anyone heard yet………..

Crossing fingers for a letter on Monday.
This will set me up perfectly for the summer ahead by making me get in some quality training in the winter…

Didn’t get an email….work email though so can’t double check, might be in the spam folder.

anyone got an email yet?

Yes I got an email on Friday morning – didn’t get a place

sorry lakesrider

if no email by now does that mean one is in???

If so

oh dear lord 🙄

No email so I’m in.

Oh sweet lord, what have I done?!

I did it last year… Loved it .

Fingers crossed for better weather this year for you… Though all part of achievement!

I’m in again. Second time for me and my mates too. First timers last year. One of my mates had to drop out at Calder Bridge last year with hypothermia (even though the wife from St John’s Ambulance said he would be on to carry on………I’ve never seen anyone alive with lips as blue as his!), he didn’t get in this year. He enquired about one of the guaranteed places for those raising money for their charity. He just found out he’s got one so he’s cock-a-hoop!

no entry for me this year either 🙁

No email yet so looks like I’ve got another chance to try and break the 7 hour barrier!

Looks as if I’m in!!

Have got myself a Kurt Kinetic in the garages need to start the training in earnest! Hopefully if I can train well and lose half my body weight I might gave an outside chance of getting around this rediculous challenge!

For anyone who’s done it, where does the major challenge lie?
Is it the thing as a whole? Is it getting over the passes? Is it the technical roads? At what point do you think ‘shit, I wish I’d stayed in bed’?

No email for me so will be checking the post Monday !

Well for me… Last year.

It was most certainly the weather.

Training – get the miles in. Get the legs strong, eat well drink plenty.

Go at your own pace esp downhill ( saw some nasty falls last year).

But most of all have the right clothing !! The amount of people in early or developed stages of hypothermia last year was quite unbelievable.

Especially relevant if you are from the south – Cold Fell is called that for a reason. A wild day in Surrey ain’t the same as a cold day in the lakes !

I’ve done it the last two years. I don’t think there are any secrets to preparing, just make sure you’re doing a long weekend ride every weekend from now until May and a couple of higher intensity mid-week rides or turbo sessions. Make sure that your weekend rides are hilly – aim for 70+ feet of ascent per mile, or closer to 100 ideally.

My training last year was a weekly long ride (50 miles in Jan, up to around 80 in April) and 2-3 turbo sessions (2*20m). Got me round in 7:50 despite wasting 20 minutes at the second feed stop trying to get warm after riding the Cold Fell section with my rain jacket in my back pocket. Lesson learned!

Aiming for under 7 hours this year if I get in.

for anyone thats in but cant make it then i’ll take their entry . Was hoping to get under 6 hrs this year

Radoggair – photo id needed…….
Also the change of route is going to save 10 mins I reckon.

would send the organisers a note saying change of name etc. I’m sure they get loads who dont do it. Going through other channels to try and get an entry

brakes – Member
For anyone who’s done it, where does the major challenge lie?
Is it the thing as a whole? Is it getting over the passes? Is it the technical roads? At what point do you think ‘shit, I wish I’d stayed in bed’?

POSTED 13 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

My first time last year, we just took it real easy all the way round. Remember to eat regularly (I shoved something in my gob every 10 miles). Apart from the weather the hardest bits for me were Hardknot (without question – still rode it all though without dabbing or stopping :smug ****t:), and Honister. It’s a bit of a killer the first bit, riders everywhere! Some guys were zig-zagging up Honister, the result meant they kept crossing right in front of me (a few guys in the wrong gear had keeled over), a bit off putting. I never noticed Cold Fell as I had my head down, I just wanted to reach the next feed stop at Calder Bridge as it was blowing a hoolie and p1ssing down. I think they say that and Fang Brow(?) or stings in the tale. I found Kirkstone’, Newlands’ Whinlatter and Wrynose ‘easy’ (compared to the two ‘H’ passes).

Really looking forward to this years FW, May even wear my FW jersey now that I have completed it (bought it at the sign-on last year but didn’t want to jinx myself and wear it on the day, I really wanted to earn it).

Thanks. Good to know. I did l 6/7 100+ mile rides last year so I’m used to the distance, my concern is the climbing. It’s just twice as much climbing as I’ve ever done in one ride!

No email here, so hoping for a letter tomorrow. Got in in. 2012 and enjoyed it. This year it’s a warm-up for the Marmotte.

So, lots of work to be done on the fatness/fitness front.

Haven’t got the dreaded email so looks like I’m in 😀 It’ll be the first time for me, normally on my mtb when I go upto the lakes so just hope I’ll be ok. When I’m out on my roadbike I generally ride around the Bowland fells, averaging 50-70 miles at the weekend with the odd 100 thrown in. Over the Christmas period I did a 130mile ride with 10000ft of climbing so I *think* I’ll be ok with some more training.

