Is it possible?
My mate has had this (possibly) insane idea that we can do this.
The route is 50% tarmac and 50% off road, although the off road sections are going to be gentle lanes & sustrans converted railways than high altitude bridleways i think.
It's 147 miles, tough call in 24hrs i suspect.
The Sustrans route with the offroad options?
My mate rode the Borders Loop which is 250 miles in under 24 hours. It is all on road of course but still a good effort.
A bit of training and you should manage the C2C. Mostly road and good surfaces.
good luck
Definitely a goer- for perspective, in a pair at relentless in 2008 I rode 140 miles, as did my team mate. So 12 hours each for a similar distance but for 2 reasonably fit guys.
Get training and you should be fine to do it with some rests.
Had thought that it had been done in around 16 hours already.
I've been cycling for years but i wouldn't say i'm particularly fast or endowed with stamina - the biggest ride i've ever done was the Mary Towneley Loop in a day (9hrs with two pub stops).
My mates are all new riders with approx. a month of bike ownership behind them! (OK one has done a few ironman races but still..).
I'm trying to tell them they need a regular regime of training, not just out on the bike once a week for a couple of hrs but they aren't buying it.
I'll be buying a road bike (OK a Boardman flat-barred model) next month just to get the miles in.
one has done a few ironman races but still
He'll be fine, so long as there aren't any corners between Whitehaven and Sunderland. 
It's going to give us all something to train for anyway!
Just want the ice to bugger off now so we can start.
Possible? Yes.
When you've barely ridden a bike? No.
Mike - that's what i said. I really don't think they have any idea of the constant and high level of exertion required for this. At the moment they would struggle to do it in 3 days.
I'm going to train for it anyway, let's see if i can get them up to speed.
i'm planning on doing the C2C in a day on a road bike, see my thread
in a day on/off road .... Hmmmm
what "type" of bike? cyclo-x, mtb, hybrid?
They will be riding XC hardtails - two Cube and a Marin.
At the moment i have a Marin Mount Vision QUAD II although i'm heavily leaning towards a Boardman flat barred road bike with 23mm cyclocross tyres fitted (if they will fit that is).
Certainly possible. Don't think the Ironman will have any problem. If you can all get some decent training in as soon as the snow goes you should be okay. depends whether you all have a basic level of fitness.
To be honest the offroad sections are just paths really so it'd be worth getting some semi slicks, or maybe something like Schwalbe Marathon XRs.
And maybe a nice mate who can drive a van behind you/meet up regularly for drinks/cake. Try to avoid too many pub stops - amazing how they suddenly turn into one hour stops!
Did it about 8yrs ago in 21hrs unsupported, it was tough but do-able. Not sure if I could do it now though!
We did it in under 10 hours, unsupported, on mountain bikes but with semi's on (St Bees to Tynemouth). We stopped only for 10 mins at half way.
C
We did Whitehaven to Sunderland.
We'll be using a mixture of mtb's and/or 'crossers. The semi-slicks have already been mentioned and so has the idea of a rolling support from one or two of our partners.
I really want to do this but i'm worried about at least one of the party.
I should be ok if i train, the aforementioned ironman will do it as will another chap who rides regularly and is a roadie as well (no problem for him). It's the other two i'm worried about.
If you've got some support then you don't need to worry about anyone, people can bail if they need too. If you are unsupported though one persons unprepareness will impact on everyone else. I would imagine for the non-cycling members of the party it would just be time on the bike rather than fitness that matters, I reckon its more a question of how comfortable someone would be on a bike for 24hrs as much as how fit they are.
And a nice squidgy saddle - Sportourer Zoo!!!!
road version Lytham St Annes to Scarborough has very limited climbing[about 1500m] and is 135 miles I did this with some really unfit peopel over two days - aiming at 10 hours this year in one go and that should be comfortable ish - someone fast who could average 18-20 would be done in 6-8 hours ish.
They will not evewn be able to sit in abike for that long without issues IMHO and off road as well - I would be nervous for them
Junkyard - got a route for that? Woiuld be a fun training ride for Tour of Flanders (150 miles, 1,800m climbing - but most of the climbing is on cobbled bergs).
just off home in the snow on my roiad bike :gulp: If I make it I will sen it
There is one 4 mile hill that will seperate the men from the boys - it is not a nice route in the sense that some of the roads are very busy/poor surface but it is fast and easy.
a584- out of lytham
joins A59 @preston all way to york or Harrogate
Harrogate = A61 to Scarborough
York = a64
will confirm which we took tomorrow cant remeber as we discussed both and stopped at harrogate so not sure where we went next!
I did the Whitehaven to Sunderland route a few years ago over three days. Doing it in one would be tough.
We took most of the off-road options (Old Coach Road etc). If you're doing these bits then semi-slicks are not an option. I did it on a Heckler with 1.9" tyres.
Rolling support is a great idea. We didn't really have any when we did the CTC. But I did a similar length tour round the Dales this year with support. It made a big difference.
I did the C2C walk in 6 days, aged 14.
Guess that's no help at all. 
Whitehaven to Sunderland twice.
Once with girlfriend (now pregnant wife so it can't have been that bad!) who tripled the length of her longest ride for the first day and had doubled her total mileage on a bike before we finished. Unsupported over 5 days, me with a trailer and most of the kit, her with a pannier rack and various bits increasing in weight by the end. She was not unusually fit before it either.
Second time in one hit, about 19 hours in absolutely atrocious weather, taking all the off road options but were supported (probably stopped too often and for too long but next time we will nail it ) I was not very fit and had only completed one 100k Merida marathon before that, just, but sheer bloody mindedness got me through.
Not an insane idea, actually a fantastic idea, seeing 100 miles roll over on the bike computer was an awesome feeling (only being 2 thirds done was a less awesome feeling) but as I have mentioned before, riding through the night and through dawn is possibly the best thing I have ever done.
Talk about uplifting (the rain even stopped for about an hour).
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