Toughest Climbs Lake District Edition! Hardknott Pass & Wrynose Pass | Stunning & Savage + Power
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2021
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Todays video is from our second day in the beautiful Lake District. Lee Baxter kindly agreed to take me on a grand tour of some of the iconic climbs, including Wrynose Pass, Birker Fell, Hardknott Pass, Blea Tarn and the Fred Whitton climb to Kirkstone Pass. Lee has been a friend of the channel since the beginning, and is a cycling power house and true gentleman, plus we lucked out with some incredible weather and jaw dropping vistas. We really hope you enjoy the video, including some wonderful camera work on Hardknott from Lee, to whom I am extremely grateful !
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Wow! Pain faces all around!... Even for Jayne with those double angle edits! 👍
🤣 pain face fully deployed on the big gradients - much like Porlock Hill💪 . Jayne’s edit is the business 👌 Looking forward to the Mendips Hunt tonight 💯
It was a labour of love Scott. More camera angles than I knew what to do with but it came together 😊
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy that vid is first class indeed.
“There aren’t any more gears” the story of my life 😂.
🤣 ahhhhh the eternal quest for more gears Tony! I needed about 4 more today! 😅
I said exactly the same thing, at exactly the same part. And also "11% feels quite nice!" 😂
Man i love your face when you climbing 😅😆
😅 cheers aemscor 🙏 - I sure do pull a few faces when the going gets tough 😁
Those are some of the most spectacular sights and climbs I've seen. Those climbs look quite hard though 🥵🥵 Looks like we really need to book a holiday in the Lake District in the coming years...
I fell in love with the Lake District, Marco - and highly highly recommend it to you once travel returns. Very challenging and very steep, but ohhhhh so rewarding 💯 And the views 😍!!!
A few years ago, I cycled up that Hardnott and Wrynose both ways with an old steel bike and 2 paniers. I'm now a couple of stone heavier and last year I could only cycle up it with numerous rest stops.
I too look at what came easier a couple of years ago, and wander if I could make it up Hardknott let alone at pace presently . To make it up on a heavy bike…with panniers is on another level !! Max respect !
The best video I've seen that gives a glimpse of how difficult these climbs are. Chapeau to you for your effort - fantastic. Despite living on the Lancashire/Cumbria/North Yorkshire border, I've yet to give these a try, mainly because I'm sure I'd be walking.
Thanks ever so much Jim - that’s a massive compliment and hugely appreciated 🙏. I agree - these climbs are very intimidating, but super rewarding (with a 32 cassette on the rear! ) - definitely worth a trip 💯
Andrew Feather - 9:15. What? Incredible. The twig is an amazing cyclist. Well done both of you. GG.
Agreed! Thats an insane time - he’s a very very impressive rider, and has a full time job, and family !
coast to coast in a couple of days.....hardknott then wrynose included....nice....
That will be epic Graham - a massive challenge 💯 - wishing you the very best of luck, and save as much energy as you can on the errrr “flatter” section of Hardknott 👍
What a great effort well done. Also love the editing and the way it’s put together with camera views and switching. My fav place to cycle but so hard to climb some of those hills!
I too fell in love with the Lake District, Cycling Bean 😍- very tough but rewarding 💯 And thanks ever so much for your super positive comments 🙏. It was an absolute pleasure to film, and the edit was a complex one for Jayne, and she delivered a beautiful edit 👌
Great video you two really rode well together excellent quality editing as always thanks really enjoyed it 😊
Thanks Carl 🙏 - thats hugely appreciated ! Was incredible to ride out with Lee - you can see he’s seriously strong 💪 Jayne says cheers - was one of her best edits 👍💯
Great video Phill, it's great to see you coming up north, really enjoyed it.
Cheers Lee - thats super kind of you🙏 And for sure I’m loving the beautiful and striking North - a cyclists paradise for sure. I’ve spent a lot of time holidaying in the West Country, Med and USA, and have rediscovered something incredible right on my doorstep through cycling . I’ll be returning soon 💯
Sensational stuff Phill. Incredible footage and inspiring content you're putting together 👊
I massively appreciate you reaching out with such wonderful and motivating support Darren 🙏💯 - we loved filming this, and the edit from Jayne was complex and superb ! Hugely appreciated - cheers Sir 💪👍
"Its not like this the whole way is it" did that make me laugh!🤣Hardknott looks like it goes on forever!!
Literally the heart sinks as the super steep gradients keep unfurling themselves 🤣 It’s a seriously difficult climb, but with a 32 on the back and giving yourself some respite on the “shallow” 8-10% gradients on the cruising section, it is doable 😅
Looks absolutely amazing... Im going to the lake district end of August and this has got me excited, although I will likely be tackling more of the off-road routes. I may have to try some of the road climbs they look brutal!
