Coast to Coast Cycle with Dan Walker – linking some amazing cities

Me, Dan, and Rapid Rich in Liverpool - Coast to Coast Cycle

Coast to Coast Cycle with Dan Walker

Just over a week ago now I had the privilege of accompanying Dan Walker (Classic FM, Channel 5, Strictly Come Dancing, and more) on his Coast to Coast cycle event. I was working for friends at Challenge the Wild, they help organise many high profile charity events.

The route started in the town of Withernsea and went via Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, and St.Helens to Liverpool. About 200 miles with plenty of lumps along this 2 day route. 

In preparation for the start, I collected Dan’s bike from his home in Sheffield. The scale of the challenge for Dan then became clear. He used to cycle during his university days but hadn’t done any since! Hmmmm, so 100 miles a day is going to feel tough. Still, he’s a fit guy with lots of determination, so I was feeling positive.

The schedule for day one was to leave Withernsea by 11am. This ended up being closer to midday due to various presentations that needed to be done prior to setting off. Then, within 100m of leaving we had a chain come off one of the bikes. Pretty unbelievable, but true. This was fixed within a minute and that was the only mechanical mishap we were to experience.

The scenery from here to Hull was wonderful as was the riding. Big blue skies, flat country lanes, almost traffic free. Bliss.

Hull was pretty hectic as was to be expected. Once clear of the city it was more countryside bliss. The route I had planned was a set to be all on roads (we were using road bikes) but my Garmin had other ideas and gave us some canal towpaths. These were mostly very good so no concerns. However, later in the day it started to send us onto increasingly rough and muddy terrain and this was a concern. At one point we had to abandon the planned route and try to work out an alternative. This ended up working just fine, although the roads we used were much busier than I would have liked.

Despite the setback mentioned above, Dan was on great form and put aside our muddy interludes and just got on with the job. He was very concerned about arriving late in Sheffield as there was a choir waiting for us. He had called ahead to ask them not to wait out in the cold, but of course they did wait - inside a nearby church with warm drinks and cake - and put on a wonderful performance upon our arrival. Dan’s family were there and his daughter was singing in the choir. A tough and long day but happy, smily faces at the end.

Day two: Easier logistics today as we were starting very close to where we all stayed last night. Also, Cycling Sheffield and Giant Sheffield were joining us for some of the route.

My route planner was telling me there were plenty of canal paths again and I knew Dan wouldn’t be keen on that. He was already talking with the local riders about the route out of the city and they were suggesting canal towpaths too, so reckon they must be good. However, Dan convinced them to find us an alternative that was all on road and they obliged.

The route would take us over the Pennines via Woodhead Pass. This is a very busy road so we arranged for a vehicle to accompany us for this section, effectively forming a barrier between us and the fast moving traffic.

Then it was into Manchester and a flying visit to the Global offices before aiming for Salford and the long, straight East Lancashire Road. We had just one short diversion from this to reach St.Helens where we were met by a choir. Dan taking the time to chat with everyone despite our super tight schedule. Then back on the A580 and we gunned it to Liverpool, at this point we were regularly hitting 35-40km/h. Dan was due to be presenting the news live at 6pm so we needed to try damned hard to make this happen.

Well, we tried a bit too hard and arrived rather early. Fair to say we were very happy with this and enjoyed a bit of downtime for a change. We cycled slowly along the waterfront to the rendezvous point and an awaiting choir. The finish was quite spectacular and somewhat emotional.

Prior to this event I knew almost nothing of Dan Walker other than he presented on Classic FM. After spending 200 miles on bikes together we went through some challenges and I can honestly say what a lovely guy he is. If I was to try and sum up what Dan is about, I’d say he most of all wants to give to the people and do good. Last I heard the fundraising from this event was at £150K and climbing, so fair to say there’s lots of good being done here 🙂

Thanks Dan   

Special thanks also to Andy from Giant Sheffield for sorting out such a cool bike for Dan.

To Rapid Rich for joining us from Sheffield all the way to Liverpool. And all the other guys who joined on our Sheffield ride out.

To Challenge The Wild for putting on such a great event. I know this isn’t easy and there’s a lot goes on in the background.

Finally to Make Some Noise - please check them out and donate if you can. This really wasn’t a jolly for Dan, it was mega tough and he was truly knackered when we reached Liverpool. Even so he was able to dig so deep and join in with the welcoming choir, talk to people individually, and give interviews. An absolute star.

Thanks for reading. If you're planning a visit to The Lake District and would like some help with activities, including cycling, please do check us out here 

Mark

Somewhere near Hull - Coast to Coast Cycle  

With Cycling Sheffield on day 2 - Coast to Coast Cycle  

The Liver Building - Coast to Coast Cycle