JADE’S 33HRS ON Lakeland 200
It was 4:30 pm. I was nearly at the top of the long grassy hill between Boot and Wasdale Head when the sky ominously darkened and I felt a couple of big raindrops. I raised my face to the sky and grinned, before scrambling to pull on my raincoat and waterproof shorts. A few minutes later I was descending to Wasdale Head in a torrential downpour, completely soaked despite my waterproofs and barely able to see. But the grin remained.
I had previously attempted a sub-40-hour Lakeland 200 a month ago, in July, and had managed to complete 85 miles of the brutal route in 24 hours of non-stop rain, before deciding to call it a day. I found my limit for riding in a never-ending downpour at 20 hours, and by 24 hours I couldn't stop fantasising about being dry and decided I couldn't face another 10 hours of riding while sodden. 6 hours after I stopped riding the sun started shining and I began kicking myself for giving up. But the attempt had buoyed my confidence in a sub-40-hour finish, and I was back to give it another go. Catherine (@_Catherine_Dunn), Kitty (@Bluberrysmoothie) and Alice (@clewsey_) were planning on bobbing around the route all weekend to film, and it wasn't just me back for more, both Cat (@catrmag) and Jenni (@adventures_of_drjen) had also decided they were in for round two (despite the last attempt), and we had also managed to recruit Naomi (@frikfrak74), Lorah (@lorahpierre), Alex (@ahcrawley) and Alice (@lemkiss)! There would be seven women winding their way round the Lake District after a sub-40 finish, and we were hoping that this weekend would result in a substantial increase in women on the finishers list.
A few days before I headed to Staveley for attempt No.2 the forecast was bleak. It was looking like another weekend of heavy rain, and so I packed two spare pairs of bib shorts and three coats, determined that I would make it round this time, no matter the weather. I had decided that a complete outfit change or two was what I had been missing on the last attempt. The forecast bad weather wasn't putting me off, I felt strangely keen to try myself against the route in the rain again.
Saturday afternoon I descended in the heavy rain with a big grin because, despite the forecast, it had only started raining at 4:30 pm. I was 12 hours into my attempt - and nearly halfway! The previous soaking wet attempt had changed my mindset slightly, so now instead of being annoyed that it was raining, I just felt lucky that I had been riding in the dry for so long! I had appreciated every minute of being dry on my ride so far, and not seen much of the forecasted rain. So a complete drenching at 4:30 pm was fine. I had a quick dinner stop at the pub in Wasdale Head and bumped into both Naomi and Lorah, who had both smashed it around the first half of the route and caught me up despite setting off much later. By the time I left the rain had stopped.
That morning I had set off from Staveley slightly earlier, at 4 am and slowly plodded around the now very familiar start of the route before treating myself to an early lunch at Coniston. I had struggled up Walna Scar Road into a headwind but enjoyed the descent through the ferns a lot more this time as they were dry. While skirting around Harter Fell I managed to tumble off my bike right in front of a bunch of hikers having a snack stop, who then advised me to be careful and take it steady on the descents. I always seem to have silly falls with an audience! I treated myself to a cup of tea and an ice cream at Boot and then managed to ride a lot more of the climb over to Wasdale Head than the last attempt because the path was no longer a stream.
After my big dinner at Wasdale Head, I started the serious Black Sail hike-a-bike feeling confident. It was earlier than expected and I was hoping to get over to Honister before it got dark. Despite a few more heavy showers I managed to do both hike-a-bike sections in the daylight, and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset as I descended Scarth Gap. I found that I rode less of the descent in the daylight because I could see the drop down into the valley, and I'm a bit of a scaredy cat. Honister's road climb dried me off as the darkness set in.
I started the off-road descent towards Borrowdale and could see a little white light weaving its way towards me on the trail. As it got close I tentatively called out "Cat?" and was very excited to hear a "Jade?" called back to me. Cat had set off last that morning, and despite having done the first half of the route just a few weeks prior, had managed to start riding the route in reverse. Once she realised her mistake, and after hike-a-biking up to Kentmere, she decided it was too late to go back and continued. Cat would ultimately be the first person ever to complete a sub-40 anti-clockwise Lakeland 200. She is a bikepacking hero! We had a brief catch-up and discussed how we had both bought an excessive amount of clothes for this second attempt. As she pedalled off into the darkness I felt sure we would both manage to finish this time.
I dropped into Keswick just before midnight and decided to quickly pop to the pizza shop to try my luck. I wasn't overly hopeful as I assumed everything in Keswick closed by 10 pm, but I had realised that if I missed a resupply in Keswick I wouldn't pass anything else en route while it was open, and so I wouldn't be able to get any more food or drink until the finish. I peddled up to the bright fluorescent lights just as the cashier was turning the 'open' sign to 'closed', and tried to look as sad, tired and hungry as possible. My mime of despair worked and the cashier took pity on me, ushering me inside for a midnight snack of Pepsi and chips, and a second Pepsi to go. I am always grateful for the kindness of strangers, and nearly always find strangers to be kind.