It’s absolutely sublime in the Lakes Giorgio - you’ll have an absolute smash fest! And Pete was saying in response the the last video, that he went to the Lakes as a Roadie and returned as an MTB’er - the trails are incredible I’m advised….. make sure you have a climbing group set !!!
Brilliant! Well done boys. Great video as always. Wild camped a few times at Blea Tarn. Probably one of the best views in the Lakes without being on top of a mountain. Better up my game with regards to being a tour guide after watching this. 😁
Cheers David - massively appreciated ! 🙏. Camping in the Blea Tarn area must have been epic - Lee said it was also his favourite place in the Lakes 👌. Looking forward to Freight Train’s Tour of the Peaks at Full Steam 💪💯
Wow!! Chapeau to you both. That looked absolutely savage!
Cheers Steve 🙏 - Savage indeed!!! But jaw dropping beauty 😍 Thanks ever so much - was perfectly paced by Lee 👌
Awesome
Thanks ever so much David 🙏 - super kind of you !💯
Great video Phillip, I’m definitely going to have to have a trip to ride those climbs at some point. 👊👊👊
Adam - a man of your cycling pedigree needs to make the pilgrimage to the Lakes 😁 ! You can take your Gravel and Road bikes 👌- plus tow a bit of the nice weather with you from the New Forrest! Thanks ever so much 🙏
Wow Phil amazing efforts on those climbs well done my friend what awesome views
Thats extremely kind of you Pete - and massively appreciated 🙏. Views on Views 😁👌
I know this is so old but love these Lake District videos! Cycled up there today. Fancy going back to make another one? 👀😜
I’m the same as Lee I never cycle out the saddle find I get out of breathe to easily and do think my technique is poor so end up absolutely grinding up those beasts ! Granted Blea tarn is only one I’ve fully conquered so far and half of wynrose! 😳
Thanks ever so much Janek! This was one of my favourite days out on a bike. The combination of Lee and the Lake District are incredible. After this video I made the Fred Whitton one which I guess you have watched. And then around the same time - My Perfect Ride - which took in Blea and Wrynose Pass. My last video from the lakes was Cycling in a Winter Wonderland video, which is very very beautiful. I’ll be back in ‘24 - it’s my favourite place in the UK to cycle. And nice one on conquering Blea - it’s the prettiest valley in the Lakes in my view. And if you can sustain low cadence forward momentum on the steep gradients that’s a very efficient way to climb. I need to improve that for me !
Definitely need more than a 25 in the back for those 👌👍 great ride, great views and great edit. Thx Phill
Thats massively appreciated Chris 🙏 - Jayne appreciates the shout out for her incredible edit 💯 And for sure - I was running a compact and a 32 on the rear… 💪
superb ride. you're looking lean💪💪. that pot hole up hardknott needs sorting😬
Cheers Paul 🙏 and you said in in Strava - once you’ve got over Hardknott and Wrynose you feel a million dollars in terms of climbing confidence 💯. That pothole is on another level - more a sink hole 😅
Great vid. Some of those climbs look insane. And that's not even taking into account those potholes 🙈
Thanks ever so much, Run Sensible 🙏 - for sure super super challenging climbing in the Lakes, but so so rewarding! 👌. And as for the potholes on Hardknott - they were on another level 😅
Great Vlog Phil!👍
Cheers Chris 🙏 - that’s hugely appreciated 💯. Hope you are well 👍
Great flickering pain face with the occasional full gurn against a magnificent backdrop. Inspiring riding and video. Cow bell and chapeau, sirs.
Cheers UgoyUgoy 🙏 - the pain face was fully deployed - a little London contrast to the beautiful vistas 😂. That’s extremely kind of you 💯👍
Some classic biblical expletives lol, one great achievement Phil. Well done! I was surprised how poor the surface was :( One of the best cycling video's i have seen bar none - loved it.
Wow! Thanks ever so much Neil - I massively appreciate your super kind comment and support 🙏 I was surprised also - I thought it would be a bit rough on Hardknott- but no potholes of that size 😅. We loved filming and editing this one 👌
Stunning scenery, phenomenal routes and very slick editing! Great video, definitely my favourite so far!! 😁👍
Thank you for your kind words on the editing Jinx, much appreciated
We hugely appreciate your wonderful compliment Jinx 🙏😊 - it was an absolute pleasure to film, and a complex but amazing edit from Jayne 👍
Well done, I still get shivers from when I did it. 17.38 @13st on a misty day, could hardly see the cars coming down.
Thanks Kev - and I couldn’t agree more. It feels so intimidating when you are riding out to it, and then to get up the climb leaves an incredible sense of achievement. Nice work for picking your way safely through the mist 💯👍
You having such a field time ... those Radio Tower gradients must have been so easy for you as you had no pain face at all ...
Glad you out in the fantastic country side. The roads are super narrow also.
