The Coast to Coast August Bank Holiday 1997.
By Michelle Harvie
The cyclists; Sabina Cosulich, Andy Croughton, Jeremy Engineer, Julie Johnson, Anne Wooley, Michelle Harvie, Lester Payne .
Support; Mark Garrod, Brian Street, Michelle Toft and Tony Gask.
Keen to preserve my reputation for navigation, I planned an alternative coast to coast route pedalling from East to West rather than the customary West to East .
Day 1 began with various amounts of body being dipped in the North Sea, before the 1 in 3 ascent from Robin Hood Bay which was only achieved by Jeremy, who was "fresh" from an Alps and overwhelmed by the amount of oxygen in the sea air. The team headed over the Yorkshire moors and after 8 hours of soggy cycling , and tea and cakes we arrived in the vale of York, to be greeted by our support team; Mark, Brian and Michelle who felt that we looked far too cheerful.
Day 2 took us up over the Yorkshire dales, through Richmond, and Keld. Julie was powering up the hills despite gear problems with the dodgy second hand mountain bike she had purchased from an infamous KMC cyclist. Meanwhile Anne battled upwards on her road bike, which she assured us was ideal for cycling around Norfolk when she was a teenager. The high point of the trip both physically and mentally was the 4 mile descent to Kirkby Stephen. Andy "downhill racer" Croughton waited at the bottom for us. After 80 miles, and enough chocolate, and sunshine to keep Sabina happy, we arrived in tranquil bank holiday Patterdale.!
Day 3 saw fresh legs, as Tony and Mark came along for the ride. There were a few hills to climb in Cumbria, including the Winlatter Pass, but after 201 miles, 12,000 feet of ascent and 24 hours in the saddle over the 3 days we arrived at St Bees. Lester was first to arrive despite 2 deflating experiences over the weekend, Jeremy had proved himself a worthy "Engineer" by producing a timely spare inner tube at one of these breakdowns. Various parts of anatomy were gingerly dipped in the radioactive Irish Sea. Andy went for total immersion to bathe his big toe which was swollen with an infected ingrown toenail, he had completed the coast to coast under the influence of pain killing drugs.
It was a great trip, thanks to a great team spirit, and Mark as support, driver, cook, and bottle washer. Our generous sponsors have allowed us to raise a healthy sum for Cancer aid and listening line, although there were times when we wondered if the Arthritis and Rheumatism council would be a more worthy cause.
