C2C in one day?

[bikerdave]

My friend and intend to ride the sustrans C2C (workington/tynemouth) route later this year. We're both daily commuters and weekend mountain bikers covering 100-150k a week, sometimes more.
Using road bikes and road options where the route allows i think we need 2 days, he wants to do it in one. I've done it before on a mountain bike with camping gear and 11 year old son in 6 days and whilst i know we'll be much faster and lighter i've got doubts.
Has anyone done it in a day, or tried to?
dave

[Michael McCann]

Hi
I have done c2c a couple of times and throughly enjoyed it. With friends, we did it over 3 full days, with lots of stops.
I think you could do it in one (long) day. But not really sure why you would want too. The scenery is fantasic and it is worth taking time to enjoy it.
Good luck

[bikerdave]

Thanks Michael that's pretty much what i thought last time. I'm going to try and get him to compromise on 2 days with a stop at Garragill or nearby.
Where were your stops on the three day trip?

dave

[Sarah]

I cycled C2C (not quite the Sustrans route - St Bee's Head to Tynemouth) as a support cyclist for a C2C relay run. If I remember right, it took 17 hours and I was cycling pretty much non-stop, averaging 6-8 mph (running speed). At the time it crossed my mind that it would be possible to do it in a day - at proper cycling pace... but I have yet to try!

[bikerdave]

Hi Sarah
Did you go all the way across or were you up and down one section of the relay? It looks like you did about 120 miles which is about right for a full crossing by road. We average 15mph commuting which includes a city centre that slows us down a lot so if we could average say 10mph including stops and navigation i guess it's possible in 12-14 hours.
Thanks dave

[Sarah]

Hi
Yes - I cycled all the way across by road. The "relay" was a non-stop thing, with each person running 30 min stints and with minibus back-up and support cyclists all the way. It was great fun!

[vernon]

It can be done in a day but you'll not be able to enjoy the scenery.

Two days is fine. If you are camping, I suggest the Fox pub at Ousby as the first stop, a pub and campsite sharing the same grid reference is good!

If you have an early morning start(I'm too tight for time to get to Whithaven the night before I set off and have to make do with a train that arrives around 11:15) then Alston, Allenhead or Garrigill are all feasible stopping points.

After the Hartside climb (I did it today and it hurt as much today as it did two years ago) you will probably want to recharge body and soul at the first available B&B or campsite.

Two days kinda fun - one day torture!

I bailed out at Stanhope today - couldn't face Crawleyside bank and had doubts about getting to Sunderland in time for a train back to Leeds. Pedalled to Darlington through Weardale and the edge of Teesdale.

If I was B&B-ing then things would be a tad faster and two days - a breeze!

[rogerzilla]

Yes - two guys from my workplace did the MTB route in one day. It took them from dawn until dusk.

[bikerdave]

Thanks everyone we've compromised on two days first then see how we feel about doing it in one when we know the route better.

dave