leeds liverpool canal tips

[christom5574]

Well if it was too easy it would be no challenge would it?!
I appreciate it's not going to be dry under wheel as it were but I'm just avoiding getting soaked allday and Wednesday does look the best of s bad lot.

Il let you know how I get on on Thursday.,am doing it using Runtastic pro app so if I make it ok have proof lol

[nirakaro]

The Leeds and Liverpool is 127 miles long. To do that in sixteen hours you're going to have to average eight miles an hour, including stops, and including possibly several miles where at best you'll be making little better than walking pace. To do that without 'hammering' some sections, and without risking upsetting other towpath users, looks to me like a mathematical impossibility.

[christom5574]

Well plenty of other people have done it in similar times and faster! Besides there will be plenty of stretches with no one around!! It's a canal not a high street. Can't believe the negativity , I'm not suggesting doing coast to coast on a kids bike in half s day. This is why I never usually post on forums.. cheers anyway

[nirakaro]

Sorry - I didn't want to discourage you. Nothing to stop you riding as far into the night as you like if necessary. Have a great ride. Let us know how it goes!

[christom5574]

No worries I know it won't be easy but that's the point . I know my level of fitness..but it will be a real push for me to do it!! Rest assured I shall be polite to all canal users even anglers!!!!

[Rusty Spanner]

Good luck!

The Kingfisher Cafe at Reedley Marina just east of Burnley is a very pleasant place to refuel.
You can sit outside with your bike or lock it securely within sight.
[url]
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restauran ... gland.html
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As others have said, the towpath is very wet and slippy in places at the moment, decent treaded tyres will help enormously.

We use the towpath around Burnley quite regularly and have never had issues
with other users.
The stretch through the town itself can be busy at weekends or pleasant evenings, you get the odd bit of broken glass, but in general it's very pleasant and not crowded at all during the week.

[christom5574]

So after struggling to get to Liverpool for 5am, we eventually found the eldonian basin which is the official starting point for the leeds Liverpool canal. In the dark and freezing cold it was a struggle to find the actual start of the canal but at 5.45 I was away. Leaving Liverpool at dawn was very peaceful and relaxing. A nice towpath through the edge of Liverpool and out along surburbia was a nice start to the ride though it wasn't to last long.
Not exactly sure where it was but roughly 12 miles in the path turned into soaking wet mud and boggy grass. My feet were soaking wet now and only got worse.

Stopping for gels and food and water was a complete faff as everything was covered in mud and soaking wet. Making a simple task a right pain. Also applying chamois cream with muddy hand accidentally, wasn't fun!!! The amount of grassy bankside surprised me, only around any city or larger town was there a towpath as such, which came as a relief.

The actual route itself was very quiet, only the usual dog walkers who all called their dogs back for which I thanked them. They didn't have to as I have a dog anyway but best to be safe then sorry.

The 2 tunnel sections were a bit tricky. if anyone is reading this as they plan to do it the first one in garrow I think its called , if you bare left under the underpass its sign posted from there. The second at foulridge head right up the hill and down into the village. You can see the canal from there.

So about 82 miles in and I was feeling great feeling it was too straight forward....and it turned out it was. I was convincing myself that I didn't have that far to go really but the next miles were beyond painful. From gargrave to Keighley was slow going to say the least. Horrible sticky mud that stuck to the tyres and made them heavy and awful to ride. The effort sapped my energy so much. As the light faded it became cold and my feet were nice blocks of muddy ice, and fingers weren't much better. Also id been rationing water since about 85 miles in as there was no way I was going anywhere other than forwards and by 100 miles id run out totally.

The GF offered to come get me but I said no. those miles slowed me down to a snail pace as it was dark and my energy levels had gone. But finally I reached a proper towpath again and flew towards leeds. It was not almost 9 but I could barely ride the bike.

So I decided to get off at apperley brideg and ride home. I didn't want my partner to be hanging around in leeds and she'd been up since 3,15 and had work Thursday so didn't want her out late again. Plus I was suffering through lack of fluids.

I staggered through the door 15.5 hours after setting out. My toes and fingers still feel numb now!!! But the legs feel good no pain in cycle related areas but do feel like I been hit by a bus, maybe I overdid the gels and sports drinks.

