2017 was my first crack at the Fred Whitton, I knew the route but had never done the actual event. I was due to ride it with two lads from the local club and luckily we were being supported by a car which met us twice during the event.
The gruelling Fred Whiton 2017
The day started reasonably chilly with a steady wind blowing from the north, not ideal but the forecast was good for later so we started with arm warmers and a gillet. Sign on was very quick as was the start, no queue to speak of, before we knew it we were climbing towards Troutbeck and onto Honister. The top was gloomy, damp and windy but there were loads of supporters so spirits were raised. The weather started to pick up near Keswick and by the time we were onto Whinlatter it was really starting to warm up, again the crowds were amazing on the passes with cowbells being rung and all sorts of fancy dress wearing supporters. I struggled over Cold Fell but some food picked me up and soon it was on to Hardknott and Wrynose. The organizers had done a great job of closing the roads from the bottom of the pass so we were free to use the whole road….I managed to clean both climbs (most don’t) and enjoyed the traffic free descent. We finished in 7hrs 47 minutes, considering I’d not done half the hill work prep I should have done I was happy enough with that. A nice touch was crossing the line to be given a glass Fred Whitton tankard and a cold can of (alcohol free) lager too. Big shout to my daughter Emily and to Anita Allen for supporting us, the feed stations were pretty busy so it was nice to be able to have our own crew.
A welcome pint in a well deserved Fred Whitton 2017 tankard
The Etape du Dales wasn’t quite as entertaining……I’ve done the route a few times so I know it well, coming in a week after the Fred I’d always the double but thought I should give it a go. A fresh start saw the day improving but the wind never relented, I was on my own and tagged onto as many groups as I could. At the top of the Buttertubs Andy Cunningham from Team ATC caught me up and I tagged onto his wheel down Swaledale but I couldn’t stick with him on the climbs, the run up Arkengarthdale to the Tan Hill was sunny but a strong cross/head wind sapped my ebbing strength. I kept up a reasonable pace (for me) till the Mallerstang where I really started to struggle, the Coal Road finished me off and by the time I was heading down Ribblesdale I was completely spent, I’d not stopped, I’d carried my own food but I was out of fluids and feeling empty. The feed at Stainforth was a very welcome site, not least as it was staffed by my local club The Settle Wheelers so I received a fantastic welcome. A brew, cake and a banana saw me up to Dale Head, but I’d left it too late and my stomach wasn’t having it…..Just past Halton Ghyll I pulled over and was sick, I had to sit down and take 15 minutes to recover and then limped it to the finish. Lesson learned!
I think next year I’m going to concentrate on the Fred with some steep hill specific training and see how I feel for the Etape (and see what the weather is doing!)
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