Raven on the reivers

[geocycle]

Just back from a 4 day trip through the Lakes then picking up the Reivers route at Whitehaven.  The Reivers route goes north through Carlisle, along the Scottish border (literally), Kielder and then Bellingham and on to Newcastle.  Some 250 miles in 4 days in 'tasty' weather -who decided Easter should be early this year!



It was an excellent route but with some big hills and sharp pulls through incised streams.  The best bit was the offroad section through Kershope forest and Keilder Forest on challenging forest roads and one short section that could best be described as 'singletrack'. 







The bike was brilliant of course and got me out of trouble.  I ran over a bottle and gashed the tyre but the kevlar of the Schwalbe's remained intact.  Unfortunately some glass must have been deeply embedded and eventually produced a slow puncture.  I stopped to change the tube (howling gales and sleet), reassambled everything and realised i'd forgotten to hook the chain back in place.  Much cursing and gnashing of teeth resulted in my replacing the wheel, only then to overtighten the pitlock skewer and sheer the bolt off.  This left me in the middle of a moor on gated roads in bad weather with 20-25 miles to nearest town.  I disconnected the back brake and slotted the wheel in place without a skewer, at first I just pushed but quickly tired and tried riding.  To my surprise it felt OK so I gingerly continued with no back brake and a potentially loose back wheel (not recommended).  Incredibly it rode perfectly, a testament to the strength of the frame and vertical drop outs.  The rohloff was completely unfazed by the whole event giving me all the gears.  I managed to ride the 25 miles to a trading estate outside Newcastle where halfords produced a replacement skewer.

[PH]

That looks cold but fun!  And a decent mileage for this time of year, I hope you found some warm accommodation for the evenings.
I did the Reivers route as part of a round trip with the C2C, I particularly like the area around Keilder and have been back a couple of times.  Those forest roads are a good argument for hub gears, they wrecked a chain, cassette and jockey wheels on the bike I used, and you could hear them grinding away.
Have you done the Lon Las Cymru route?  It's very similar to the Reivers, I’d say if anything a little better, and a little hillier.

I've given up on Pitlocks, I had trouble with two sets.  Now use the Trax security skewers (around £10 on Ebay) they're not as secure as Pitlocks, but with them on three bikes for three years I've never had a problem.

[geocycle]

I bought the Lon las Cymru maps when I was planning this trip.  Unfortunately the rail connection were more complicated and I gained an extra day cycling by setting off from home.  I may give it a try in September if time allows.  I like to use one of these routes as inspiration then modify it to suit my needs.  I stayed in some great bed and breakfasts who were happy enough to have a solo cyclist out of season.  One in Hesket Newmarket near Carlisle even had an adjoining micro-brewery!

I was disappointed with the pitlock breaking.  It was certainly my fault, but I didn't feel I was really forcing the bolt.  I was VERY impressed with how the bike rode without a skewer.  However, I'll not do that again in a hurry, especially as I've seen that it only has to serve to keep things in place.

[lewis noble]

Well done geocycle -skewerless riding!!  I hope not to have to try it myself . . .

I hope the weather improves soon; the winds have been a real disincentive to getting fit again . . .

A beautiful part of the country for a tour.

Lewis

[Cake]

Nice pics, and a splendid part of the country to cycle around!  With a brisk wind that must have been bracing to say the least!

Its good to know that a broken skewer doesn't disable the bike, and riding (with care) is still possible.  Its just a shame that you had to find that out when and where you did!

[Fred A-M]

Well done Geocycle, quite some ride given the weather and skewer failure; it's always great to see people making the most of their bikes and having a real sense of adventure.  Thanks also for your feedback ref my Normandy pics.

[geocycle]

Thanks guys.  It was a lot of fun!  I'd recommend the route to anyone wanting to find some remote riding in the UK.  Spent the day fettling the bike in time for tomorrow's commute!