I’ve been reading a lot over the last year about ultracycling events, and am in awe of riders that compete in events such as the Transcontinental, Tour Divide and GBDuro. I’d just finished ‘Where There’s a Will‘ – Emily Chappell’s brilliant account of her experience at the Transcontinental.
I’m not sure I’d ever be able to ride at events like the Transcontinental, but then I heard about the Apidura Parallels Challenge, and it sounded like the perfect way to dip my toe in the water of an ultracycling event. Run over the Summer Solstice weekend, the challenge is to ride, self supported, as far as you can in a 24 hour period, with your final measured distance being a direct line drawn between your start and finish points.
My plan was to ride directly north from where I live, finishing at the Scottish border, near Gretna Green. Due to the lockdown restrictions, I couldn’t go any further north into Scotland. The week before I spent an evening mapping a route on Strava, trying to avoid main roads where possible. The final distance was about 212 miles, exactly double what I had ever done previously in one ride.
In my planning, I thought the ride had to start at 12am on the Saturday and finish at 12am on the Sunday, and it wasn’t until a few hours before I was planning on setting off that I realised you could ride over any 24 hour period over the Summer Solstice weekend. I did contemplate going to bed and setting off first thing, but I was mentally prepared to leave at midnight so went for it anyhow. In hindsight, setting off the next day would have been a better idea, as leaving at midnight meant that by the finish I’d been awake for about 40 hours! I did grab a couple of hours sleep on Friday evening before I set off, and I woke at about 11pm feeling really refreshed and raring to go.
It was a wonderful feeling setting off at midnight, knowing that I had all day to ride my bike and not have to get back for any particular time. I’d never ridden at night before, and it was pretty magical. The roads were empty and I passed quietly through small villages whilst most people slept, making my way north. It was colder than I expected, and after a few hours was willing the sun to rise to warm me up a little. I didn’t have to wait long, with sunrise on the longest day at 4:45am, by which point I was being sung to by the dawn chorus – just south of Warrington at around the 50 mile point.
Riding through the centre of Warrington at that time on a Saturday morning, I just saw people either ending their night shift or starting the day shift around the industrial areas. I seemed to be making good time, but had to remind myself not to get too carried away as I knew that the first half of the route was pan flat compared to the second half. Up until then the scenery had been pretty average farmland with the occasional canal. The next 100 miles would be easier on the eye but much harder on the legs.
The climbs started where I traversed the edge of the Forest of Bowland heading up to Lancaster, with some stunning views for miles. I stopped just north of Lancaster in Brookhouse where I raided the local shop, filling a carrier bag full of food then sitting on the village bench and consuming most of it. Feeling refreshed, and very full, I pushed on to the picturesque village of Kirkby Lonsdale at 130 miles. I did wonder when I may start feeling sleepy, and was sussing out potential bus shelters or similar for suitable places I may be able to get my head down for a while, but I think the adrenaline was stronger than my desire to sleep. And perhaps the can of Red Bull at lunch.
I was still feeling pretty fresh as I left Kirkby Lonsdale and headed into the most hilly part of the route, which was a good job as my average speed took a nose-dive and my gains in the morning were seemingly wiped out by the terrain, which was starting to take it’s toll. Cyclists were zooming past me up the climbs as I plodded away in my easiest gear, in it for the long run.
By the time I got to Penrith at about 5pm and 175 miles I could almost smell the finish line, but the horrible climb out of town made it feel so much further away. The next 20 or some miles were definitely the hardest, I’d started to run very low on water and was craving something savoury to eat rather than any more sugar, but had to make do with the bag of Haribo I had left. It felt at times I would be faster if I walked, but when I got close to the 200 mile point it spurred me on to the finish. I was dreaming of pizza and cold can of Coke at this point, so after a quick search on my phone, found a pizza place in Gretna which was all I needed to carry me to the finish. I got to the Scottish border at around 8:30pm, just over 20 hours since leaving home, 211 miles south. I’d spent about 3 hours off the bike, eating or recovering from the hills, but not needing to sleep which was surprising really as I had no idea how I would feel.
After demolishing the pizza, I found a quiet wood in which to camp for the night, just outside Gretna. I had originally planned to cycle home over the next couple of days, but after having the worst night’s sleep due to biblical rain, an Aldi sleeping bag which had the thermal properties of a wet tissue, and an allergic reaction to something in the forest which I’d managed to rub into my eyes, I booked a train from Carlisle back home the next morning.
I absolutely loved the challenge, and I can see how this sort of riding can become pretty addictive. I learnt a lot from it for future rides, including what to pack and what to leave at home (I carried my stove and never used it), what to eat (take a mix of savoury and sweet foods) and when to resupply on route (at every opportunity).
There were some truly epic rides submitted as part of the challenge this year, and a map with all of the lines that were created can be found on the Apidura Parallels Challenge page. I feel pleased to have contributed to it in my own small way.