Rogues Gallery 2008This is the page which we invite YOU to submit photos of your C2C trip so that the wonderful, sunny, memorable/wretched, rainy, wind-lashed memories are displayed for all to see. Please include captions and if you want to send a blog and detailed account of your trip, then please go Your C2C Trips on the Home Page (under the yellow Other Stuff banner on the left-hand side). 9th October 2008Steven Hewitt has been in contact:
On the 25th of July 2008 nine Byzak Ltd colleagues and one in support set off over three days on the C2C from Whitehaven to Sunderland in aid of Cancer Research UK and St. Oswalds Hospice, two fine causes supported by Tamsen Minto the recently lost wife of a friend. Our story is attached in pdf format here.  3rd October 2008John Gosnell tells us:  I thought I should write and tell you about our C2C trip over the Bank Holiday week end of 24-26 May 2008. It was a present from our children, Helen & Craig, who did the trip with us, having booked all the accomodation. We completed the ride from Whitehaven to Tynemouth over 2 and 1/2 days, finishing at 13:00 on Monday, we then got a taxi back to Newcastle, train to Whitehaven & drove home to East Sussex ! Going over Hartside the wind was so strong we and others had difficulty getting up Hartside, some gave up. We were told the wind had gusted at times to over 60 knots that day over the tops. I had to cycle in my bottom gear to go down the other side ! Some people we had met at the cafe going West were virtually blown up to the cafe with the wind behind them. Out of interest, as a mountain walker I took my alitimeter watch, it recorded a total ascent of a little over 3,500 metres on the trip, which is a bit like cycling up Helvelyn twice on Sat, the same on Sunday while doing the London to Brighton at the same time on both days, finishing with the very gentle ride along the Tyne valleyon Monday morning. Any way, to my record submission, my wife Jane is 56, her DoB being 27/01/1952, so I reckon that makes her the second oldest, and with a very respectable time ? As an aside I am 57, DoB 27/03/1951. Let me know if you need any other info, it was agreat ride, full marks to all those at Sustrans and others for keeping the route and it's signs in such good order, a great week end we will never forget, Alan Hargreave of Ely writes: We have just done the Coast to Coast in 3 days. We didn’t like the idea of finishing in the industrial northeast so we did an alternative route from Workington to Whitby. Three of us cycled and the fourth carried our gear in the car. Average age of cyclists – 55. Day 1. Workington to Appleby, about 59 miles. Great first part along standard route. Last 10 miles rather tedious. Day 2. Appleby to Richmond. Tough going up to Tan Hill but wonderful views and some great (and scary) fast downhill. We carried on an extra ten miles beyondRichmond to East Cowton and were glad we did as day three was tough. Total 53 miles. Followed cycle route 71 to Reeth then on main road to Richmond which was beautiful and not v busy. From Richmond B 1263 to E Cowton. Beware the road between Skeeby and Moulton which looks direct on the map but doesn’t cross the A1! Day 3. East Cowton to Whitby. This was much harder than we anticipated as the Esk Valley is all up and down – there is no easy route along the Esk valley floor. Basically we cycled from E Cowton to Easby via Appleton Wiske, Picton, Crathorne, Hutton Rudby & Stokesley and then on to cycle route 52 to Whitby. Beware East Runton to Hutton Rudby route which again does not cross the A 19. Easy Cycling to Easby but then the up and down is a killer, especially if you are not expecting it. Whitby is a beautiful place to finish and lovely to spend a few days relaxing in afterwards. Total 50 miles. Total distance 162 miles. Can I suggest that Sustrans works on this route as it needs some connections between Reeth and route 52? Seems to us to provide a much more interesting and challenging third day than the standard route. Rob Lane has been in touch: We started the ride easily enough on Monday 15th Sept. 08 but were soon misled into the council estate in Whitehaven by altered signs, very funny ! So the first bit of advice, stay on the railway path for some miles. We were taken a bit by surprise by the Whinlatter Pass, thinking it would be a breeze to Keswick. Mind you it was more like January when the snow has just melted, with a strong headwind that was not mentioned in the book ! First night was spent just before Penrith (48mls.) Travelodge+Little Chef. AOK. The second night, the pub in Allenheads (35mls.). Very Good ! We didn't book and were very lucky to get the last room ! So advise, best to book ! Third day to the finish at Sunderland (52mls.) We found the last couple of hills quite tough but I was born before the war so you may not ! Then, as in the title of the book, it's "Down Hill all the Way" But a word of warning and make it your watch word(s) "Graffiti Means Glass" and there is plenty of it, as we found to our cost, running slicks on mountain bikes. We both punctured ! From then on we carried the bikes every time we saw any signs of spray cans. So for tyres, would recommend knobblies, a slightly better chance of survival. Watch out for the Wet Lands Trust near Washington, Tea, Cakes and Apple pie with Cream ! Nice ! Arrived in Sunderland about 5.30pm. 6.30ish took train back to Whitehaven (£13.80) What ? Yes it's true ! About an hours wait at Carlisle but there is an excellent fish and chip shop over the road opposite the main entrance to the station. A memorable three days, think I might do it again ! Be Lucky !!! Reg & Karen Bestwick of Worksop Notts contacted us:  We are delighted to inform you that on September 14th Mike Beniston 76 years of age arrived in Sunderland after completing the C2C trip from Whitehaven. Mike was part of a group of 10 that My Husband and I were guiding from Whitehaven to Sunderland. We left Whitehaven at approx 12.30pm on Friday the 12th September and Mike arrived in Sunderland at approx 7pm on the Sunday evening 14th September. We stopped over at Keswick on the Friday night and Alston on the Saturday night. We followed the official C2C on road route all the way.  