A Lap of Helvellyn

Tobes
Jun 17
2 min read

Yeah, so arguably there is a little more main road in this route than I'd normally plan, but honestly a) there isn't an alternative and b) it's worth it for the views and the variety on this lumpy lap of one of the Lake District's iconic mountains. Once around Helvellyn.

The basic rationale was, as it often is with our group rides, "I've got a free day and I'm going to ride my bike - it'd be lovely if anyone wants to join in". It so happened to be Father's Day and my family knew the best treat they could give me was a day off SPORTS! spectathleticism to ride my bike.

I thought quickly about where I hadn't been in a while and the obvious immediate choice was the Balcony Road at Thirlmere Reservoir, which had been closed for most of the past 5 years due to landslides. One of my favourite places to route tourists that want help planning their rides - it's one of the best spots in the Lakes and it had recently reopened for bikes. So then I planned another 80km to tack on to it... and that's Little (Daddy) Day Out up and running!

It is (sadly) well established that on average women have less free time and greater caring responsibilities than men. Which is a significant barrier to cycling. So, we deliberately marketed this ride by encouraging Dads to consider taking the kids for Father’s Day and creating space for their partner to ride their bike. In practice, it was an almost completely male group of eight that set off from Pooley Bridge at 9am on the day - not our intention but not a huge surprise. Nonetheless, the group was excellent and stuck together all day at a relatively sedate pace of just under 21km/h.

The route speaks for itself in the photo galleries that follow here but is summarised well by the elevation chart itself - a very very punchy start, then lots of rolling bits before the gentle rise and fall of Dunmail Raise and then the big climb up Kirkstone Pass before a delightful finale around the shores of Ullswater. 88km and over ^1,500m is a nice little day out, Father's Day or not!