So many dear me dear me ... but you just love the suffering. We cyclist somehow embrace those challenges all for the views
I had a wonderful time in the Lakes Zaahier - absolutely fell in love with it👌 The climbs are so challenging they become somehow addictive, and to your point, I’m very keen to get back out there!
Amazing I’ve struggled on all these climbs every summer, always amazes me how my Fiesta copes. Amazing cycling this.
Cheers Ramaden - that’s super kind of you 🙏. A nice 32 cassette on the rear certainly helped !
I got a shout out in a BRWM video!?!?!
Top effort Phill - some proper beasts in there, East Side of Wrynose is probably the worst for me. Lee throwing in a casual Birker Fell was a little cheeky as well. Looked like you had perfect weather for it though. I hope the Fred goes well for you in September, just remember HK comes after 100miles!
It was only right to pay my respect to the Powerhouse Fulford at the top of the hardest climb in your manor ! 😅 I’ve got a full power overlay for the climb on the East of Wrynose - super hard, but I liked it so much I had a second crack at it! The level of concern will be HIGH for the Fred - 90miles in the legs including some proper hard climbs will make a big difference 😬
Lea looks a beast ,as do you sir, fab video.
Cheers Chris 🙏 - and Lee is indeed all kinds of strong 💪 - thanks ever so much, your positive energy is hugely appreciated !
Cracking vid Phill. I remember them Hills as they were yesterday when I done the Fred Witton a few years ago. And always remember I heard these dulcet tunes in the distance when I got nearly to the top of hard knock never met a man but recognised his voice and it was the one and only Tim Fulford with words of encouragement to spur me on to get to the top. And will be one of them days I will never forget even though I was completely f..ked at the end. 👍
I can only imagine how tough Hardknott is with 90miles in your legs, Nick 😅 - I’m taking part in the Fred this Sept - and it will be a massive challenge for me to get round that course 💯. What a way to crest the climb though!!! Superb . And thanks ever so much for your incredible support 🙏
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy You are more than welcome phill. I enjoy watching how it should be done 😊
This Baxter we speak of... Good Mountain Biker I predict... The Force is strong my friend...
Ahhhh Mike - your own force is indeed strong 💪😁. I can report that Lee is an incredible mountain biker 💯
Hardknott looked like a proper gut buster 🥵. Very well done 👊🏾✊🏾
All kinds of steep emotional gradients, Paul 😅💯 - an incredible couple of climbs and thanks ever so much 🙏
Thanks for the video - really enjoyed this. I did Hardknott / Wrynose on C2C in a day and actually had the bike spit me off near the top (on the bend with the pot hole). I'd gone for a stupid low gear on the rear cassette and simply could not keep the front wheel on the ground. Really nice work on the climb there.
Thanks ever so much TFT 🙏💯 - that’s massively appreciated. It’s a proper tough climb, Hardknott. And that PottHole was still there in Sept 2021 when I did the Fred Whitton - you’ll see it in that video too!! I’ve seen some other vids for the 2022 Fred and they have filled it in at last 😅. That part of the climb is the toughest - and for you to even attempt it in a super tough gear is really really incredible - I’d have been spat off if I didn’t have a compact and a 32 on the rear !! For the Fred I had a 36 with a 30 on the rear (different bike)👍
Great going Phill but goodness me, the potholes!!!
Cheers Saracen 🙏 - massively appreciated! And for sure more a sink hole than a pot hole!! The level of concern was HIGH! 😅
Spectaculair indeed Phill. Amazing video. I had to laugh very loud when on min 19 Lee said 'This one is not that long' , but at the same time you were passing a sign with something like 24% on it. So great Lee had a back camera. It was for the first time I could see your pain face outside. Lovely to see Lee Baxter on camera for the first time. It was funny you both had stripes of foreign countries whiles enjoying UK's own climbs.
Thats a very good point Agnes - Lee had his best Castelli Italia climbing jersey and mine was the Flanders! 🤣 Yep - Lee had a habit of pleasantly surprising me with some bonus climbs - all vertical 😅. So please you enjoyed the vid, and the new camera angle, it was Lee’s idea, and worked a treat 👌. We’ll be sure to wear a UK jersey when in Europe !!
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy 😂
Cracking video Phill probably your best yet. Hardknot is an absolute animal of a climb. Only ever done it the once when I was much younger, slimmer and fitter and I have no intention of going back for another crack. Great watching you Contadoring it up those vicious steep sections.
I hugely appreciate that coming from you Tony ✊ - having seen them all 🙏 We loved making this video, and Jayne did an incredible job on the edit. Plus the Lakes just delivered the most incredible views and climbs! It’s a very intimidating climb, and so rewarding to get it done 💯 - and for me out the saddle was the only option, I simply wouldn’t have the strength seated 😅
You're welcome Phill, it's been a pleasure watching your journey over the past few years.
You’re a gent Tony ✊💯🙏
Excellent work guys, got to be your best video yet Phil/Jayne! Super impressed by the effort Phil and likewise for the fantastic edit Jayne. What a fabulous advertisement for cycling in one of our country''s most beautiful, (and brutal), spots. I've never been to the Lake District but after seeing this video am going to plan a trip real soon. Maybe you guys should get royalties from the Cumbrian Tourist Board, lol. Have shared the link on Strava, hope you don't mind. Chapeau!
Thanks Steve. Appreciate your kind words re the edit - on balance I think pulling the video together is just a little bit easier than cycling up the “hill”! 🤣
Thanks ever so much Steve 🙏 - thats extremely kind of you, and super motivating for us 💯 I definitely fell in love with the Lake District - and can not recommend it enough, a cyclist’s paradise ! I also enjoyed riding out in the light rain - very atmospheric. And thanks ever so much for sharing the link, thats hugely appreciated 👍
Excellent footage, excellent commentary, excellent editing Jayne. I love the Lake District (only for walking mind). Well done Phill!
Thank you Mark, that’s really kind of you to comment on the editing.
Thanks ever so much Mark 🙏, it was Lee’s idea to use the rear angle, and what an idea!!!! Jayne did wonders with what was a complex edit ! I have to say I’m tempted for a fell run up there 🤫
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy you both might enjoy this film on running the fells. It’s one of my favs
th-cam.com/video/laMBEjxlst8/w-d-xo.html
it’s an incredible landscape Phillip! you don’t need to come to France to ride the Galibier, you have everything and more here!
I did indeed fall in love with the Lake District, Jerome 😍 - a cyclists paradise 💯. And I’m still desperate to get out to beautiful France though - very much fingers crossed 🤞
I do love a bit of hardknott 🤣🤣
There’s nothing quite like it, is there Craig ! 💯 The sense of anticipation in the morning before taking it on is very tangible - I too love it 👌
Excellent, Inspirational video Phil, stunning scenery, now to get ready for my ride up the "Devil's Staircase" after returning from Spain and the mandatory 10 days of quarantine. My level of concern is certainly high, but I have the weather God's in my favour too.
Paying to the weather gods for you Dai - and also a tail wind 😁 Wishing you the best of luck for the Devil’s Staircase - I look forward to the update on the difficulty💯 And thanks ever so much - we loved filming in the Lakes - and Jayne is super proud of the edit 👍
Absolutely stunning ❤
I fell in love with the Lakes, Paul - jaw dropping 😍. Thanks ever so much 🙏
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy We need to get you over here sometime for a tour round the Mourne mountains. You would love it, quiet changing roads everywhere.
I’d love that Paul 💯 - looks incredibly beautiful - and where there are climbs, I’m happy as Larry!
Fair play! I had a go at Hardknott last year and had to put my foot down a few times. It's the second hardest climb I've ever tried, and you guys made it look tolerable.
Cheers RallyKing 👑 - massive respect to you for climbing it💪 - out of interest whats the hardest climb in your view?
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Abdon Burf in Shropshire. Its a tarmac access road to the radar station at the top of Brown Clee. The start is seriously steep and its dead straight until you hit a cattle grid. Then it eases off. When I put my foot down, I had no choice but to walk because it was too steep to get started again. It's so steep, I even had to walk back down for fear of overheating my rims.
If you get to the top though, it's the highest point in Shropshire and has one of the best views around on a clear day.
I've not managed to ever find a video of someone doing it, so you could be the first 😉
Sounds insane ! I’ll have to give it a try 💯. So so difficult to getting going again once stoped 😅 Thanks for the heads up 🙏
Lee is a bit of a sadist with his " bonus climbs " . Brilliant video , really enjoyed it .
🤣 Sean - I didn’t even know Wrynose was a major climb ahead of this ride - soon discovered it was …”not trivial” 😅 Thanks ever so much - it’s a pleasure to film 💯🙏
Nice effort Phil. Different place but inspiring me to do Snowdonia albeit with a much lower power.
That’s hugely appreciated, flipooh 🙏 - when the terrain is so spectacular, it’s seems to motivate a few more watts ! Vey best of luck with Snowdonia, looks like a complete beast!! 2.6km at 17.5% gradient!!!!!!
Superb….everything😀😅👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Cheers Kermit 🙏 - super generous of you! 💯 PS Where do you stand on Fraggle Rock?
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy 🤣😂🤣😂
Stunning.
Thanks Dennis - I fell in love with the Lakes on this day 🤩
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Yes I have had a few trips to the Lakes, absolutely beautiful. I wouldn't mind betting in years to come you may well go back and explore the fells by foot. Anyway all the best and thanks for great videos.
Looks Epic Phil. Added to my Todo list.