Mike showed tremendous tenacity throughout the trip (even up crawlyside) and the rest of the group were a great encouragement to him and each other. On route we came across a 73 year old gentleman also going for the record he was also doing great although he was doing it over a longer duration. This was our 8th C2C trip . In the last year we have arranged and guided 30 people across this route most of them previously non cyclists. We are hoping to go for the one day challenge ourselves early next spring- maybe we could have a record for the oldest husband and wife team to complete the C2C in a day??  I have enclosed some pictures- see explanations below. It would mean a great deal to Mike if he was to appear on your page and I am sure this would justifiably earn him bragging rights with his mates! Great website- keep up the good work. Ian Wright tells us of Jack Wright’s Coast2Coast Challenge 2008 11 of us road from Whitehaven to Sunderland to raise money for the Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance after they saved my son’s life (Jack Wright) in 2006 – he suffered a heart attack at school aged 6. The riders were: Gordon Blane, Andrew Bowler, John Dickins, Julian Emslie, Mike Foden, Paul McKie, Steve Redshaw, Rob Shaw, Martin & Sam Thirlaway and Ian Wright (Jack’s Dad). Like others riding the route over the weekend of 20th – 22nd June 2008 we endured some “challenging†weather on Saturday, just in time to start the climb up Hartside! The wind and rain thankfully accompanied us for the rest of the day, preventing both overheating and dehydration!!!! We also think we have beaten the fund raising record by a group cycling the route as we have raised £13641.62 so far, with donations still coming in!!! A fantastic experience and a real sense of achievement having done it. 18 September 2008From 15 - 17 May 2008, Peter Morgan (hereafter known as "Peter" for that is his name) and Peter Hobley, (hereafter known as "Pedro" to differentiate him from Peter) embarked on a bicycle ride from Whitehaven in Cumbria to Tynemouth in Newcastle: the Sea-to-Sea (C2C). You can read about our trip in the day-by-day diary and see some of the photographs we took. For those who may be planning a similar trip you can check back soon (once Pedro has prised some comments from Peter) for our top tips section. Any comments or questions, just email Pedro: pedro@c2c-ride.net. 16 September 2008Andrew Emmerson sent us the following pictures of his group en-route.      Alan Hartley of Shap, Cumbria: I did the C2C Whitehaven to Tynemouth yesterday, and I see the time compares pretty favourably so thought I'd drop you a line. I wasn't intending to go for a fast time, just to achieve it one day. I left Whitehaven at 08:20 and arrived Tynemouth at 20:02. Bike computer indicates roll time of 10:20. I met my girlfriend Sarah en route (with car!) for refuel at Braithwaite near Keswick, in Langwathby, Allenheads and Rowlands Gill to account for the 1:22 not riding. I stuck to the official route without any of the alternatives, official or otherwise. However I couldn't work out from the guide whether I was supposed to go over Stanhope common or through Stanhope as the Sustrans map was a bit ambiguous - mile indicators go through Stanhope, profile indicates this is the alternative route! The signposts in Rookhope seemed to indicate over the top was the correct route so I went that way - tough on a road bike! A few sections, such as the descent in Whinlatter were also tough on the road bike but overall the right choice I think. I certainly made up for slow progress on the offroad sections with some of the descents through the Pennines. Hartside wasn't too bad (I've been up before so knew what to expect), but the ride up from Garigill did force me to walk a short section (must get some lower gears...). It's true what they say about the second half all being downhill. Paul Butterworth and Joel Topham 9 months ago, we decided to take on a challenge to raise money for Cancer Research UK. I wanted to do this because my mother unfortunately died of cancer earlier this year. We have currently raised £3,330. Joel and I are both runners but definitely not ‘ultra-marathon’ runners – we have only ever run one marathon each. Originally we were going to run RAW Britain (an ultra marathon over six days across the UK). However, with 3 weeks to go the event was cancelled. We still wanted to do something and Joel had a friend who had cycled the C2C before and had a book (‘The Ultimate C2C Guide’ by Excellent Books) which gave us the route. In total we ran / walked 137 miles over 37 hours and 27 minutes. Day 1 Whitehaven to Keswick; Day 