{"id":7594,"date":"2018-06-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpmigr.edinburghbicycle.com\/blog\/lake-district-cycling-part-2"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:00:33","slug":"lake-district-cycling-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.citrus-lime.com\/ebco\/blog\/lake-district-cycling-part-2","title":{"rendered":"Lake District Cycling: A Diary (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Smith, a friend of the co-op who went cycling in the Lake District, has kept a diary for us to see what he got up to. This is his second instalment when he faced  Helvellyn <\/a> . Read  Part One <\/a>  if you want to know how he got on with Skiddaw. <\/p>\n

If you think you’d like to go on a Lake District cycle like Ben, make sure you have a decent  mountain bike <\/a> . If you’ve got on already, book it in for a quick  service <\/a>  to make sure it’s in full working order so you can make the most of your trip. <\/p>\n

HELVELLYN <\/h2>\n

\"helvellyn-1-min.jpg\" I feel a little tired from Skiddaw the previous day so decide to ease myself in gently with a loop around Thirlmere Lake taking in some more beautiful forest. <\/p>\n

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\"helvellyn-2-min.jpg\" There’s not much point staying at the base for long though with Helvellyn’s summit beckoning, so I begin the ascent before finishing the loop and glance back at the woodland I’ve left behind. <\/p>\n

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\"helvellyn-3-min.jpg\" Never having visited the area, it seemed logical to choose the most direct route to the summit. Although I had to carry the bike most of the way up I felt this added to the challenge and the trail looked just about ridable when it came time to descend. <\/p>\n

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One of the many satisfying things about ascending is the way the view changes each time you look back down… <\/p>\n

…and knowing that no matter how tired you get, all you need to do is keep going and you’ll get to the top! <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"helvellyn-6-min.jpg\" Having invested a lot of time and energy getting here, I decided to stay at the summit for a while and soak up the altitude. As a comparison to what I’m used to, my favourite local climb Box Hill takes me about 15 minutes to get up – Helvellyn has taken me 4 hours. <\/p>\n

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\"helvellyn-7-min.jpg\" A great aspect of Helvellyn is that the summit is relatively flat meaning it’s possible to cycle around at a leisurely pace taking in the 360 degree view and enjoying the unfamiliarly rocky terrain – this is a far cry from what I’m used to back in the Surrey Hills – it’s swelteringly hot but there are still some snow patches up here. <\/p>\n

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\"helvellyn-9-min.jpg\" There are a lot of options when its time to choose a route back down but the trail I ascended was too appetising a prospect to pass up. When viewed from the top down, parts of the trail suddenly seemed decidedly less ridable! Time to get off and walk this section methinks  – I’m planning on getting to the bottom in one piece… <\/p>\n

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T \"helvellyn-12-min.jpg\" he view of the lake levels out again and I’m safely back in the comforting surrounding of the beautiful woodland I left behind at the beginning of the day. Another fantastic day in the saddle! <\/p>\n

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FANCY YOUR OWN CYCLING ADVENTURE? <\/h2>\n