remaining for adjustment in the tension of the cables which should move smoothly and not show any signs of kinking or undue wear.
Pedals and crankshaft should turn smoothly without any play in the axle.
Gears should change smoothly and silently without the chain overriding the chain rings or sprockets when selecting high or low gears.
All fixing nuts and bolts on mudguards and carriers should all be tight.
Even if there is nothing obviously wrong with your bike, apply oil to the chain and gears, check for loose spokes and excess play in brake and gear cables and have a short ride to make a final check that it’s in tip-top condition before you leave home. If you do require the services of a bike shop on the road, see Appendix A for listings.
Preparing yourself
Unless you know how to use them, all the tools or spares you pack will be useless. So it pays to have at least one person in your party who can carry out the most common roadside repairs and do makeshift remedies for more major problems that will get you to the nearest cycle shop. Pack a small cycle maintenance manual as a backstop, but consider attending a cycle maintenance course as this will give you the hands-on skills you will be eternally grateful for when you find yourself fiddling with faulty gears in dwindling daylight.
To enjoy your tour and prevent each day from becoming a personal challenge, you should ensure that you attain a level of fitness that enables you to complete each day without becoming exhausted. As getting over the higher passes is physically demanding this may mean starting a personal fitness programme three or four months before your departure to give you sufficient time to build up stamina so you can complete the required distances and ascents comfortably. Start off with a ride that is just within your current fitness level and ride it a few times until you can ride it comfortably on two consecutive days. Then double the distance until you can ride the average daily distance needed for your planned tour without feeling unduly tired at the end of each day.
If you are going to encounter steep hills, practise ‘feathering’ the brakes – gently applying and releasing pressure on alternate levers – to control your speed on descents. It will prove invaluable when descending some of the steep Lakeland passes surrounded by moving traffic.
Carrying luggage, particularly a full set of panniers laden with camping gear, will slow you down dramatically. The accepted rule of thumb is that riding with a full load halves your average speed and comfortable daily range. So, regardless of what type of load you decide to carry, you should either do some laden training runs until you can achieve the distances needed for the tour or you should aim for training runs that are twice as long as you will cover on the tour. The first of these is perhaps the best choice as your bike will handle very differently when weighed down with a full set of luggage and it is better to get accustomed to this on quiet back roads before riding in traffic.
What to pack
Climbing over the high passes is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience if you are weighed down by luggage. Fortunately the plethora of accommodation and high number of cycle shops for spares and repairs means you can keep the bike as light as possible. So here are some tips for lightweight touring in hilly terrain such as the Lake District:
Think layers and add-ons rather than carrying a number of alternatives and only take one of each item of cycling clothing.
Take two T-shirts and two sets of underwear and socks, but only one of each item of leisurewear.
Consider cross-dressing. Meaning choose leisurewear, such as long-sleeved merino T- shirts, that can double as an extra layer for riding and a cycling waterproof that will suffice for chilly evenings.
Make use of drying facilities to rinse through cycling gear and small items of leisurewear every evening – that’s why you need two sets of some items of leisurewear; one on and one in the wash.
Carry no more tools and accessories than you would on a day ride and share them between the group.
Buy travel-sized essentials such as shampoo and toothpaste and give shaving a miss for a week.
Make do with a smartphone for all your communication and entertainment and leave all other electronics at home.
Only carry one feed bottle – and replace the other with a storage bottle for tools and small accessories.
A rear light is a year-round necessity as low cloud can result in poor visibility over the passes, but a front light is unnecessary during summer months.
Virtually all hostels have secure bike storage so consider leaving heavy bike locks at home.
Always wear a helmet. Riding without one alongside fast moving traffic on narrow roads bound by high stone walls that are just a few feet away is irresponsible.
Adopting such guidelines produces the kit list shown in Appendix C, which totals 5.4kg for short tours during the summer months and 6.8kg during winter when heavy leisurewear is needed for cooler evenings. Browsing through this list will also give some ideas for saving weight, such as leaving the Kindle at home and relying on the magazines and books typically found in hostels.
Investing in cycling shorts with a synthetic chamois insert will provide unparalleled comfort and prevent chaffing and sores. If you do not fancy shorts, you can buy full length cycling tights and if you don’t fancy squeezing into body-hugging lycra, you can buy under-shorts that come with a chamois insert and simply wear comfortable clothing over the top. However, if you do start to get problems, apply talcum powder or an anti-fungal preparation at the first opportunity. Likewise, a good quality cycling jersey that wicks away perspiration and has a zipper at the neck to aid ventilation is another good investment.
How to pack
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