There are punishing rides, and then there’s ‘The Fred’. Chances are you’re familiar with the famous 180km sportive in the Lake District, with its savage, stabbing climbs, including the infamous 30% Hardknott Pass. It’s sometimes referred to as the hardest one-day ride in the UK, and many of the tens of thousands of riders who’ve completed it over the years claim it’s the most brutal thing they’ve done on two wheels.
Naturally, all 2,500 spaces go like hotcakes every year, and if you’re one of the brave few that managed to bag a spot for May