2 Keswick to Penrith; Day 3 Penrith to Nenthead; Day 4 Nenthead to Consett; and Day 5 Consett to Sunderland. Our time was a little slower than we’d hoped, largely down to a slow Day 5, but we were really pleased to finish. It was a tough week – physically for me and mentally for Joel. Highlights: having the weather in Whitehaven announced over the speaker system at Shipley train station after telling the ticket-sales lady what we were doing; the welcoming B&B owners; the views; the supportive cyclists (even if they did think we were a bit crazy); and, of course, finishing!! Low points: the long and very hot day from Whitehaven to Keswick; wearing our running kit for more than one day; the battered feet and sore legs; and Joel’s trip to A&E on the night we finished to have his leg checked out (nothing too serious thankfully). Sophie Kebell (aged 8) and her dad Richard (considerably older). I had been planning to organise a C2C trip for the parents of Sophie's school friends in the summer of 2009 and had been browsing the C2C website for ideas. Whilst looking through the site it became apparent that Sophie was young enough to break the record for the youngest female to complete the ride solo if a trip could be completed by the end of the School Summer Holidays. I had done the ride several times before in one day, two days and three days, with and without support. I was very familiar with the severity of the ride and the hills but felt that Sophie was strong and fit enough to complete the ride as long as she had no bags to carry and the wind was blowing the right way. The weather forecast was favourable with Westerly winds dominant. The trip was arranged for three days later with the wife, Sharron and the younger sister, Catherine giving us a lift to Whitehaven on Wednesday 27th August, leaving Durham at 6.45 am. Day 1 We set off from Whitehaven with grey skies above and light drizzle in this, the gloomiest August since records began. We collected our stamp from Zest Harbour café but could not get a stamping card as they had run out. The morning ride was pretty easy with Sophie setting a good pace. We stopped at the memorial to Billy Minikin on Whinlatter Pass. I had been on the Fireman's ride in 2003 when Billy had his fatal heart attack. Sophie had heard the story before and we both placed small pebbles on the headstone as a mark of remembrance. Sophie climbed well up the pass and we met mum and sister at the visitors centre for coffee and cake. The descent into Keswick was uneventful and the first 30 miles had been completed without hassle apart from a customary puncture (they had been cutting the hedges). Sophie was allowed to spend money in the bright pink candy shop behind the Lakeland pedlar as a reward for her efforts. Day 2 The second day was fairly easy with a tailwind and no real hills. Sophie had the pleasure of overtaking a couple of adult C2C'ers on the climb towards Greystoke and they bought her a hot chocolate at the Greystoke café as further encouragement. We didn't attempt the Old Coach Road as that would have amounted to child cruelty. The day was finished at 2.30 with another 31 miles completed. Tomorrow was a scary day and I was a bit worried going to bed whether Sophie would be mentally tough enough for the climbs of Hartside, Blackhill, Allenheads and Rookhope. Day 3 We left Little Salkeld straight after breakfast and soon started the climb up Hartside. It was still grey and drizzly but Sophie didn't mind and danced her way up the climb receiving encouragement from other cyclists and motorists. We arrived at the top at 11.15 foe a welcome cake and coffee. I think Dad was more tired having struggled with panniers and beer belly. The decent into Alston and the climb to Nenthead were very pleasant. At Nenthead I couldn't dissuade Sophie from playing on the swings and slide while I had a break. The lack of a rest affected Sophie's energy levels going up Blackhill and for the first time she began to get disheartened. The decent into Allenheads cheered up as did meeting up with another little Girl called Zoe who was doing the ride with her dad, Gordon. We met up with Gordon and Zoe again at Rookhope and became a foursome for the trip to Parkhead Station over the moors. There were plenty of Grouse to scare off as we made our way across the muddy single track which Sophie didn't like as it was too tight (her words not mine). Despite cycling 39 miles over 4 proper hills Sophie was still full of life as we met up with mummy and Catherine at Lorraine's and Terry's brilliant cyclists B&B and tea rooms. We had booked a 4 berth room with an evening meal which was all good, very good. Day 4 The easiest day and almost downhill all the way to Sunderland. The wind had now dropped and the weather had got that little bit warmer. Catherine joined us for the easy 20 miles or so into Chester-le-Street where we met up with Granddad. Sophie and I continued into Sunderland trying to get there before 4.00 to avoid the football traffic. It was only later that I found out that the match had been moved to the Sunday. The finish seemed an anti-climax after the hill of yesterday. Sophie got her card stamped at the Marina and now hoped that her trip might get her a Blue Peter Badge. What colour do you think she deserves? A solo ride at the age of 8 years and 135 days and one of the smallest in her class. 