Coast to Coast, Day One, 15th May (47 Miles)

Big Signs to Little Braithwaite
The day began at an ungodly hour, me arriving at Nelmes Towers close to 6 o'clock with my bicycle already in bits in the back of the car. Within half an hour we had crammed Gary's bicycle and panniers in and were off for the long drive to Workington, Led Zeppelin and Neil Young guiding us on our way. After an extended queue on the M6 and an expensive breakfast, we arrived in Workington at about 11 o'clock and parked at the C2C start by the disused lighthouse. In true English spring tradition the weather was awful, low cloud and persistent rain reducing visibility to about 200 yards. However, following some discussion along the lines of "Well, we're here so we might as well get on with it", and buoyed by a couple of Tunnocks bars, we donned wet weather gear and assembled the bikes, loading the panniers on to the racks at the back. Thankfully, as we moved a mile or two inland the weather lifted a little, and whilst it didn't stop raining completely, the visibility improved no end.The climb out of Workington toward Seaton and Great Broughton provided the first shock of the ride. Whilst we had done some training in preparation for this adventure it had all been done in and around Oxford, and it soon became apparent that the hillocks and molehills of the Thames Valley are nothing compared to even the smallest of ascents in the Lake District. Struggling up a short but sharp one in seven a little while later did nothing if not reinforce this conclusion. Feeling slightly wary, therefore, we cycled on into Cockermouth and stopped at the first pub we could find for a hearty meat-and-three-veg lunch and a celebratory glass of beer. In spite of the hills, we were on our way.
Heading south out of Cockermouth, the C2C route follows offroad tracks to Wythop Mill, and through Wythop Woods alongside Bassenthwaite Lake before arriving in Keswick. We, however, decided to follow the B road over (gulp) the Whinlatter Pass, which I have to admit I thought would be the hardest part of the whole ride, and was quite happy we'd better getting it over and done with on the first day. The four or five miles of climbing began reasonably steeply, but once we'd found our respective rhythms the climb passed without a hitch, and before we knew it we were hurtling down the descent, including a couple of one in sevens, at eye-watering speed. About halfway down we stopped at the viewpoint for a photo opportunity out across Bassenthwaite Lake and the River Derwent. In the background Skiddaw was looming menacingly, and although the rain had virtually stopped, it's head and shoulders were wreathed in low cloud. Thankfully this was about as close as we would get to its intimidating flanks.
Continuing the descent, we passed through Braithwaite and noticed a Little Braithwaite just to the south. Obviously feeling the effects of the climb over the pass more than we thought, we decided that since it was only a Little Braithwaite, there should be big signs pointing to it, and that 'Big Signs to Little Braithwaite' would be a good name for a book whose first line would either be "A shot rang out…" or "It was a dark and stormy night…" Despite these fine openings, no further progress has been made on the novel. In any case, we cycled the last few miles into Keswick, and since we were a little pressed for time, we managed only a hasty cup of tea and a bun in a café close to the Moot Hall before heading off again.
Once again, the climb out of Keswick was a rude awakening and we struggled up the one in seven to Castlerigg stone circle, but didn't stop to look. At this point the C2C splits and you can either follow the very steep, very exposed, most definitely offroad Old Coach Road to Penrith, or basically follow the A66 via minor roads and some bits of cycle path before entering Penrith from the northwest. No prizes for guessing which option we took. This part of the ride wasn't particularly pleasant, the A66 is the main artery through this part of the Lake District and the minor roads essentially run right beside it so we could never really escape the noise and threat of the traffic. After passing through Threlkeld, the route continues on a cycle path right beside the main road, and whilst the surface is as good as the road itself, again the proximity of the traffic flashing past ensured we sped through these miles and finally turned off north east at Penruddock. From there we followed the B road to Greystoke, remarking how you are always asked to "Please drive carefully through a village", but never esoterically, simultaneously or Bruce Lee.
After some fairly undulating miles we eventually reached Penrith, and after a few circuits of the town centre found our bed and breakfast, Crosby B & B on Lowther Road. The room itself was wonderfully large and ensuite, and after a 5 minute sit down (mmm, immobility) and a cup of tea we refreshed and wandered out to see what Penrith had to offer. As with all small market towns it turned out not to be much. We had a look at the central square with its clock tower, and then avoiding the local spotty youths managed to find a small Italian restaurant where we stocked up on carbohydrates and fizzy mediterranean beer. From there we moved on to one of the local watering holes for another jar or two, managing to catch the last 15 minutes of the Champions League Final, before heading back to the B & B with a full belly for a good nights rest.