 145 miles) enough to push us into a bit of training, but taking two to three days makes it a manageable target.

Use a recognisable route.

Why the Coast to Coast (C2C)?
Firstly, it is a recognised route, which will give you a great feeling of achievement. It also takes you through some of the most magnificent scenery the UK has to offer. The route stays off main roads and most of it is either traffic free or very lightly used. In short, it’s a challenge that’s hard to resist. The only downside is that there are some long, steep hills!

There are two official start and finish points for C2C, but they share a common route for most of the way. We chose to start at Whitehaven in Cumbria and finish at Tynemouth. The other option is from Workington to Sunderland. Either way, you skirt the northern edge of the Lake District, cross the Pennines, and then have a somewhat flatter run into the finish on the east coast.

Take your time.

In terms of machinery you do need a bike with low gears (triple chainset) and, as much of the route is off road, you do want some robust tyres with resistance to punctures. I would avoid full off-road tyres as they are heavy and are a bit too much like hard work for my liking. The route out of Whitehaven follows disused railway tracks that served the local mines, leads on to the moors and then switches to very quiet country roads through the fells and on to Whinlatter pass. Whinlatter is a hard climb, and I found it best to use a really low gear and just take my time. The downhills are more fun and, as long as the road surface is good, you can reach speeds of 35 to 40 mph.

A very useful guide...

We covered just over 60 miles on the first day and stayed the night in Penrith. Day two saw glorious sunshine change into pouring rain driven by an unpleasant wind, but that’s life. The scenery changed from the Lakes to the Pennines – very different, but just as beautiful in their own way. All the villages seem to be in the valleys – sharp fast descents down into them – steep climbs out. Halfway through the day we switched from roads to well maintained tracks and made good progress, despite riding in clouds over the grouse moors. We arrived at Consett with another 55 miles on the clock, leaving us with just 30 to do on the last morning.