A True Lakes Epic The Four Passes

Cumbria’s spellbinding landscape is a Tolkienesque blend of the severe and the sublime, with enough hike-a-bike climbs to crack a Yorkshireman...

- Tristan Tinn

The Lake District is famous for its dramatic scenery; a landscape carved out of earth and rock by retreating glaciers. As such, it is familiar to bikers and hikers alike in search of a challenge, and the area boasts climbs so rugged that in order to fully embrace all of its delights, the two aforementioned activities must be combined: hence the term ‘hike-a-bike’. For some, this is an anathema — an activity to be avoided at all costs. For others, it is an opportunity, opening up access to terrain that would otherwise be out of reach. In this instance, it unlocks the door to a ride so tough it doesn’t grace the pages of any published guidebooks, and the only details can be found in the deepest recesses of internet forums and the minds of grizzled locals.

So, when some friends announced they would be making the trip up from Yorkshire in search of a challenge, I knew instantly what we were going to end up riding. The Tour of Great Gable — or the Four Passes, as it is also known — is, in my opinion, a strong contender for the toughest ride in the Lakes. It’s a route with a saw tooth elevation profile and a disdain for level ground; where your shoulder will become intimate with the down tube of your bike for long periods of time, and you’ll need to have packed plenty of commitment.

This is my second run of the loop; having completed it on a bluebird summer’s day a couple of years ago. The ride is a difficult experience to forget; providing literal highs and lows of emotion that trace a similar graph to that elevation profile. Providing you make it round, of course…