On a slight caffeine high, I caught Lorah briefly on the climb out of Keswick, she was in high spirits despite some worrying sounds coming from her bike. She quickly dropped me again when I stopped for a brief rinse-off, toothbrushing and outfit change. The trail around the back of Skiddaw is truly excellent. I enjoyed watching Lorah and Naomi's little lights speed along on the other side of the valley from me. I soon passed the village hall in Threskeld where my last attempt had ended and headed up the old coach road with a lot more walking than normal. The tiredness had started to set in and once I got on the roads over the Pooley Bridge it got really cold. I stopped to put on my waterproof trousers and all three coats and tried to keep myself awake with some quiet singing. It was fine as long as I was pedalling.
I jolted awake and veered sharply left before correcting myself. The singing had not worked, and as I descended a big hill I'd stopped pedalling and had fallen asleep while riding. This had never happened to me before, and I felt stupidly excited by it rather than worried. The adrenaline from my near miss kept me awake as I cautiously made my way to Pooley Bridge before tucking myself into the corner of the big bus stop in the centre of the town for a power nap. 30 minutes later I opened my eyes feeling refreshed to find the sun was rising. It is amazing how the body can reset itself for a new day so easily, and I felt a lot less tired as I climbed into the hills.
As I started the climb from Dale Head to Hartsop I spotted a tiny little mountain biker in the distance, nearly at the top of the hill. I turned my GoPro on to capture her ascent, assuming that it was Lorah, as she had overtaken me last. When I got to the top of the hill I realised the mountain biker was blond and resigned myself to having to explain to Catherine that I had accidentally filmed a stranger out on a very early morning ride. I caught the rider as I descended only to find it was actually Naomi! She had also stopped for a brief sleep, and unfortunately had just had a bit of a crash and gone over her bars. We pressed on, and she completely dropped me on a very steep, rocky descent. She was flying on the downs!
The climb from Hartsop onto High Street is long and steep, but as I slowly made my way to the top I realised that I only had three hills to go! The end was in sight, and after having my second Pepsi for breakfast I was feeling great. Riding along the top of High Street is worth the hike-a-bike, the view is incredible in every direction and you genuinely feel like you are on top of the world. Being quite mentally fatigued and not great at descending, I walked most of the descent off High Street, and although I had passed Naomi on the hike-a-bike up, she again came swooping past me on the down.
Two climbs to go. The climb over towards Kentmere was lovely in the sunshine and mostly rideable, however, the descent was brutal. 6 miles of the route to go and there is an unrideable steep path strewn with boulders. It was a long, frustrating walk down. But once I got to the road I knew it was all rideable till the end. Despite being ridable, the final section seemed to go on forever. I got flagged down for a very nice chat with a dotwatcher from the Lakes Gravel Gang, and I had to face down an angry bull who looked like he wanted to trample me. But then I was rolling into Staveley, and I was done.
Lorah finished in 30 hours 20 minutes, Naomi finished 32hrs 22mins, I finished in 33 hours 38 minutes and Cat finished in 37 hours and 18 minutes, setting an outright FKT for an anti-clockwise Lakeland 200. The mass finish worked nearly perfectly, with me, Lorah and Naomi all getting to Staveley around lunchtime, and we had a very enjoyable afternoon eating and chatting at the cafe. The challenging route, afternoon torrential downpours, broken kit and time constraints from other weekend plans unfortunately brought an end to Jenni, Alex and Alice's attempts, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them back in the Lake District sometime soon for another go.
The Lakeland 200 has been a defining part of my 2022. In March I rode the route over 5 days with some of the Steezy Collective women, and forged friendships as well as falling in love with the route. It niggled at me for months, as we tried to find dates for an FKT attempt, and my two attempts have been highlights of my summer. At the finish, despite hobbling around the cafe and involuntarily sighing deeply anytime we got up, Lorah, Naomi, Jenni and I discussed future plans for doing it as a double (twice in a row, in each direction) or going for sub-30 hours. I said I wanted to give it a go on my mountain bike, and someone (it was me) suggested a winter attempt in the snow. I have never felt so exhausted as I had early that morning while riding, and I was pretty done in at the end, but the sense of achievement, the joy I felt throughout and the views were worth the sweat and sore feet.
The Lakeland 200 is supposed to be a qualifier for the Highland Trail. As soon as I got home I emailed Alan to suggest it be the other way round. It was the hardest ride I've done, but also one of the best. I'll be back for more.
Words: JadePictures: Kitty Dennis / Jade / Catherine
