Last night, at around bed time, the weather started to turn. It got very windy, which made it difficult to sleep.

But sleep I did until I was woken by heavy rain! It wasn't actually that heavy, but it was loud in the tent.

It sort of settled into a stop start pattern, so I thought I might as well get up.

A super efficient pack got me leaving just before 7!

I blasted down the deserted main road to pick up my route. It didn't take long but I was met by a sign saying the road was closed. It's the road along the west side of Thirlmere, which I think has been closed to cars for a while, but there was a fresh sign saying it's unsafe and therefore shut to everyone. I had a quick Google just to confirm and it seemed to be the case. Annoying.

So main road it was all the way to Grasmere. It wasn't pleasant, but it's a wide road and wasn't that busy that early.

I got to Grasmere village and the first thing I saw was a co-op. Result! No coffee machine, so I made do with a can of iced coffee to wash down a PAC, a PAR and an apple turnover!

That set me up nicely for the loop around Grasmere (the lake rather than the village) and Rydal water. It was off-road but mostly rideable. Had to walk a couple of rocky sections. Much of it was right on the water's edge which made for very pleasant riding.

After that it was on to the west side of Windermere. All off-road again, but nearly all rideable. Very quite and peaceful - unlike the east side as I later found out!

I eventually rocked up to the ferry and pretty much got straight on. Doesn't take long to nip across to the living hell that is Bowness!

It was sooo busy. Although I was on cycle paths most of the time, the constant noise of traffic really spoils it. And it gets worse as you go through Windermere and on to Ambleside.

I was heading towards "The Struggle" - a notoriously steep climb up to the Kirkstone pass.

I was a bit worried about it as the heat was back with a vengeance! I stopped at another co-op and stocked up for a full compliment of chilled water (not that it stayed chilled for long!) and also topped up with suncream as I didn't want to have to worry about that half way up.

Anyway, it was bloody hard work just to get there! When I started the climb proper, I had a pretty bad feeling about it. It was very steep (up to 20%) which is doable on a loaded bike as long as rest stops are taken. But the heat meant I was stuggling to keep my heart rate down.

I stopped and soaked my head, my jersey and my shorts with water, but I just couldn't cool down even under shade. It was like trying to cool off by getting in a walk in oven!

There were also lots of idiots in Lamborghinis and the like going up and down in convoy, ruining it for all the hikers and the solitary cyclist - me!

In the end, I just turned around. Just the wrong day to be doing it. Too hot, too busy, too everything!

So I made my way back to Windermere with all the crowds before turning off for my new direction - towards Kendal so I can loop back north to Great Dun Fell, which I definitely will get up btw!

I was exhausted by this point and just needed a campsite. I stopped at a pub for cold drinks, shade and to do some research. It didn't take much - the nearest campsite was only a few miles down the road!

And very nice it is too! A camping and caravaning club place with a special rate for hikers/bikers .

They've even got a bar/restaurant attached and I've just been in and had a massive burger and chips!

It's cooled down a lot now which is nice - hopefully it stays that way tomorrow!

I now need to plan a new route. I can pretty much follow NCN6 although it goes a bit all over the place. But I think the key to cycling in the Lake District is to stick to official cycle routes as the other roads are just full of tourist traffic.

Onwards...