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Fred Whitton Challenge - Lake District Folks, hope the below helps if anyone is thinking of doing this Sportive. Any questions please ask. Background Mileage - 112 mile Ascent - total 3900m Notable climbs - Kirkstone (454m), Matterdale End (343m), Honister (356m), Newlands (333m), Whinlatter (318m), Cold Fell (290m), HardKnott (393m), Wrynose (393m) Start/Finish - 2014 Grasmere. 2014 was the first time that the route started from Grasmere as in previous years we have started from Coniston. Calendar dates - generally run around the 2nd weekend of May as an organised event. However, they do run a 4 seasons event where you are "self sufficient" Entry - for the main event £50 entry fee. Completed by ballot, the Whitton is generally oversubscribed but the 1st year managed to get in by luck, 2nd year free entry as I had raised over £500 in 2013. Feed stops - 1st 50 miles in at Buttermere YHA, 2nd 83.8 miles in at Calder Bridge. Malt loaf, banana's, jam sandwiches etc on offer Weather - always wet and miserable (but character building) Freebies - 2013 / Mug , 2014 / Travel mug Accommodation- 2013 in Coniston stopped at YHA (Coniston Coppermines) / 2014 Dunmail House (http://www.dunmailhouse.com) - £106 for two nights accommodation. Registration - best register Saturday before the ride commences on the Sunday Beer - Grasmere - Tweedies Bar. Good range of Lake District beers.............at your peril,,,,,,,,,,,Do Wiggins/Froome carb up on Conistion Old Man before a ride? I found that a couple of pints helped on the carb loading. No closed roads so beware of cars The day Left Grasmere at 06.00hrs Kirkstone pass - to be honest not a bad climb (via Troutbeck). A couple of casualties on the way up. Good at the top with people greeting you with ringing cow bells. Good descent into Patterdale. Matterdale End - a bit of a drag to be honest but again not too bad. Chuffed as I managed to overtake Team Sky on the way up (well individuals wearing the attire - does this count?) From Matterdale you head toward Keswick on the A66 - not much fun. Busy road and lot's of cross winds. Ride from Keswick to Seatoller - nice roads with great scenery. Honister - nasty, nasty. Initial stages you see people drifting from one side of the road to another trying to keep momentum. Learned to stick to the left as it is not a closed road event and people got caught out drifting to the right and then dabbing due to cars etc. Once at the top, phew what a relief.... Descent, bad crash ahead of me. Did not see the crash its self but saw rider down, unclipped to see if could help but marshals were over him like a rash. Chap was airlifted out. Descending is not my greatest strength (15 stone and gravity do not mix well). Buttermere feed station - top up on water. Newlands - nice ride down from Buttermere to be faced with a right hand turn up Newlands - must keep legs spinning, shut up legs keep spinning. The top yipppeeee Ride down from Newlands to Whinlatter. Not a bad climb up. Mmmmm, Whinlatter Forest - wish I had bought my MTB up, decent routes with rock gardens and a few jumps to boot.... At the summit of the climb, plenty of spectators providing encouragement - where do you buy cow bells from in the UK? Cold Fell - exposed - this year had good views across to the sea (2013 could not see hand in front of face,,,,,) Calder Bridge - how many sugars can I put in a tea and still be able to drink it???? (I usually hate tea and sugar full stop). 2013 the hall was full of silver space jackets trying to keep cyclists warm. Hardknott - so in the words of Monty Phython "what did the Romans give us?" - well Hardknott pass for one - you have to love the Italians...why on earth would you want to build Hardknott. Started strong, biker fell off couple of metres in front, they could not keep the cadence up and fell to the right (marshals picked them up, clutching their shoulder) not good with the end in sight.... keep climbing Richard.......stuck behind a 14 plate Ford Focus with the smell of clutch filling the air. They are not moving and I am not moving much faster. Bugger (sorry for my language) dabbed behind them. Could see wife in passenger seat looking non too happy with driver - more smell of a burning clutch. Chap can't start it up the hill - wife gets out jumps in drivers chair and drives off - good on you. Massive disappointment for me - I did not want to dab. Descent - on the brakes from the off. 1/3rd way down hear "rider from the left" poor chap cut straight across me and crashed into grass. Near the bottom faced with an AA van trying to get up HardKnott and almost taken out by him as he struggled up. Mountain Rescue vans at the bottom with a few casualties in. Flat ride to Wyrnose - almost there........ Wrynose - legs burning but kept on going up.......not fun descending. Homeward bound to Grasmere - just outside Clappersgate hit a puddle which in turn turned out to be a pot hole. Left foot unclipped, left hand off bars - nice wall to the left with lichen protruding from every crack, guy behind shouting s**t, s**t, s**t - hey I stopped on!! He came up alongside saying he did not know how I managed to stay on - with less than 5 miles left there was no way I was going to fall off. Grasmere - the end..... Back to B&B for shower and drive back home. Next year Team Saracen contingent???