MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Good evening,
Just had agreement for a long weekend in the Lake District. I didn't fancy the drive from Northampton so I have booked the train (1 change). A bike packing adventure right from the door. I plan to camp for three nights ideally in a couple of different campsites.
I planned to take my gravel bike for the road sections between stations, ease of getting on and off the trains and generally moving around stations.
However, is there enough gravel type routes in the lakes? Is Helvellyn possible on a ridged gravel type bike, and what looks like a bridle way from the Langdale to the Wasdale Head pub?
Or should I take the anchor which is the Alpine five and suffer the trains for the better riding once I am there?
Thank you
Chris
Mountain Bike ...
If you’re going to the lakes, then take a full-suss mountain bike. The price you pay on the road bits will pay you back in spades once you get out on the trails
It’s big bouncy bike country
Langdale to wasdale is great, but a long hike a bike climb up Rosset Gill. Then very much mountain bike terrain, fantastic from esk hause to wasdale. If it’s a camping adventure you are after, you may want to consider less full on riding. See the Jenn ride route or Lakeland 200. Postie Rich on here will have some good suggestions.
You could probably put together awesome gravel-type routes in the Lakes, but it would need some meticulous planning - and definitely not stuff like trying Langdale to Wasdale on your cyclocross bike because there's a bridleway on the map! Some of the Lakes bws would give a mountain goat pause for thought.
A lot of the harder Lakes style riding seems to be hike up ride down so it's actually less of an issue with your alpine, always see a lot of big bikes there. Places like the Dales or the Peak I'd avoid a big bike personally but the Lakes is more suitable.
Thank you for the suggestions so far. I will take a look at the Jenn Ride and L200 now.
Taking a knife to a gun fight.
Just to echo the above, hoping to ride that kind of stuff on a gravel bike is optimistic. You'd be off and pushing on a fair bit of the downhills.
Walna Scar is probably the only higher-level off-road pass where rigid is a decent option, and even that is starting to get a bit rougher after the sanitisation of a few years back, and a drop-bar bike would be a handful.
You could put together an excellent gravel/road loop with some advice from on here, though.
I did see one of those RSF guys up at esk hause, with a steel road bike, 25c tyres, mudguards and no helmet.
He was basically taking his bike for a walk.
Jennride has been done on a Gravel Bike but it was not a lot of fun for the individuals! I put a 100km Gravel ride together for South Lakes Bike Fest that went down well
This years Jennride route is ace for a hardtail, gravel bike you will be walking a lot of downs.
However, is there enough gravel type routes in the lakes? Is Helvellyn possible on a ridged gravel type bike, and what looks like a bridle way from the Langdale to the Wasdale Head pub?
Yes.
No way!
No.
In that order.
There are loads of fantastic gravel road possibilities, especially around Grizedale - you can string together some really good routes on tiny little back roads and a lot of the lower level BWs (and occasionally FPs if you're not too blatant) but trying to go over Helvellyn on a CX bike is just going to be taking the thing for a walk.
You could always bike-pack on the Five into a more central campsite, set up base, then day-ride from there as conditions allow.
Eg - train to Windermere, ride across and camp in Langdale, ride Esk Hause - Borrowdale - Stake Pass one day, Walna Scar/Grizedale next, Then back to the train via Fairfield etc.
If you want to do the classic high stuff, you will probably enjoy it more not fully loaded.
Thank you for all the advice and suggestions. Much to think about. I think I will be giving the Jenn Ride from Bikefest a try.