Trans Pennine Challenge

It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to write this. We managed to complete the Trans Pennine Challenge over three days. By doing so we’ve raised c£2,500 for Cancer Research and feel delighted by our efforts. We promised to bring you photos and details of the event – sorry for the delay in this being published; all will become apparent soon enough.

Day Zero

The start of the Trans Pennine Trail is in Southport. Terry lives in Mansfield and I live just outside Sheffield. Southport isn’t close to either of us and we wanted to maximise our cycling time so wanted to be able to be out and about whilst ever there was daylight.

On the evening of Wednesday 12th September Terry, our support team (Gina and my Dad (Brian)) and I met at Gina and my house. We loaded my Dad’s car with all the things we’d need from a large water container, cool box, food, trangia, spares to overnight gubbins. In order to transport the three bikes we’d need for the challenge we made use of a specially built trailer.

We drove to Terry’s sister’s house just outside of Liverpool so that we’d be closer to the start of the trail. After a look over the maps for Day one, we agreed a few places we’d meet up in order to replenish our fluid supplies and for brief breaks before going to bed.

Day One

5am isn’t a nice time in the morning for anyone. Still, we got up, got sorted and got on our way to Southport. After an hour or so driving we reached Southport. The Sat Nav decided it’d have early morning mischief in getting us to Southport Pier (next to the start of the trail) so we resorted to good old fashioned guesswork until we saw the specially built Trans Pennine monument that signifies the start of the trail.

At 7:30am we set off. About two minutes later we stopped. The water back pack that Terry had bought specifically for the challenge had sprung a leak. We tried in vain to stem it, but in the end Terry had to ditch his water supplies. Once on our way again we followed the Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) signs. These signs are plentiful in most locations; however are extremely lacking in those places where you most need them. This is down to either poor maintenance of nearby trees or bushes, but unfortunately the majority of missing signs are due to vandals.

The first part of our journey was on a cycle path at the side of a main road. It was a relatively firm surface to ride on, but was uphill pretty much straight away. We’d been warned that the journey from Southport down to Liverpool can be quite hard going because the wind is often head on. We were fortunate that it was a relatively calm day. We reached our first checkpoint after an hour of cycling and a distance of 10.97 miles. Both Terry and I were surprised to have reached the first checkpoint so quickly and to be honest so were both my Dad and Gina. They were busy preparing bacon butties on a trangia when we arrive. Terry and I had already eaten cereals before we left his sister’s; however we were both ravenous so the food was very welcome. I can’t stress enough to anyone else considering riding this trail the importance of keeping fluid levels high and a regular intake of food. We didn’t have bacon butties at every stop, but we did have fruit, nuts, chocolate or small snacks. We also carried sugar high foods like Jelly Babies in order to perk us up on the longer jaunts.

Ten minutes after we’d arrived at the first checkpoint we headed off again. Even during that short stop our legs and backsides had begun to seize up. Our next stop was in Halewood 17 miles further down the trail. We managed to clear this section in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Our third stop of the day was at Lymm, 24 miles from stop two; however according to the booklet Gina had, should have only been 17 miles. We cleared this section in 2 hours and 20 minutes. We began to question the accuracy of my odometer; however over the course of the challenge there were other times when it was spot on. I believe that the documentation isn’t that accurate in terms of distance, but at the same time accept that there were regular times where we either had to backtrack because the signs disappeared, or we went out of our way and had to then find an alternative route.

Our fourth stop was in Stretford 20 miles down the trail, 1 hour and 35 minutes later. From the start of the trail to this point we experienced a variety of surfaces and altitudes. I mentioned earlier that the start of the trail was a cycle path next a main road. Other parts of the trail consisted of old railway lines, canal tow paths, public bridleways and even in some cases what felt like footpaths! The importance of having a decent off road mountain bike quickly became apparent. Both Terry and my bikes were expensive models that had been loaned to us by cycling enthusiasts. This said, both of us were beginning to feel the stress of these surfaces on our bodies. The constant jarring of the handlebars sends shockwaves into your wrists and up your arms. Similar can be said of the back of your bike for your butt and back. Both of us had gel seats – without them we’d probably have had to stop the challenge around lunchtime of the first day.

I mentioned earlier about the signage being poor when you most need it. Between stages four and five we got dreadfully lost. We expected to be able to stop at Reddich Vale Visitor Centre to purchase a map for the East of the country (I lost the ones I bought ages ago when we moved house). Due to missing signs, a map which has very little detail other than the trail you’re on and a labyrinth of other tracks around Stockport, we ended up taking 3 hours and 10 minutes to get between Stretford and Hattersley. We’d run out of water, were shattered since the start of the massive climbs had begun plus we were extremely frustrated because of the time we’d lost/wasted. The centre we needed to pop into en-route had closed and had it not been for a kind local cyclist knowing where we were and guiding us down to the Visitor’s Centre, we might still have been out there now!