Cheers Dominique 🙏 - I completely fell in love with the Lake District, and highly recommended a visit 💯 Cycling paradise - with a 32 cassette on the rear 😅
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy I've only got a 28 on my road bike 😱. If I were to follow your route where is a nice village to base myself in? I need to check Air BnB availability.
We stayed near the village of Hawkshead which was quiet and lovely. But I also really love Grasmere - very well position for all the climbs 💯 You’ll need the 32 for sure
Set trainer difficulty on 0%, that helps! :D Beast of a climb! Well done.
🤣 Gerben - yes, should say “Alexa select TD 0%” !! A proper beast indeed, and thanks ever so much 🙏
Chapeau! You're fastest up there of anyone I follow on Strava. :D My best time is some 20 minutes slower. I've only "ridden" it twice - both times on the Fred where it comes after 100 miles. Maybe I could get up there if I hit it after 5 miles. :D One day...
Thanks ever so much Daren - and for sure with 90miles in the legs it’s going to be a lot harder for the Fred in Sept. We had Wrynose and Birker Fell in the legs - but having ridden on a different day the earlier climbs, it will be a massive challenge for me just to get up Hardknott on the event itself 💯
Truly and impressive effort, wish I'd done it when I was young and dumb as I'd need a lot more training before I'd consider it these days. My parents can remember the days when it was a challenge for a car, never mind a bike and its still a challenge in traffic (August bank holiday is not the time to do it).
Thanks ever so much Michael 🙏 - and agreed it does need a lot of training to ride the steeper climbs in the lakes 😅 . Having seen the traffic on a quiet day, In can only imagine what it’s like during the school holidays and bank holidays - seriously difficult to pick your way through all that 💯
two of the best climbs in the lakes you did from the wrong side, Birker and Blea, well worth going back and doing them again in future, beautiful climbs both!!
Thanks ever so much for the heads up The Northern Cyclist 🙏. We rode the direction for the Fred Whitton - and when I return I’ll definitely take your advice 💯👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy yeah its impossible to plan a route round there and do all the climbs in the right direction. Worth knowing about the classic climbs in the area tho. definitely try and get newlands and honister in your next trip aswell. great video, cheers.
Ahhh - as it happens we did hit Honister and Newlands on a different day - loved them. I’ll likely show the vid a little later in the year, it was a damp and rainy day - but very very beautiful and atmospheric - Got some great footage 💯👌
Beautiful ! Painful but beautiful. Ice creams were fully deserved. Congrats to Jayne for another very nice edit ! Those 2-angles views were very nice. Where is the "cadence is key" motto in these 20% gradients ? You need more gears 🥵😁😂
🤣 very good Pierre-Alain ! “High cadence is key” goes promptly out the window on those inclines in favour of “keep pedalling and praying” 😅 Jayne is super grateful for your kind compliment - it was a complex edit for sure 👌 Hope all well 👍
Thank you Pierre-Alain. Glad you liked the edit!
No more gears....there's never enough gears, Phill. Well done. Last time I rode them, I had food poisoning the night prior, it didn't go well.
Never a truer word said Chris 😅 - albeit Paul Hamblet has a 42 on the back of one of his bikes 👌 Much appreciated - and I can’t imagine how you managed to ascend those climbs after food poisoning 🤯 - nicely done Sir 💪✊
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy I stopped halfway to be sick. The descent(s) gave me my third wind.
Wow !! 🤯 Even more impressive that you made it up!
Great video Phill and a fantastic ride only to be outdone by the backdrop i'm afraid.......outstanding views absolutley outstanding.......you have to get to the top to look down.....
Those vistas can upstage me any time Wayne 💯😁 - jaw dropping !!! Absolutely fell in love with the Lake District - so so challenging but incredibly rewarding ! Hope you are well Sir 👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy very well thank you Phill, any more videos like that one any you'll be getting subsidies from the UK Tourism Board!!
Glad to hear it Wayne 👍 - I only wish all the vids turned out like this 😅
i NEEEEEEED to go there
Steep …. You do indeed neeeeeeeed to get out to the Lakes 💯 Cycling paradise!!! 👌
Nice video once again Phil. Looked an awesome ride
Cheers Jason 🙏 - very much appreciated, Sir 💯 An incredible day out - I fell in love with the Lakes, for sure!
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy ye no probs dude, It looks like its a well worth break, maybe when my leg is healed up
@@vauno_83 100% Jason - I’d highly recommend it as a good goal to work towards. How much longer for your leg to heal?
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy not 100% yet mate. Getting an scan to see. They think its a high level 2 tare, but said other muscles in leg are strong they said it could few weeks but if scan show worse could be months. Just have to see.
