A nice story by Chris Tweddle on his trip to Helvellyn this year, we have been planning a trip to Snowdon and also Helvellyn for a ride so this made some interesting reading. Take it away Twed.
A few years ago, MBR magazine ran a series of articles entitled “Putting the mountain back into mountain biking, which was all about biking up proper mountains . Helvellyn, Snowdon, and Ben Nevis, all have way marked trails that are supposedly biker friendly, which is how I found myself in the Lakeland town of Glenridding preparing for 3117 ft of tough rocky climb.
If I’d known just how tough it was going to be I’d have stayed in bed, from leaving the car park it was slog push and pain all the way for the next four hours. The paths are typical Lakeland terrain, stones, slate, rocks and gravel.
Even though we happily rode the first mile or two past the Y.H.A. we were off and pushing by the time we hit the loose steep switchbacks at Kepel Cove, this is because regardless of tyre choice or suspension set up, our back wheels just continually span out and we couldn’t gain any forward momentum, and that’s how this frustrating ride continued, a few hundred meters of cycling followed by a few hundred feet of walking with your bike on your back.
One or two ridable challenges did present themselves and the opportunity to attack the steep loose climb up the crags to Lowerman was good fun, but it soon turns from a path to a climb, so it was always a matter of “When” you got off and walked, and not “If”. Anyhow,we slogged on and finally got rewarded with a few hundred meters of surprisingly easy riding as we made the summit, and make no mistake the sense of achievement and the views from the top were absolutely breathtaking.
We had a long rest and sandwich stop to refuel our tired legs and one or two bemused walkers took a bit of interest in the “nutters up ere on bikes”, but on the whole I didn’t feel that welcome from the “Bonington Brigade”.
BUT THE BLAST BACK DOWN MUSTVE BEEN BRILLIANT, I HEAR YOU SAY…….
Nope, sadly that was a disappointment as well, the drop down off the top is really, really steep so you have to ride it with your back brake fully on while dragging your rear wheel through the gravely switchbacks. Then when you finally do get to a bit of downhill it’s quite literally ice age rock strewn chaos, your so busy looking ahead and picking your route through the boulder field that you cant just “let rip” and blast down. I know what your thinking, “He’s a shit rider with no tech skills” and that given the opportunity you’d be able to blast right down it, but the truth is you get very little down hill reward for the monumental effort you put in going up.
Give me the climb up Whinlatter any day, because at least that’s followed by that awesome, man made, high speed, berm filled, descent, on the way back down. We could actually see Whinlatter fell in the far distance, sob .
Nope, in my humble opinion Helvellyn is a brilliant walk, and a fantastic climb but it ain't no bike ride. Do it with the dog, a camera and your walking boots, but leave your bike at home.
Instead of putting the mountain back into mountain biking , MBR should have called it Putting the “Hell” back into Helvellyn.
Twed out