Ride the Lakes Sportive

Brought to you by WHEELBASE and Pennine Events

Sunday 15th September 2019

Mintbridge Kendal – Kendal Rugby Club, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NY

Ride the Lakes offers big challenges and a mega day on the bike.

Ride the Lakes is a challenging cycle sportive taking place on some of the the finest roads in the Lake District. With three route options to choose from, there is a distance to suit every rider and stunning scenery on offer on each ride. The 2018 edition of the event took place on Saturday 8th September. Ride the Lakes follows roads ridden by the pros in Britain’s biggest professional bike race, the Tour of Britain. Stage six of the 2018 ToB saw the race traverse the Lake District from south to north, culminating in a summit finish on Whinlatter Pass. The climb features as one of several tough ascents in our sportive route, along with the aptly named The Struggle.

Event Start Time: 08:00 am

On The Day Registration Opens: 07:00 am

Enter the event online.

Long Route – Starting from 8am – 151 km – 2582 m elevation

Setting off from Mintbridge Kendal, the route winds along quiet country lanes towards the village of Staveley and enters the Lake District national park. From here we head north towards Troutbeck where begins the first major ascent of the day, the Kirkstone Pass.

At 454m, the riders will climb to the highest point of the day and then be rewarded with some spectacular views on the descent towards Brotherswater. Following the shores of Ullswater, the route continues north and climbs up to Matterdale End, a gradual ascent with a steady gradient all the way.

From Matterdale we descend north and west towards Keswick where we’re greeted with a well-stocked feed station at 42.5 miles and Castlerigg stone circle. PLEASE NOTE: if arriving after 11.30am you will be directed onto the medium course home. Once refuelled and revitalised we’re back on our way and head for the climb of Whinlatter Pass. The climb will be packed with crowds for the pro riders as the Tour of Britain takes it in twice on stage 6 on the Friday and expect to see a few folks lining the route as the sportive takes on its challenging gradients a day later. This is an amenable climb by Lake District standards with an average gradient of around 7% for 3 km and never bridging north of 15%. Avoid going too deep here as there are still plenty of challenges to come later in the ride.

After climbing Whinlatter we descend into Low Lorton and turn south to ride along the shores of Crummock Water, this stretch of road is spectacular and one of the quieter corners of the Lake District. Once we reach the village of Buttermere the route heads uphill again and ascends Newlands Pass. This is a stunning climb and feels very remote, it climbs sharply at the start before relenting slightly in the middle and kicking up again towards 20% at the summit. From the top the route descends through the Newlands valley and back to a second stop at the Keswick feed station.

The long course then rejoins with the medium and heads south from Keswick onto the climb of Chestnut Hill at 70 miles. Following the A591 through the centre of the national park, the route runs alongside the impressive Thirlmere reservoir towards Ambleside for the major challenge of the day. The Struggle starts steep and rarely relents as it ascends from the centre of town for almost 5 km with extended sections above 20%. The pro peloton took on this classic Lakeland climb in the 2016 Tour of Britain as huge crowds gathered to watch the world’s strongest riders grind up its seriously steep slopes. Make sure you’ve saved some gas as this climb is seriously tough.

Once The Struggle has been conquered there’s 15 miles of rolling terrain to go back to the finish line where there’ll be a hot meal and post-ride refreshments for the exhausted riders.

Medium Route – Starting from 9am – 110 km – 1811 m elevation

From Matterdale we descend north and west towards Keswick where we’re greeted with a well-stocked feed station at 42 miles. Once refueled and revitalised we’re back on our way and climb out of Keswick via Chestnut Hill.

Following the A591 through the centre of the national park, the route runs alongside the impressive Thirlmere reservoir towards Ambleside for the major challenge of the day. The Struggle starts steep and rarely relents as it ascends from the centre of town for almost 5 km with extended sections above 20%. The pro peloton took on this classic Lakeland climb in the 2016 Tour of Britain as huge crowds gathered to watch the world’s strongest riders grind up its seriously steep slopes. Make sure you’ve saved some gas as this climb is seriously tough.

Once The Struggle has been conquered there’s 15 miles of rolling terrain to go back to the finish line where there’ll be a hot meal and post-ride refreshments for the exhausted riders.

Kendal Cycle Club Family Sportive (Entry on the day only) – 12 miles

Ride the Lakes offers a family-friendly route of 12 miles as a perfect introduction to sportive riding. The course follows quiet country lanes around the edge of the Lake District national park with some stunning views across the fells.

On mostly flat roads, the route heads out from Mintbridge Kendal through the villages of Bowston and Staveley and returns alongside the River Kent. Riding under the shadow of Potter Fell gives riders a taste of how good road cycling can be in the Lake District.

Event Includes: