Day 2 Langholm to Ingleton
- Peter Ledwidge
- May 12, 2017
- 3 min read
Up at 06.00h to stretch and prepare for the day, weather forecast was good in the morning with rain likely in the afternoon.
I was feeling good and raring to go so after loading the luggage and collecting Grace I went for breakfast at 07.30h. The guys were surprised when I politely refused the full English fry up and opted for fresh fruit followed by scrambled eggs on brown toast.
We had the OK to cycle at our own pace today so I teamed up with my good friend Allan McLaughlin and off we went.
The morning was fantastic, we were joined by Martin Kuhn and our 3 man group motored to the refreshment stop at 50 Km.
We stayed together and flew to the lunch stop at 90 Km. The road surfaces were very good and the rolling hills of the North Pennines were an absolute joy to cycle. After the lunch stop we grabbed our rain gear and left as a group of 10.

As you can see from the photo the rain came. Also we heard reports from the support crew that another couple of fellow cyclists were struggling and one of the vans had to drive them forward to the Youth Hostel we were booked into. We were making such good time that we passed the afternoon refreshment stop before Greenrock had time to set it up.
We decided to navigate to a convenience store at the next village and make our own stop. We suspected that a rest would be required as the climbs on the last section were tough. The Sedbergh residents visiting their local Spar were treated to 10 middle aged men in soaking wet lycra.

Just before we arrived in Sedbergh we had a little issue with two scared sheep stranded on our descent. They couldn't find their way off the road and back into a field. Every time we tried to pass them they scarpered down the road in front of us. It was decided that I would walk past them and then drive them back uphill past the other guys. You can see how that worked out by clicking here.
Only 25 Km from the finish and with the rain drizzling steadily we started the climbing. I encountered some of the steepest sections I have seen, up to gradients of 25% and some of them were quite long. It was an absolutely brutal ending to an otherwise great days cycling. For the 1st time since I started cycling I had to dismount and walk up a stretch of road. Huge respect to the 4 from 24 guys that got up all of those steep sections without getting off the bike, Vinny, Tom, Shane & Mike.

I was very happy to see the top and enjoyed the descent into Ingleton where I am slumming it in a youth hostel. The place is clean but the bed is tiny and were are all 4 to 6 in a room. I don't like queing for a shower and eating the only thing on the menu. We are in such a remote part of the country there was no other option apparently. I suppose it all adds to the adventure :-)
Once my heart rate had returned to normal from a record high of 178 bpm I was able to have a shower and hope the lower back and leg massage will help me through tomorrow which is the day with the most climbing on this trip.
Distance covered 157.1 Km
Climbing 2,367 M
Moving time 07:36:31
You can see a graphic reconstruction of the route here https://www.relive.cc/view/983046225
Summary:
Great days cycling with an incredibly tough finish. Rear end protesting a bit already!
Difficulty rating 7/10
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