We’d wanted to get to Penistone on Day One. We knew it was ambitious, but by doing so we’d have cleared the hardest section of the trail whilst not having had a nights rest and body seize up to cope with. We realised by this point in the day (18:10) that we weren’t going to get as far as we’d wanted. The light was beginning to fail, so we pressed on to Hadfield (8 miles further) before stopping for the day at 19:05.

At the end of Day One, we’d cycled 94 miles and according to Gina’s records, we’d ridden for 10 hours and 35 minutes. We loaded up the trailer, drove back to Penistone and then laughed loads at the fact that we couldn’t get out of the car or walk easily because we’d seized up. I can’t recommend enough the benefits of Radox Muscle Soak bath salts. I felt so much better after a good soak and something to eat. After cooking food (rice etc) for Day Two we went to bed around 22:00.

Day Two

Another early start (05:15). We were both really stiff and looked like a couple of geriatrics hobbling around. The weather was awful. It was foggy, raining, cold and generally not that nice. By 07:10 we were cycling in small circles at the side of the road in Hadfield trying to get our legs to start working again. As soon as we could, we got on our way. We’d cycled this route the week before as part of our training so we knew what was ahead and we weren’t looking forward to it.
An hour after we’d set off we arrived at our first stop. Actually, it was our second stop – we’d gone past the first stop because we’d not seen it and were surprised that Gina and my Dad weren’t there (start of Woodhead Tunnel). They drove up to us, refilled my water pouch and we got on our way. This section of the trail brings you up from the bottom of the valley where the Woodhead tunnel goes through the moors. Because it’s unsafe and rather dark in the tunnel you can’t go through it. Unfortunately you have to go over the moor. It’s not called Dark Peak for any other reason that you can conjure up. It’s massive and the hardest part of the entire ride. There are sections of the climb that are not ride able. If fact, we’d go so far as to say it’s difficult to walk up let alone push a bike up when you are tired and weary. All this said, we cleared the section between Woodhead Tunnel and Dunford Bridge faster than we had done during our training session!

Bacon butties consumed we got on our way again. The trail between Dunford Bridge and Penistone is where I’d done most of my training. It’s a disused railway line and quite rough. Terry’s knees were giving him quite a lot of grief and my wrists weren’t fairing so well. We’d begun to take painkillers and were dowsing our affected joints in ibuprofen gel.

Once you get to Oxspring you have a choice of two routes. Both will bring you out toward the East and at the same point; however one track heads Northerly and the other Southerly. The Southern route goes through Sheffield and it looks to be more town cycling which is something we didn’t want to do too much off so opted for the Northern route. I’m not sure if this was the right decision because between Penistone and Silkstone Common the trail is a disgrace. Not through graffiti or missing signs, but in terms of its maintenance. The TPT documentation suggests that the trail is supposed to be accessible even to the disabled. From Oxspring up to Silkstone Common the trail is so overgrown that even if we’d have been walking we’d have had to have fought our way through nettles, brambles and other undergrowth. Since we were wearing shorts we got stung and scratched and found passing other trail users a nightmare since the width wasn’t even one person walking wide. If you go this way then long trousers, a long sleeved top and gloves are a must.

We arrived at Silkstone Common 1 hour and 5 minutes after we’d set off from Dunford Bridge. Given the terrain and aforementioned undergrowth we were really pleased with our speed through this section. Better still; the next part was down hill! Because we’d not managed to get hold of a map for the eastern part of the trail (Map 3) on Day One, Gina had to run around Barnsley trying to purchase a copy. Most places were happy to send her one out in the post but this was no use to us. She did eventually manage to get one, thanks again to Les Ford in the TPT office for his help with this. Because Gina had been off sorting this, my Dad needed to pick her up again. This meant we got to our next checkpoint (Wigfield Farm in Worsborough) well ahead of our support team. This was a welcome stop because they actually had toilets that were open. All other facilities had been closed along the trail since we’d set off from Southport! One ice cream and a drink later we were on our way and grateful that the weather had cleared up.

Our next stop was at Brampton. It wasn’t very far from our last stop; however we were heading into part of the trail that was closed due to flood damage so we’d need to check our alternative route and replenish our supplies since the diverted section would be long and awkward to meet along. The wind had started to pick up and made riding difficult. Another complication was that the diversion maps weren’t too clear. We took a wrong turn and ended up cycling up a huge hill only to go down the other side and have to then cut back to where we needed to be. Terry’s knees were giving him a lot of grief and the side of my right knee was starting to play up. In hindsight we should have carried painkillers ourselves rather than leaving them with our support team. This way, when were out longer than anticipated, we could have at least taken something to make ourselves more comfortable.

2 hours and 15 minutes after we’d left Brampton we arrived in Bentley. We left there at 15:00 and headed for Braithwaite. The wind was becoming more of a problem, as were our knees. We were frustrated by the trail snaking up the country and the number of times the same cooling towers came into our view. We felt like we were making little progress. 55 minutes later we arrived in Braithwaite. After Day One’s ride we’d like to have made it to Howden by the end of Day Two; however due to the pain we were in, the wind and getting lost on the odd occasion we knew this wouldn’t be possible. We pressed on but everything inside of us was saying stop. Our determination kept us going.

