Fred Whitton Challenge - 112 Mile Bike Race

The Fred Whitton Challenge is a ride in the Lake districts for those who lack simple common sense. 180 km with 3950 meters of climbing. Only someone stupid would do it. It has the steepest road in England with gradients of 25 and 30%.

I had traveled to the Lake district with a good mate called Steve Bossy about a month ago to do a recky of a couple of the passes. It was just into April so still winter and we found the Hardknott Pass road closed due to snow drifts. We didn't let this stop us and carried on anyway. We biked for about five hours and completed 100km.

Naturally Steve left me behind on occasions as he is so accustomed to doing. The scenery is amazing in the area and there is no better way of seeing it than climbing up one of the passes and gazing across the views. 

The day of the race came quickly. Unfortunately there was an over subscription for the race and Steve never got in. I had thought of driving up the night before but decided to drive up in the morning in time for the 6.30am start. It started quite well with a small rise called Hawkshead climbing to 200m. I had tried to find some riders who looked serious but failed and found myself riding past endless riders doing the recreational thing. As it is a challenge and not a race, riders could start when ready any time between 6am and 8am.

The next challenge was Kirkstone, the highest climb, but with a steady gradient. Again I found myself riding past people out for a leisurely ride. The descending was another story with some riders taking massive risks and others literally loitering on their way down. I felt the need to get on the fast riders wheels but gave up on a couple and caught other wheels and they whizzed by. The ride down the valley was great as we reached speed over 50km/hr. After about another 10km we turned left and climbed the Matterdale. I bid farewell and climbed in earnest again. These hills weren't especially steep and I enjoyed the climb.

Back down again we road onto the highway and road up and down small rises in groups. The further we went, the less recreational the riders became and the more enjoyable the ride became. Again we turned left again and started up a long valley towards the Honister Pass. It was described and a shear wall in our way. I was with a great bunch as we approached it and of course we all separated quickly. The gradient reaches 25% and with my gearing of 39 and 27 it was hard work. I still felt fairly fresh and powered my way up. 

Near disaster struck on the decent. I felt great and had just entered an S-bend when it felt as though my front forks were becoming loose. I managed to slow and take the corner before stopping near an embankment. Bugger a flat tyre. This was compounded by the fact that my spare had a puncture; stupid!! I started repairing the original only to realise it was broken around the valve. I began to lose heart when from below came my saviors, a couple of South Africans had been watching me from below and walked up to help. Nothing like a little Southern Hemisphere comradeship. They gave me another tube and even put it on for me. Then just to top it off they gave me a spare and refused my money. 

Down I went again 10 minutes later and back in amongst the reckies. At the bottom of the pass we turned right and immediately started climbing the Newlands. This was quite hard as I had just gone over the Honister. Down we went again. There were another three passes and hills we went over during the next three hours but I didn't always realise. I was back in amongst good company and biking south into a head wind. 

After about 130Km the rain started and this changed everything. My speedo died and I was getting very cold. I would say it was about 9 degrees and minus another three of four for wind chill. We started south east direct and climbed the Cold Fell. Rain lashed into my eyes and I struggled to see half the time. I started going backwards through the riders. I was very weary of any down hills and could only marvel at other riders flying down.

Finally we turned north east and headed up the valley towards the Hardknott Pass. Even with a tail wind it wasn't easy with the rain. The pass was the longest steepest climb. Its the steepest road in England with a steepest gradient of 33%. The worst part is that it is relentless. The first part was really hard before halfway up where it plateaus for a while before becoming switch

backed to the top. I was determined not to join the few riders walking their bikes up. With grit between my teeth and people on the side of the road saying, "hang in there lad" I managed to make it to the summit. I saw one of the riders walking up and around one of the switch backs he started to slip on his bike shoes. A spectator on the side of the road quickly jumped out and grabbed him. It was to steep for the rider to stop.


The downhill was almost as bad as the uphill. My breaks had already taken a hammering and they were wet so didn't work that well. The downhill was of course very steep and I didn't let it get to fast in the greasy conditions. I was loathing the thought of riding up the last pass (Wrynose) which started shortly after my decent. However. It was only half the rise as we were already so high. It also didn't feel so steep.

Only downhill and along a valley to the finish. I felt cheated as again I had to crawl down the hill as a few other riders went past me. The final three miles along the valley wasn't much fun either, having turned south again into a head wind. The rain coming straight into my eyes. The finish was welcomed. I ate my meal, took  my certificate and shivered uncontrollably in my car for sometime before I could warm up.

It was literally a ride of two halves. Great weather and really enjoyable followed by rain and wind. I enjoyed all the climbs even though the last ones were much harder and a great challenge. But the cold was hard and the rain in my eyes sucked energy like a sponge. Next time bring clear wrap around glasses, no matter what the weather forecast says. Yeah right, as if there will be a next time.