Cycling in the Lake District

[Paulatic]

You could ride the Fred Whitton Challenge Route but might not be advisable if not on the day itself as traffic could be your nemesis.

I don’t think so The OP wanted 50K at the crack of dawn.
Interestingly though before the 'Fred' was conceived there used to be an Audax started in Keswick and did, like the Fred, every Lake District pass. I did it once and traffic, as I remember, wasn’t a problem

[liamba]

I don’t think so The OP wanted 50K at the crack of dawn.

Yeah, 114 miles and nearly 4,000m of climbing is probably a tough ask by breakfast

Thank you for all of the suggestions though, much appreciated. A few have mentioned mountain bikes but I’m looking to stick to roads.

[cycleruk]

South of Troutbeck are some fairly quiet lanes. You could work your way down to Ullswater lake and round say through Dacre and back etc. There is a cycle route runs parallel and on the north side of the A66. There is also a cycle path along parts of A66 so really no reason to actually go on it.
The road alongside Ullswater does have traffic but early or late it will be quiet.

How about :-
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30421233
20 miles, 1500 ft climbing.

Quite a few lanes to discover and check out.
North of the A66 are more lanes around Greystoke area and, if you do carry the bike then Park and Ride is possible.

[eileithyia]

Given where you are staying I would say it is possible to do a couple of routes up around Mungrisdale or down to Dockray and Watermillock... give you an hour or so of riding before the family duties kick in... and fairly quiet countryside away from main Lake District attractions.

[velorog]

+1 for Mungrisdale. We rode up to the head of Haweswater the other Saturday and had the road to ourselves. Would also recommend the concrete road over to Shap.

[liamba]

Been meaning to drop a note for a while to say thanks to everyone for the input in the Lakes. Lovely holiday and well worth taking the bike.

Got out three mornings about 6:30 and had the road to myself. First trip was a badly planned loop around Ullswater. Badly planned as I planned on a Garmin which despite being set up for road cycling took me very much off road and led to a ramble in cleats whilst carrying my bike! Didn’t make the full loop as too much off-road.

Second was a trip to the top of Kirskstone Pass. Being the highest road in the Lakes it’s a bit of a climb but well worth it for the trip back down. Third was probably the nicest ride of all, heading north around Mungrisdale and Hesket Newmarket.

I guess how busy and how hilly is dependant on what you’re used to but if you’re semi fit and don’t mind an early start, I’d recommend taking your bike. Certainly beats my usual rides around the Chilterns.

Cheers

[gbnz]

badly planned loop around Ullswaters

What, did you walk the "Street"? I can't think of any loops around Ullswater (NB. I do use a paper map )

As for Kirkstone Pass, I would have been over it on Saturday. But 146 miles and 10000' of climbing with a fully loaded bike in the previous 30 Hr's put me off, so turned back at the head of Wensleydale and caught a train home from Darlington instead!