So to sum up, in summer with a hard trail and room to carry more water and maybe have a support crew meeting at half way it could be a lovely enjoyable ride, but that muddy section at the end was heart breaking and relentless. Misery. But I did it and I knew it would be muddy but just not how muddy and how much of it there would be. Oh and the mile markers are a evil reminder each time you go past one slower and slower until you actually wonder if theres some kind of mistake.

Anyway I did 122 miles strictly speaking I didn't get into leeds centre but I know I could have. Infact and very happy how my legs and body held up considering am not a full time cyclist, more of a runner and gym goer.

[thirdcrank]

Well done for what you did achieve! It's more than a plenty of others, especially with the recent poor weather.

Well done for taking the time to write such a frank appraisal of your ride, which I for one found to be a good read: I won't say enjoyable because I'm sad you had to climb off, but that's sometimes a braver choice than persisting.

Once again, well done!

[nirakaro]

Impressive attempt - pity you couldn't make that last little bit. You going to try again in the summer?

[christom5574]

Hey hmmmmm maybe. will certainly be a lot more enjoyable !!! Was fine up to just past foulridge, but it seemed relentless through the mud on the way to keighley..aside from the cold I think the term is bonking !! Totally out of energy. Got home and was shaking and could barely stand. That said I didn't want it to be too easy . And it seemed too easy up to 85 miles. Might have another go if we have s long summer, September time. Riding over dry grass must be pretty straight forward after riding over boggy puddles for mile after mile. Certainly got me keen on a few more adventures further afield on my bike..

[Tiberius]

Christom5574

Very well done Sir !!!….

A few years ago I walked a short stretch of the L/L canal….from the start in Leeds to Shipley. It was a lovely walk on a really easy going cinder type trail….lots of interesting things to see….and I foolishly thought that this was how the whole route to Liverpool would be.

Forward fast a year. A mate suggests we ride part of the L/L canal…..a run around the Gargrave/Keighley bit. I looked forward to it KNOWING that riding the canal path would be a doddle….I didn’t even give tyres a thought (Marathon Supremes incidentally)

Mud...Mud…Slip…Slide….Wet ….Wet….Mud…..Slither…..PUB !!!!!....

Like I said, ‘Very well done Sir’……..

[christom5574]

Oh thank you very much. It felt like quite a effort towards the end I must say.. my fingers and end of toes are still numb and tingly!! Feels quite odd..but apparently it's normal after your extremities have been cold for so long!!!

Just cleaning the bike now but god knows how am gonna do that without getting too much water into the important parts!!! Plenty of bike spray I presume ?!?

[thirdcrank]

If I've understood your write-up correctly, some of this would probably have happened on a ride of 100+ plus miles no matter what the surface. That's not to underestimate the effects of endless mud.

I wonder if you have not eaten and drunk enough early enough. In neither case is it a good idea to wait until you are feeling bad. There's plenty on here about nutrition so I'll not add to it, partly because you need to get it right without becoming obsessed, otherwise that's just another voice in your ear telling you it's all stupid. My other suggestion is probably a bit more obvious: in cold weather, no matter how much effort you are putting in, distance cycling will often make you cold and that's aggravated by any wet.

Earlier, you mentioned a reason for riding now rather than in better weather. If you do have another go in Summer, conditions should be so much better. If you wait till next Winter, then consider some togs to keep you nice and snug. Especially shoes/boots and gloves.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Congratulations on the ride and thanks especially for sharing the write-up. People do come on here fairly often asking about cycling the L&L so it'll be good to have a first-hand story to point them to!

[christom5574]

I'm sure that's very true, I'll keep a eye out and if anyone wants any advice I'll be happy to help!

I don't think there's any shoes on the planet that would have kept my feet warm and dry given the amount of puddles I rode through!! I'll definitely stick to cycling as a more fair weather only hobby I think. I hate been cold at the best of times..

Yes re the food I'd planned on stopping at a pub or cafe or shop en route but as I was literally cover head to foot in wet mud I decided against that, it was mainly the fluids not the food that did for me really.. hopefully in dryer weather I'd be able to wander off route to find a shop.

The extra effort getting through the various sections of mud certainly didn't help my energy reserves. I'm pretty confident in a dry cool day it would be s pretty straight forward ride.

Was shivering a hour after I got home lol the other half wasn't impressed, said I should have asked her to come get me haha