26 / Kenny’s Commute
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REAL STORIES OF JOURNEYS, EXPEDITIONS AND ADVENTURE.
AlpKenny squeezes the most out of his commute
After the year we’ve all had, riding off into the sunset felt like a naughty pleasure. Cycling the pennine bridleway end to end has been on my to-do list for a long time. Traversing the 300km spine of England felt like it would be an opportunity to rediscover parts of my country. I also wanted to tag on visits to the Alpkit stores in Keswick and Ambleside. My bike of choice was a Sonder Dial. It was light and bred to cross countries and looked great, even with my wobbly legs on it. As a rigid rider starting to reassess the benefits of that ‘connected to the road’ feeling I was looking forward to an absorbing ride and the lovely blue RockShox SID forks. I wanted just one upgrade – to set it up as a single speed. But what was THE ideal gear? This years HT550 winner Liam Glen rode a fully rigid single speed with a 34:20 ratio – that must be IT – I was ready to go. I always feel a little anxiety when setting off. First of all I have to detach from what’s ‘on my plate’ – this can take three or four hours. Then I have to work through all the
‘what ifs’, another three or four. Then it’s just me, the bike, the trail, and flow. The spine of England is bumpy and the hills demand attention. The down and up of Cheedale is a very rude awakening, and a reminder the 6700m of vertical ascent. A technique for breaking down a long day is to negotiate in advance with your tummy. I don’t know whether it is true that there is some brainy tissue down there but I do know that if you keep it happy, it keeps you happy.
Kenny Stocker Alpkit co-founder 34:20 was just too big for me to sustain with a loaded up bike.
After escaping the gravity well of the Hayfield valley, there’s a welcome drop into Glossop.
The route climbs its way around the many reservoirs that hydrate much of the north. A great section, sparsely populated, good tracks and ending in dramatic style passing under the M62. From here you pass briefly back into civilisation before the stout climb up to the end of the southern section.
I’m not sheepish about getting off and pushing on steep rubbly terrain, but this
Waterfoot was my next stop. It is well worth trying to get here before closing
The first stop was Hayfield, after almost 100km. I had worked through my 4am breakfast porridge and was due some nutrition.