27 August 2008Mark has been in touch: I did the C2C this Bank Holiday weekend 23, 24 and 25th August and it was certainly the lung busting, back aching, leg straining challenge I had been led to expect. Fantastic scenery, great people and camaraderie. However I must say a MASSIVE thank you to Will and Neil from Sunderland. On the second day, 6 miles in I got my second puncture of the trip, (3 in total). I got that fixed and then 2 miles further on in the foothills of Hartside my chain snapped. I did have equipment to fix it in a support car that was still back in Penrith, although I hadn't practiced fixing a chain before. Anyway I'd been there about 40 mins when the guardian angels of the C2C appeared and between them they whipped the necessary items out of their bags and very kindly fixed my chain. They had already helped somebody else get back on the road that morning too!! We met later that day at Allenheads at the Thorn Green campsite and they were pleased to see I had made it that far. I did eventually make it to Tynemouth on Monday for 2.45pm, but without their help I may not have finished and let my sponsors down. The lads were taking the Sunderland route so I never got to thank them again and I promised I would post a message on the C2C site in praise of their brilliant efforts. Thanks once more lads Mark 12 August 2008Trevor Smith contacted us to say: You may remember the story from May 2006 when I ended up in hospital at the end of our second day of the c2c. Going downhill into Allenheeds (I am told that is how to say it) I had an accident and spent the next two weeks in hospital. My family, friends and I are going back for me to finish the leg from the scene of the accident to Sunderland on Saturday 6th September. I am looking forward to it but plan to take it a little more carefully. I would like to thank all the staff at north Tyneside hospital who were fantastic during my stay, and also my family and friends for returning with me to complete the trip. 3rd July 2008Recently returned from a C2C Adventure, Edward Staines has been in contact to say: My daughter Helen and I recently completed the C2C once again and I'll try and attach a picture of her looking smug with Blencathra in the background as we were negotiating the Old Coach Road from Keswick to Dockray. I know it's nickname is the bike breaker but I would have thought that ball breaker was more appropriate. The off road route from Nenthead to Black Hill has been regraded recently and is now eminently cycleable on a mountain bike. Not so the Rookhope incline which is rougher than ever and, to my shame, we gave up and walked. Mind you, we were pushing into the teeth of an easterly gale. Keep the guide going. It brings back wonderful memories - I've done it four times now.  1st July 2008SSgt Andy Desroches writes: Four members from 35 Signal Regiment (V) completed the C2C over the weekend of 28th 29th June 08 to raise funds for the “Help for Heroes†campaign and MacMillan Nurses. An excellent two days cycling were we met some really nice people and had a great time.  27 June 2008Andy Hassall contacted us to say: 16 riders from the Morson Group completed the C2C over the weekend of 20th June – 23rd June. The weather did its best to stop us, driving wind and rain on the road up to the Hartside café on the Saturday and 60mph winds on the Sunday on the Waskerly Way, with one rider blown off his bike on the exposed disused railway. The conditions experienced seemed a distant memory as we rode into Tynemouth on Monday in excellent conditions. It was tougher than anyone imagined but everyone finally enjoyed the experience.  12 June 2008Graham Bentley just finished his own variation on the trail between Whitby and Whitehaven. More of his pictures can be found here.   Ken Clasper writes: "I started the Coast to Coast on June 6th and completed it June 8th, with my Son Mark. The problem is that I have Early on-set Lewy Body Dementia, but I really enjoyed it. For me and my illness it was a real achievement and it is something that I will treasure. What is more I was really made at home by some wonderful cyclists. This may not be a record but I would be interested in hearing if anyone else with this condition has ever tried to do this event. " May 30th 2008Dave (45) and son Tom (14) did the ride from 22nd to 24th May - Whitehaven to Tynemouth. Wonderful time - great B&B's, people and scenery - worst of it was the easterly wind - particularly have to pedal hard down the other side of Hartside to make any headway!   May 27th 2008Mark Willoughby: "it nearly killed me but i did it with 20mph winds all the way up in my face"   "If anybody says coast to coast is easy mate there a liar....at least twice I felt like throwing up. I'm 45 and that was the hardest thing I did since I joined the navy and I was 16 then..." See Mark's pictures here and his mate's here. Neal and Gareth from Teesside try a more rigorous mode of transport, pictured at Allenheads Inn, Allenheads   May 24-26 2008Simon Kearsley says "well done to all those brave/stupid people (I count myself in the latter) who completed c2c this weekend against some of the strongest head winds you could possibly fight against...." "Well done to everyone..... It was horrid... But strangely fun.... (if your mad and had no support vehicle" April 2008Sharon Harvey writes "Over to Nenthead April 2008. Not many other cyclists around strangely enough - not seen icicles like this in years!"   
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