@@vauno_83 hang in the Jason - I very much hope you get a good result on the scan 🤞- very frustrating indeed, and best of luck with it 🍀
I don’t understand how you make that look so easy! I tried to climb Bwlch y Groes in Wales which seems pretty similar to Hardknott. .53 miles from the top my cranks seized…okay… my legs seized. Hardknott gives me nightmares!
Cheers Earl ! Thats too kind of you🙏 I like to climb out the saddle, and break a climb like Hardknott down into a 5min hard effort, 5min low tempo and then 5 mins hard . Blwch is also tough - because whilst never as steep, it also doesn’t have the cruising section. Key is to know the climb profile and then ride the gradients, and if you can ease off a bit on the slightly less steep parts, then certainly do so, in order to save the energy to work that bit harder on the steeper sections
Unbelievable mate. I have no idea how you do it. Just unbelievable climbing talent mere mortals can only dream about. Well done. I've always seen the lakes as an area bereft of road cyclists and this video shows why. Also well done on dealing with the lockdown traffic. Most of them would normally be in Benidorm right now. 😂😂😂👍👍👍
Cheers Pete - thats beyond kind of you 🙏💯 - and I discovered the Lakes is a cyclists paradise, provided you have a compact on the front and 32 on the rear ! Highly recommended 👌. On the steep climbs, the drivers were extremely considerate of the cyclists - which was hugely appreciated, and others have said that during the school holidays and Bank holidays, the traffic can be even worse!
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy I was there in BC times. ( before covid) in a wet March. Rained all week and veritable ghost town. Loved it though. 👍
I’ve a video in the rain also - likely will save it for a while. Very atmospheric, and just as stunning and rewarding - I too loved the lakes in the wet 💯
Spectacular ride and great footage Phil. Hope you enjoyed those climbs! Out of curiosity did you have a 32 cassette? Thanks for sharing!
Thanks ever so much Carlo 🙏 - and my pleasure - was wonderful to film 👌. Loved the Lake District - a cycling paradise - IF you have (as did I) a compact and a 32 on the rear! 💯
Thank you mate, awesome. Take care yourself. Bye.
Always with the positive energy - thanks so much Atakan 🙏
Cool.
Thanks Scott - thats very much appreciated 🙏👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy thanks for response. You are the consummate, classy English gentleman. I live in Utah USA but have spent considerable time in the UK and I hope to get over there for a few weeks in the next year or two while I am still relatively young and bring my bike. It’s nice to watch you ride London in your videos. Keep it coming.
Thats beyond generous of you Scott 😊🙏 - I watch another TH-camr who lives in Utah and also the pro bike race in the State - looks like an incredible part of the word 👌. I hope we all get to travel a little more over the next 24months - and when you come to the UK with your bike, be sure to visit the Lake District, Exmoor and the Yorkshire Dales ….and bring some sunshine with you 🤣
Great video. Sunglasses under helmet straps probably cost 20 watts.
Cheers Hardgrafter 🙏 (love the name - something I can identify with !) And I’ll bear in mind the need for aero elegance next time 🤣
Awesome ride. Great edit. Hard as nails climbs. Fantastic Phil. Thanks for sharing. What gearing did you use?
Cheers Nigel 🙏 😊 - seriously tough but very rewarding 👌 I used a compact on the front and a 32 on the back - makes life a tad easier for sure!
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy I’d be tempted by a woolftooth and a 40….or the BMW 1200GS!! Haha. Great ride.
Yep - I’ve been admiring Paul Hamblet’s 42 for some time now! 💪
Great video. I have done these a few times and they are brutal, especially at 100kg like me!. When you start the climbs it feels like the front wheel hits the slope, so suddenly do some of them take off!!!
What sunglasses are you wearing there mate? I could use some of those ones.
Thanks ever so much Stephen - thats massively appreciated 🙏 Brutal is the word 😅 - nice one for getting up them. Very easy for the front wheel to come up - which is the downside of riding out the saddle as much as I do…. They are made by POC, and called Aim - and I love them 👌
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Many thanks! I will get some. Good luck with your excellent TH-cam channel. I know how much work goes into it. Steve
Cheers Stephen - it is indeed a labour of love 💯👌
Great video and setting! Was wondering, how do you switch from handlebar to handheld with the GoPro (8 or 9?), is that a special quick clip/release mount?
Thanks PeakaBry - thats massively appreciated 🙏 . Fell in love with the Lakes👌. I always carry to Go-Pros: x1 on the handlebar and one in my jersey pocket… a bit of extra weight, but otherwise too much of a faff to unclip the one on the bars 👍
Hi Phillip
I couldn’t imagine such scenic landscape and such beautiful climbs in the UK
Wrynose pass is a lovely place but traffic jam is similar to Mont Ventoux where I live !!
Actually 10 times longer but less steep than wrynose climb
Which gear did you push over 15% or sometime 20% ?
