I love cycling in the Lake District and adore the Fred Whitton Sportive, so this is a video I’ve always wanted to make, with Lee Baxter, in order to find out for myself what it’s like to cycle the wrong way around the UK’s most iconic and toughest cycling event. We take on Blea Tarn & Wrynose (both from the tougher direction) as the start with roads narrow and legs fresh, and descend the mighty Hardknott….. But with legs less than fresh we then take on Honister at 140km Kirkstone at 160km – again both from the tougher direction. Of equal importance to me is what does the experience feel like and are the views even more spectacular ? Find out as Lee and I take on the the 184km and 3700m of elevation that is the Fred Whitton in Reverse, at full gas on the climbs with power overlay.
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8 Comments
Awesome video, really glad you made it as ive always thought this myself!!
I understand the safety concerns but FW reverse is easily the better ride for me, you climb Wrynose, Honister and Kirkstone going the right way, and to top it off you kick off with Blea Tarn the right way, the only down side is Newlands is now the wrong way. . . but thats an amazing descent with the valley on your right so its a fair trade. . . reverse for the win!!!
Always thought the big problem with FW is that it seems to have been built around Hardknott which is nowhere near the best climb anyway, or even the hardest in my opinion (Wrynose) . .
EDIT: Out of Keswick by the way there are several nice roads that take you up to Troutbeck, very small, some more paved farm tracks than anything, and you have to cross over once or twice but its really worth doing, that bloody main road is truly awful, even going downhill.
17:14 everyone loves some Ronnie Coleman quotes
Cool! Best mix of challenge and beauty 😀
Great vid. Might have a go at Honister that way this year. Surely it can’t be worse than east to west?
Great idea for a video and well done. Never fancied descending a wet bumpy hardknott from that side 😬
"Ciao" oop North? !? Don't try it on the pub!
Good to do blea tarn first , wrynose is tough that side , good but very lumpy up Hardknott , & technical descent , lovely ride I bet around to Calder bridge beyond to long steady up cold fell , journey on past the water to lorton eventually to long steady again up whinlatter drop on the easy side again on the newlands & seatoller with tricky descent , beautiful up to Keswick thru the borrowdale valley
Then it's A66 time steady up again , Good going easier over matterdale but still hard beautiful views to Ullswater , then the killer kirkstone 😂 , then gradually descent & easier back to Grasmere
Bet it's more ascending opposite way ?
Well done ✅👍
Interesting/dangerous overtake by impatient car driver behind you as you went up Kirkstone! Could have been nasty had a car been coming down!