C 2 C. Day 2.

Everyone slept well last night and after a smashing full English and a set of dry clothes we were good to go. The sun was also blazing this morning so it was all smiles as we cycled out of Penrith. We had been told that the second day was the hardest and no sooner had we got round the corner of the B & B we were faced with one hell of a steep climb. By the time we had gotten to the top of the hill the breakfast was almost burnt off and we could see the whole of Penrith in the valley below.

1st Climb of the day out of the way. Goodbye Penrith!

After that first climb we were pretty steady for the rest of the morning and we rolled through the Cumbrian country side taking in the sights and the sounds. Of course we knew this wouldn't last as we had to climb Hartside Summit before lunch. Pretty soon we could see Hartside Cafe in the distance perched atop the summit and it looked life a lifetime away! And so we soldiered on and began to get into the climbs.

Once we got closer to Hartside there were 2 routes to take either on the road or off road, we decided to go for the off road route because it was slightly shorter. The track was rough and hard going to say the least, the life of a mountain goat can't be much fun! Most of the way we had to hike up the hill because it was too steep.

Almost at the top, that climb was hard graft..

We finally made it to Hartside Cafe at the top of the hill. The place was packed full of cyclists and motorcyclists alike all refuelling with cups of sugary tea and snacks and sheltering from the wind that had started to pick up.

Hartside Summit: Done

Once we had had our lunch we were rewarded with a long and fast downhill section down the other side of Hartside. It was great to be belting it past cars and vans after the slow pace of the mornings ride. The downhill section lasted long into the bottom of the next valley and we covered several miles in the next hour.

The start of an Epic downhill section!

Aside from the downhills of the afternoon there was another reason for the blistering pace. It was the 2000 Guineas race at 3.10pm today and we all had money riding on Rip Van Winkle who was the second favorite in the big race of the day. We made it to the village of Nenthead after another fast down hill section for just after 2.15pm, just enough time for a few ales before the race. The landlady was kind enough to let us stick the racing on the TV and also gave me £5 towards Motor Neuron Disease Association (the charity I was riding for).
We watched the race with baited breath but sadly the Rip was nowhere to be seen. Gutted.
And so we set off on the final stage of the day to Allenheads where we would stay for the night.

Duck Racing, all the rage in Nenthead!

We made it to Allenheads in little over an hour and after getting lost trying to find our digs for the night we double backed on ourselves and finally made it. After getting showered Stuart the postman/B&B operator ran us along to the local pub so we could get fed and drink beer. The food was top notch, same can't be said for the decor!

Foxes: not popular in the countryside

After a few beers everyone was knackered so canny old Stuart gave us a lift home. Everyone enjoyed it today. A great day.