After 72days and 82 climbs I completed my Classic Rock by Bike Challenge on the 29th of July 2018.
A full account of my trip can be found on my blog pages here.
I would like to thanks everyone who joined me for a climb, a bike ride, opened up their home or just a friendly stranger I met along the way, you all made this a really special experience. I would also like to thank Montane and The Next Challenge for their support.
For full details about why I did the challenge see here and more about the climbs and the route here.
The final stats for my trip are:
Climbs: 81 out of 82 (Climbers club ordinary had nesting Kestrels)
Time taken: 72days
Vertical metres climbed: 8989m (excluding the Cuillin traverse which is a bit of an outlier with over 3,000m of ascent!)
Climbing partners: 27
Crags Visited: 55
Pitches: 288
Falls: 0
Shortest climb: Topsail – a couple of minutes
Longest: The Cuillin ridge – 8hours 25minutes
Distance cycled: 3038km (1,888miles) + lots of walking!
Top Speed: 47mph (Cairngorm mountain road)
Cycling buddies: 5
Punctures: 3!
Weddings: 1
Worst bit: West country hills
Best bit: Every friend old and new that I met on this trip
The climbs:
May 19th: The Devil’s Slide
May 22nd: Terrier’s Tooth, Pendulum Chimney & Demo Route
May 23rd: Doorpost
May 25th: Central Grooves (alternative to Climbers Club Ordinary)
May 28th: Piton Route
June 2nd: Will o the Wisp
June 3rd: Creagh Dhu Wall
June 4th: Avalanche/Red Wall/Longland’s & Nea
June 5th: Flying Buttress, Spiral Stairs, Wrinkle, Crackstone Rib & The Cracks
June 6th: Main Wall & Milestone Direct Route
June 7th: Hope, Lazarus, The Arete, Grey Slab & Glyder Fach Direct Route
June 8th: Grooved Arete, Gashed Crag & First Pinnacle Rib
June 9th: Great Gully
June 13th: Central Climb, K2, Modern, Black and Tans, Technical Slab & Via Dolorosa
June 15th: Topsail, Powder Monkey Parade, Sail Buttress, Hargreaves Original Route, April Crack & Flying Buttress
June 17th: Parson’s Chimney
June 18th: Red Pencil Direct
June 20th: Murray’s Route
June 21st: Ash Tree Slabs, C Route, Bracket and Slab & Bowfell Buttress
June 22nd: Gillercomb Buttress
June 23rd: Tophet Wall, Napes Needle & Needle Ridge
June 24th: Jone’s Route & Moss Ghyll Grooves
June 25th: New West Climb & Rib and Slab Climb
June 26th: Troutdale Pinnacle & Little Chamonix
July 4th: Sou’wester Slabs & Labrynth
July 6th: Recess Route, Punster’s Crack & Ardgartan Arete
July 8th: The Chasm
July 9th: North Face Route & Agag’s Groove
July 10th: The Long Crack, Archer Ridge & Crypt Route
July 11th: Clachaig Gully
July 13th: The Long Climb & Tower Ridge
July 16th: Ardverikie Wall
July 18th: Savage Slit, The Clean Sweep & The Talisman
July 19th: The Cumming-Crofton Route & Squareface
July 21st: Eagle Ridge
July 26th: Cioch Nose
July 28th: Cioch Direct, Arrow Route & Integrity
July 29th: The Cuillin Ridge
Partners:
Lundy: Ben
South West: James and Rob S
Bristol: Caz
Wales: Ian, Polly, Tom A, Spencer & Chris H
Peak: Andy B & Libby
Yorkshire: Andy T, John & Alasdair
Lakes: Jim, Sam, Jamie, Mav, Lucy & Stephen
Arran: Jim
Arrochar: Chris M
Glencoe: Tom P & Tom A
Ben Nevis: Es
Binnean Shuas: Ailsa
Cairngorms: Rob A
Sgurr a’Chaorachain: Paul
Skye: Josh
Cycle buddies:
Bristol to North Wales: Maggie and Sara
Northumberland: Josh and Jezabel
Northumberland to Arran: Jim
Classic Rock by Bike 