*yeah right, whom I trying to kid 😆

Any tips for a non natural hill climber to get round… I’m trying to average 6000ft of climbing in a weekend at the moment, some on roadbike some on mt bike….my issue is poor recovery so need to be mindful of overdoing it… Any tips gratefully welcome…I was also thinking about putting a mt bike rear mech with a 12-34 cassette on roadbike so I could ride up steep bits spinning without trying to blow up too badly.. 😀

I have not received the email of ….sorry you are not in

subsequently really worried and really need to get training after 18 months of poor physical health,

5 rides in Jan 14 6,345 ft elevation in 79 miles 😕

oh dear lord

Sorry to all those not in

edit on a turner sultan with 2.4 /2.3 tyres bontragers

I’d second the lower cog ratio.

My hill climbing is good but being a heavy rider my initial road bike gearing just want cutting the mustard on the steep hills so I did as you suggested – Mtb rear mech and dinner plate cassette.

Received one jibe from a smarmy roadie who pointed it out whilst I was in a pack climbing hardknott pass. I politely reminded him that at 16.5 stone I was probably almost double his pathetic waif like body weight.

His comment really got under my skin. And each time I passed him ( he walking me riding ) I reminded him of the fact that he really ought to choose a different sport.

I finished ahead of him.

Pro kit banker!!

No email – first timer.

Think this is an ‘oh c**p’ rather than a ‘yes I’m in’ moment.

Letter arrived……………….. 😀

realisation………… 😯

coffee & rationalisation………… 😕

outcome…………. 😀

thrilled to have the opportunity and chance now the training

Good luck to everyone who got in. Best to start the training soon, I got in last year after a mate dropped out and only had 3 weeks of real training to get fit. Got around in a rather slow time of 9 hours, of which nearly an hour was waiting on the rest of my group and trying to get warmed up after Cold Fell.

Kirkstone is the highest point but once of the easier ones, longish, not too steep and near the start so you’re pretty fresh. Honister and Hardknott the worst by a long way. Very very steep. At least by Hardknott the riders have thinned out a bit but I still had a few people getting in the way.

I got around on a compact with a 25 at the back, a lower gear would of been nice for the uber steep bits, but it’s not totally necessary to get a dinner plate to your bike!

(still waiting for a letter….)
I’m still trying to get a feel for the passes… unfortunately I won’t get a chance to practice any of them before the event. has anyone ridden Butter Tubs in the Dales and the Lakes’ passes? how do they compare?

recon Butter Tubs is easier than Hard Knott but both are tougher than Kirkstone, Whinlatter and Wrynose

Urgh no letter and no email!

Like your last post Brack….and why push a gear when you can spin up a hill if its steep and long ?? Surely its more energy efficient !!

Letter arrived today, in a fit of enthusiasm I’ve just done ISLAGIATT on trainerroad. I’m less enthusiastic now if I’m being honest!

No letter yet, but no email either, so it looks like I’m in as a first timer and up there with the least prepared after barely riding a bike over the last 2-3 years. Great motivation to get in shape, but ramping up from nothing to the Fred Whitton will be a challenge.

Yet another first timer here without the “get out of jail free” email 🙂

I done the Northern Rock / Virgin Cyclone a few times, how does it compare to that? What are the surfaces like? Parts of the cyclone last year were officially pisspoor and I was thinking I’d’ve been better on the cross bike.

I presume you did the 100 miler mikedoubleu?

Distance is similar, but a lot more climbing in the FW. Some of them are really steep (Honister and Hardknot top the bill). As long as you take your time, eat regularly (don’t wait till the feed stop for eating (I ate something every 10 miles). It was my first time last year, we rode to finish, not for a time (probably why it took 9hrs 59mins – inc stops though 😉 ).

Road conditions?? Nothing’s as a bad as the roads in Northumberland………..except the descents off Honister and Hardknot 😯 . Take it easy though, don’t let your speed pick up and you’ll be fine (worked for me, I’m not a confident descender). Lots of guys crashing last year, might have had something to do with full carbon clinchers and roads like rivers, one guy past me going down of Hardknot, he looked and sounded as if he wasn’t entirely in control,, still, he made it round the switchbacks. Respect.

Yes it was the longer cyclone I did. Just got to lose a bit of ballast then for them Lakes hills then…

Still haven’t had any paperwork through today. Anyone else heard anything?

Still waiting here 🙁

Got my letter yesterday, was out doing hill intervals today. Start as I mean to go on 🙂