Looking forward to this …its a route which Nobeerinthefridge kindly sent to me as a gpx recently ( many thanks )starting out of Braithwaite / Coledale/ Whiteless Pike /Rannerdale/Gasgale /Grisedale Pike /Kinn and back..
Looks a toughie and very naughty but the severe weather conditions overnight are supposed to blow themselves out by rush hour and it is supposed to be a clear day in which case I’m expecting great views ..
Four of us coming over from North / West Northumberland with a stop off at Rheghed for a bacon buttie on the way ..a pic or two to follow if I make it back in one piece 8)

Enjoy! Only slightly jealous….

PS – Bacon butties in Cranstons are better than Rheged, bacon and cumberland sausage even better!

Not the best ground conditions to be riding footpaths. It’s been really wet.

You like pushing your bike up rocky tracks right? 😉
Have fun!

Here’s my pics from my Whiteless pike ride 2 weeks ago to put you in the mood.

Yeah ..looks good .
Researched quite a bit on the Geograph website so kind of know what we are getting into ..
Realise that ground conditions will be a little bit soggy ..but that’s never put us off before ..hopefully the forecast stays true and at least it won’t be persisting down .. 😀

but that’s never put us off before

I was thinking more of the effect on the trails, especially trails where you shouldn’t really be. I’m sure you’ll all be responsible and polite 😉

I’m sure we will be ..I’ve personally been riding for 20 years ..along with Nick & Ian and Russell for a little less .
In that time I’ve seen the open hostility from the red sock brigade ..been chased off legal bridleways ..but gradually over the last few years seen a relaxing of attitudes ..
I always approach with a smile and a friendly attitude ..but if I encounter hostility then that’s their problem ..it won’t actually change my mind ..Im way too long in the tooth for that !
My own take is that I’m challenging current access laws ..isnt that how the ramblers got their access rights in the first place ..so anyone who challenges my right to be there is in my book completely hypocritical…
But thanks for your concern ..
Ps I will be very interested to see how much damage has been done by footfall tomorrow 😉

I would consider starting and finishing at whinlatter. Gains you height, and misses the lower half of grisedale descent which is currently a slithery muddy slide, and will not be much fun to ride. Could either finish back through the south loop the way you start, or come back down hobcarton end into the woods.

TomB..thanks for the advice but I’m not quite sure where you are directing us..
The idea was to start along the track following Coledale Beck ..Grisedale Pike was late in the day ..are you saying there is an alternative once we get there to divert off and finish off on the south loop at Whinlatter ?
That seems like a reasonable idea ..but is the track easy enough to find ?
Apologies if I’m sounding a bit thick ..but this is our first venture out on this route ..
Cheers

Yes he is. You can run up Grisedale pike from the top of the south loop, the route is very easy to find and if memory serves there is actually a sign pointing the way.
imo as you’re going tomorrow and you have your route sorted I’d stick with that and if you have the beans when you finish you can always drive up to do whinlatter.

Re: Tom’s suggestion – start as you planned, but at the end of the day, you’ll descend steeply off G Pike (probably on foot?) and then it gets less steep. Keep left on the ridge and you reach a fence – climb it and head down through young conifers, and you emerge at the top of the South Loop – finish down that. This avoids some wet slipperiness and a walk down some steps. Slight warning – the NT were out wall building on the road near the bottom of Rannerdale. Don’t let them see you descend the valley. at the gate at the bottom, cross the footbridge on the right and stay off road all the way to Gasgale (if this wasn’t the plan already)

Jekkyl & boxelder..
Much appreciated ..thanks

Everyone’s got an opinion, here’s mine ….
instead of going by Coledale Beck, you could ride up Whinlatter then up the South then up Grisedale Pike, you can then decend off the backside to Coledale Hause, carry on and do Whiteless Pike and back up Gasgale Gill then come down the (rocky) path towards Force Crag Mine / Coledale Beck.
The decent off the side of Grisedale Pike / Hobcarton is very wet / washed out at the minuet and very muddy once you drop back into Whinlatter.
Which ever you do i’m sure it’ll be cracking

I don’t know gasgale but whiteless/rannerdale is teh awsumz. Have fun!

Looks like an awesome day for it, jammy bugger!

Well Neil, how’d it go?.

He’s still on the mountain.

😀

I can see the lights from our fireplace 😆

No you can’t ..I’m sitting at home 😆
Appearances can be deceptive with regard to the weather ..but let’s not get ahead of ourselves ..
The four of us met at 9.30pm at Rheged for breakfast which was a leisurely affair ..too much so as it was an hour later when we left!
By the time we got to the car park at Braithwaite ..got the bikes set up and got on our way it was probably about 11.15am.
The conditions were nice & bright ..clear sky with a slight breeze as the side of the mountain was offering a lot of shelter..
Travelling up Coledale and then seeing the initial climb quickly made us realise that we had taken things way too lightly in terms of time management and a realisation that at our current rate of progress we weren’t going to get back in daylight if we did the planned route ..The wind was also picking up and by the time we got to the first pass & crossroads at Coledale Hause we had to have a serious chat amongst ourselves as the wind was gusting at Gale force ..and it was decided that even carrying on from here to Grisedale Pike would be too dangerous as the bikes were being blown sideways ..and there was still a lot of height to be gained
It was Russell who made the decision for us ..easily the best rider out of the four of us and both himself and Ian ( The Bike Place Kielder owner ) veterans of Alps & Pyrenees rides this( and previous ) years deemed it too dangerous to carry on .
Ian was the most disappointed as he doesn’t like to be “beaten ” ..but it was the right decision.
So we turned tail and headed down the rocky descent we had just come up ..got back to our vehicles ..had a sarnie ..then spent the rest of the afternoon at Whinlatter ..
Called off at the excellent Horse & Farrier in Threlkeld for a basket of chips & a pint on the way back ..dropped Nick off at his car in Hexham ..then headed up the North Tyne Valley to home ..
Lesson learned : never treat a route which we haven’t ridden before with such a lack of respect in terms of time management ..and save it for a summers day before tackling it again
Still a bloody great day out though 😀

haha, yes as you round that corner on the lane up from Braithwaite you see the climb in front of you and you’re like ‘errr that can’t be the way up is it’ lol. No worries, you had good day out, nice breakfast, bit of natural and a bit of man made and a nice day out with your mates and it didn’t rain, sounds okay to me. 😀

Shame, The plateau up there is stunning, I could actually just ride around up there all day looking at the views.

There’s always another day.

Discretion/valour – good call.