Hi Muriel and thanks ever so much 🙏 Oddly enough the only real traffic was on the top of Hardknott Pass - which was lucky, because I understand the lakes can be much busier in the school holidays. I’m hopeful of being able to take part in the Mont Ventoux Haute Route this year, and am super super keen to see your beautiful homeland 🤞 I was running a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear, as was Lee. And for sure once the gradient hit 15% or more I was in the smallest gear and out the saddle 👍
Did similar ride a couple of weeks ago mid week from Newby bridge a lot less traffic. Used to do it regular when in my 20s and hardly saw a car now in my late 50s and it's certainly more popular and harder. Thank god for modern gearing and a considerably lighter bike otherwise might not make it up.Gone are the days of 42x23 now its 36x32. Once did It after road had been resurfaced and that was awful.
Cheers Paul 🙏 - the Newbury Bridge side does look super difficult judging from my descent down ? You’d need to be in your 20s to regularly climb it on the old school gearing 😅 - and for sure I had a compact and 32 on the rear - makes life considerably easier. Strange that the resurfacing of the road makes it harder - is that because there’s a lot of little stone chips that take time to drift away, and cause slippage?
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Yes it's so steep they put tarmac down then just threw clumps of stones down letting the traffic spread it.It was over 30 yr ago so probably wouldn't do that now.The bridge your thinking of is Cockley bridge between Wynose and Hardknott. Newby bridge is south Windermere.
Understood - and as it happens I’ve seen a few B-roads laid recently where they’ve done exactly the same, let the traffic flatten out the stones ! Cheers on the bridge clarification 🙏
That pothole at 10:55 I'm I had to play over a couple of times. The cars were kind to you but I thought that was going to go seriously wrong
It was more a sinkhole wasn’t it Steve 😅 - and to your point I was super appreciative of the cars stopping to let us up and through, because I was struggling at that point 💯
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy you were right on that 30% bit and that would have felt like the grand canyon
@@steveeglintine yes - and got wheel spin on the gravel and a little skid 😳
Awesome ride Phil. Looks amazing. What size cassette and cranks were you using and will you be using the same for the FRED?
Cheers Simon 🙏 - was a wonderful day 💯 I was using a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear. My crank arm length is 170. I may take the Wilier to the Fred, with a 30 on the back …. TBA
So you don’t think you need the 32 🤣🤣🤣🤣💪💪💪💪💪 nice…. As my rear derailleur snapped putting a new one on and upgrading the group set at the same time from 10speed to 11 speed with an 11-32. 😀😀😀😀 playing it safe as I think I will need all those gears haha….
@@simonbrown3993 I went onto the compact and 32 for the Colnago about 18months ago, and love the set up. I think you’ve made a really good decision. 💯For the Wilier and the dura ace, I was advised for a slightly different front cassette (climbing in nature) and the 30 on the rear - for similar performance. Bespoke Cycling set up both the Colnago and the Wilier. The Wilier felt ok on The Struggle Dales - so I may yet go with that ..
10:19 that car in the distance really shows how steep some sections are as cameras never do gradients justice. Nice video though enjoyed it what gearing you using? I think I'd need cyclo-cross gearing to get up it.
Thanks ever so much Tom - hugely appreciated 🙏 And agreed, the camera does often make the ramps look a little less intimidating than they are in reality 😅 Absolutely epic vistas, and a cycling paradise, but needs a nice set up for the gearing. I has a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear - and spent a lot of time out the saddle 👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy I might have to take a visit up there one day. You looked good out the saddle you even had the Contador grimace too 😉 I do wished I could climb out the saddle longer.
@@tomrachellesfirstdance7843 Cheers Tom - I’ll take the Contador reference - even for the grimace 😁👌 . I highly recommend the Lakes - a cyclists paradise. I used a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear. I reckon the that would be a good set up for the vast majority of the time on the climb - including in the saddle if you are comfortable at low cadence. It would likely require little bursts of 60-120secs out the saddle for the hardest sections (unless you are Lee Baxter 💪)
Hi Phil, Beautiful scenery - What was the gearing, front and back ??
Thanks ever so much Henrik 🙏 - we got a sensational day to showcase the lakes 👌 I have a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear of my Colnago 👍
Brilliant fella but didn't need the sound track, had to fast forward when the music came on sadly. But great coverage 👏
Thanks Barry - that’s really kind of you to say so! 🙏Sorry the music wasn’t to your taste 👍
One steep climb after the other. There seems to be no shortage of them in those parts. Surprisingly crowded though, is this a highly populated area?