We arrived in Snaith @ 17:10. After a short break we set off once more. I think if we’d have stopped for a long time then we’d never have got going again. The last section of Day Two was awful. Like I mentioned earlier, we felt like we were going round in circles. To be fair, there’s a section of the trail that takes you round the edge of an old air field. The signage is, once again, rubbish, the map lacking in any useful information if you stray from the trail even slightly. We ended up going nearly ¾ of the way around the airfield before realising we were going to end up going round and round. The surface was unforgiving and we were at our wits end. We decided to get off the airfield by a gliding club and work our way into Selby using the roads. Of course the map wasn’t much use to us at this point for the reasons I’ve already mentioned, so guesswork came into play. Thankfully, it paid off and we made it to our final stop in Brayton @ 18:45.

Day Two consisted of 9½ hrs cycling and 84 miles travelled. Once in the car we felt things start to seize up. Gina and my Dad had another good laugh at our expense once we arrived back in Penistone for the night. Walking was difficult but getting out of the car was a task we’d never have considered to take so much thought and effort!

Day Three

We still had a fair few miles to pack into our final day, but because we needed to travel from Penistone back to Brayton (Selby) we didn’t get on the trail until 08:25. You can see from the photos how we were feeling from our pained expressions. We lathered on the ibuprofen gel, swallowed some pain killers and creaked our way back into business.

55 minutes later we arrived at Barmby-on-the-Marsh. We were grateful for bacon butties and the local facilities. Getting going on this day was harder than any other. Much of the next section was on local roads. These were relatively smooth but very misleading. We felt like we were constantly cycling uphill. Both of us commented on how it’d be nice to have some “in between gears”. What we meant by this was that we found it far too easy to pedal in one gear, but step it up to the next gear and it was too hard due to the pressure we were placing upon our already painful knees.

Blacktoft was our next stop; however we met up with Gina and my Dad at the side of the road part way through this section because we needed to put on the knee supports that we’d asked them to pick up for us. Much of the next few sections are a blur to Terry and I because we just put our heads down and got on with the riding. As Terry put it, the best thing we could do was zone out and press-on so that we could remove ourselves from the constant grief we were enduring. Thanks to Gina’s notes we know that we met at Ellerker @ 11:50 and Hessle @ 13:10.

The route between Hessle and New Ellerby takes you through the centre of Hull. Regrettably, the map doesn’t show enough detail even for the TPT. The signage is non-existent in many places and we got seriously lost there. We were able to ring Gina and my Dad and tell them street names we were on so that they could look on their Sat Nav to locate us; however transferring this information into a form that was comparable with the TPT map we had was near impossible. We headed off in completely the wrong direction at least three times and on one occasion we only got back on the trail because I managed to spot a sign because we were crossing the trail! Once out the other side of Hull you travel down a cycle path for miles (as opposed to main roads and shopping precincts – note to others ignore bus lane signs, the trail goes down them too). Whilst this part was down hill I found that if I stopped pedalling I’d soon come to a stop. Once @ New Ellerby, some 2 hours 50 minutes after we’d left Hessle, we found that my back brake had been ever so slightly on, presumably so since we’d set off on Day One! We should have ridden about 13 miles between Hessle and New Ellerby, but our odometer show the distance we travelled being closer to 20!

We left New Ellerby @ 16:20 knowing that we were on the home straight. According to the guide book it should have only been 5½ miles; however we didn’t feel like breaking a challenge tradition and rode up a hill we didn’t need to before getting back on track. At 17:15 we arrived in Hornsea. Gina and my Dad were expecting us to arrive from a different angle to that which we did, so we had to cycle slowly down the road so that they’d chance to spot us and get an arrival photo!
I can’t begin to describe how it felt knowing that we didn’t have to cycle any further and that we’d managed to cycle from one side of the country to the other in just three days. Our ride time on Day Three was 7 hours and 45 minutes and our mileage 66.68.

Looking back

We’re really, really pleased that we were able to do this challenge. We’re delighted with the generosity of all our sponsors. At the time of writing we’re still getting more sponsorship coming so we’ve not got a final total to publish just yet.
Both of Terry’s knees gave him a lot of grief after the challenge. My right knee didn’t let me put any real pressure on it and unfortunately I damaged some of the nerves in my right hand. As a consequence I’ve not been able to use the computer to write this up. It’s been ten days since the challenge – we are recovering; however we can’t stress to others the importance of preparation both physically and in terms of getting a great support team behind you. Without Gina and my Dad the challenge wouldn’t have worked. We’re extremely grateful to them for putting up with us, our moaning and the running about they did to make it happen.

Will we be doing it again any day soon? No chance!

If you’ve not sponsored us already, or you’ve found some cash down the back of the sofa you’d like to pledge then we urge you to do so here