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On July 1st 2023 myself and 3 friends completed the Pedal, Paddle, Peak Challenge to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy UK. See how we got on.
Last weekend I completed the Pedal, Paddle and Peak Challenge to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
What a fantastic and well organised event.
My team and I ventured off at just before 8am on Saturday 1st July. We made it back in a very respectable time of 2:37pm. Not bad for 4 guys pushing 40.
Personally, I found it a challenge as I am not a fan of the bike. Partnering with a friend who smashes 100 mile bike rides in his sleep meant it was a constant struggle to keep up with him.
For the initial 15 mile bike ride I managed to keep up with the team the entire time. This was a big personal win for me. But my legs were in bits by the time we got to the canoes. There were so many up hill battles with the terrain not being very forgiving.
It took us just over an hour to get to Ullswater.
Wow! The water was so clear and the setting so beautiful. I’d definitely recommend a visit.
Whilst we were giving the legs a rest in the canoe, it was then the shoulders which were taking damage. Once we found our rhythm we managed to complete the 2 mile course in just over 35 mins.
What I thought was then the walk up the mountain, was in fact, getting back on the bike for a sneaky 3 mile ride (labeled short but steep!). It was practically all up hill.
I have no idea how long this section took us. AlI I could think about was getting to the end of it so my poor calves could rest.
After getting jelly legs on the uphill bike ride, silly me thought we might get a short rest period. No chance. The trek started immediately and my legs are only just beginning to forgive me now.
I initially thought this would be the easy bit as I walk quite a lot. But I actually found this challenging as my quads, calves and hamstrings were twinging with every step going up.
My team were handling this ascent much better and kept having to ‘wait for Jay’, which was a frequent call I heard from ahead.
We didn’t reach the peak, due to 40 mile an hour winds. Sadly they had to change our original route to accommodate us not being blown off a cliff edge. But once at the top of the given route for the event, we began our descent. This was a much more enjoyable experience. Although you don’t get to take in much of the scenery as you are constantly watching where your feet are landing, to avoid falling over and rolling down instead!
Oh, I fell over a few times on the way down.
The mountain took around 4 hours to complete, and I was kind of looking forward to sitting down again, Even though it was to be on the damned bike again!
I found this a real hard slog. However the initial 3 miles that we had completed up hill on the way there, meant that this portion was down hill, phew! We picked up some serious pace and my poor battered legs didn’t have to work quite so hard for some of it.
As soon as we reached the flatter streets, my leg muscles tightened as we were greeted with lots of hills again. It felt like a constant battle to get to the top of each one and you were completely mentally defeated when at the top of one was just the beginning of another longer hill to climb.
Mentally the ride back hurt, I was falling behind my team and after a couple of times they stopped. I told them I’d see them at the finish line. I didn’t want to hold them back and there was just over 6 miles remaining at this point.
I admitted defeat a couple of times and walked up the hills rather than peddling them. It felt more rewarding getting to the top faster on foot. But to my downfall I stopped at one point for a drink at a small gravel turning.
When I hopped back on the bike I must have been looking at my pedals. As I completely missed the sign that showed the route.
The next thing I know I’m approaching a roundabout, which I don’t recall being there on in the ride up. Thinking well “let’s head back to Penrith, that must be the way”, I took the Penrith turn off on the roundabout and found myself on the damn A66 dual carriageway!
After cycling down a probably very dangerous road for a cyclist, I managed to park up and tried to call my team to see if this was the right way, or if they could send me a pin to aim for.
Sadly due to them riding still they didn’t answer, so I relied on good old Google Maps to get me back.
I must have been cycling for an extra 2 miles in a circle, before I spotted some wonderful orange shirts (cycling in the opposite direction to what Google Maps was telling me). So I was grateful to tag along with them for the last few miles, with some more reliable directions.
Once I was made it to the finish line, which was only 14 minutes after the rest of my team had finished, I happily laid down on the floor.
I was disappointed that I’d missed the turning but fairly happy that my legs pushed through the additional distance. Especially as I was mentally ready to give up as soon as I found myself lost.
That was probably the most memorable part or the weekend for me. I have been on Google Street View several times since, trying to spot which turning I made and where I may have gone wrong.
The only way I am going to really know this is if I sign up to do it again, which is highly likely.
Despite the fierce challenge and not being a keen cyclist, I really enjoyed the experience and was proud that I pushed on, even when I felt like giving up. It has definitely encouraged me to get out on my bike more.
I want to thank everyone that sponsored me. I delivered more miles than everyone else, so I was definitely worth the donation 🙂
The charity are doing some great work, and I hope that my donation helps. You should check out the inspiring work they do, and take a look at some of the sponsorship opportunities you can take part in. This event was so well organised, I can whole heartedly recommend getting involved.
There is still time if you’d like to make a donation, now you can see evidence of me actually taking part. If you need some visual evidence, here are a few more photos from the day.