I was actually looking at the narrow and steep descents and wondering how you felt about them? Some of them didn't seem to have the best of surfaces either. On paper that should be the recipe for very tense descending. Or have you ridden so many of these now, that you've gradually gotten the hang of it more and more? :)
Ed will have to look out! If he doesn't get his UK tour under way soon, you'll have ridden more of the really hard and famous UK climbs than him. ;P
Cheers Lord - the Lake District is epic! Climbers paradise! And for most of the day very few cars 👌 . But Hardknott is so iconic it gets lots of visitors - motorcycles, hikers and cyclists, so was interesting to see a breakdown van at the top 😂 Wrynose and Hardknott are super narrow, and quite rutted, and the descending was very slow - on the breaks for nearly all of it. Getting down slowely and safely was our only objective 💯
It is single track roads for miles around both Hardknott and Wrynose, but the views are so good and the Hiking from the top has good routes (plus you've done half of the ascent) that it can get crazy. We always tended to try and arrive before 8am to try and get a parking space. I've been up there in winter with 10ft+ snowdrifts so its hardly surprising that the road isn't ideal, though that pot-hole was worse than I remember.
nice was that a 99.👍
Cheers Graeme 🙏 - is there anything better in the summer than a king sized 99 💯😋
Never done Hardknott & looking at it doubt I would get up it TBH - savage. Wrynose looked bad enough from the supposed "easier" side.
I was beyond nervous knowing that I had Hardknott on the route, Ian - but they key was Lee paced it beautifully for us and we saved energy on the middle 1/3. I didn’t even know about Wrynose before we set off - super though also (I went back to ride it again a couple of days later). Also having a 32 on the rear helps 💯. I’m sure you’d surprise yourself 👍
Are you running 11/32 cassette on short or long cage derailleur?
Hi Rob - I was running a Compact on the front and an 11/32 on the rear. And with Shimano you do need to switch to the longer derailleur for a 32 or 34. Very nice gearing for the Lakes … or as it turns out North Wales 😅
Gravel velodrome at @10:53 👀
🤣 Yep - you could have fitted a gravel velodrome into that pothole ! It was still there in Sept when we rode the Fred Whitton
"We need to minimise the power. " Does 300 watts like it's nothing
😂 Ross ! Trouble is it just gets so steep so fast 💪. Cheers 🙏
I am interested to know how you got the power data etc on screen - thanks
Brigstone House, thanks for watching. We use an app called VIRB Edit which takes data from my Wahoo Bolt and the GoPro to create the overlay on the clip. The app is free and there are plenty of tutorials on you tube so quite easy to use.
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Thanks. I’ll give it a go. Did the Fred a couple of weekends ago. What a ride 👍
Our pleasure 💯 - it’s lovely to see your rides with power - reminds you why we train as hard as we do! Very well done for getting the Fred Route under your belt 💪✊ - thats super super impressive. I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to get over Wrynose and then Hardknott with 75miles and 90miles and a ton of climbing …. in the legs respectively
Nice to see the colnago getting a run out Phil, which is your favourite steed?
Cheers Andrew 🙏 - I’m one of those who think the bikes have feelings, so I like to give them equal attention 😁 - but the Colnago is my first bike as an adult, and even though it’s heavier, I have a very soft, soft spot for her!
What gearing did you guys have?
Hi Ash, we both had a compact on the front and a 32 on the rear - essential in my view for taking on those climbs 💯👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy thank you, I'm up there in a few weeks so will have to equip accordingly 😅
Amazing - enjoy it, and you’ll see on the preceding video I had an easier day where I took on just one steep climb, in order to get my body used to the shock of the gradient. Also I found that when I needed a 32 on the rear I also needed a new rear derailleur and chain (Ultegra) 👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy awesome, great advice, great video, thanks again!
whats the music that comes in at around 6:57?
Baz Anderson, thanks for watching. The music is called 'Bring me up higher' by Matt Sierra - an apt title for climbing! I use Epidemic Sound for music and you can find it on their website
First?
Comments Segment is indeed yours tonight Lord of the Statistics and Discord 💪👑 😁 - and next time Arthur - was a photo finish 😂
Wish I had your legs lol
Cheers marnug 🙏 - very kind of you! The legs sure did play ball that week!
The lions on your shirt don’t match the flag 😁
Ahhhh 😁 genius Ollie 👌 - I’ll do better next time !
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Just kidding, i love the irony of it. Keep up the good work Phill, love your inspirational videos. Cheers from Flanders.
@@olliebollie3005 Cheers Ollie 🙏 you’re a gent Sir ✊ - and when travel is back on the agenda, I’ll be out to Flanders sporting my very best Lotto Soudal 🤣
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Just made a request on Strava, expect some kudos on your next rides.
Cheers Ollie - I’ll go into Strava now 👍
Can you please make your content inclusive and accessible to everyone by formatting the auto captioning into closed captioning please? it is very hard to enjoy your content relying on only the auto captioning sadly (I'm Profoundly Deaf)
Thanks ever so much for bringing this to our attention, Edward - we were not aware of this function, and will figure out how to turn it on. 👍