A Long Hill in the UK - Much Like A Long Hill in France?

Barça

Funnily enough, it's called Long Hill On the way to Buxton starting in Whaley Bridge. It's 4.8 miles in length and is 1026 feet of climbing.
My enquiry is, if you'd be so kind, how does it compare with the climbs in the Alps etc? I'm assuming that the Tour climbs are a lot longer but in steepness, is there much in it? I ask because I'm doing three days of the Tour route next year and although I've mountain biked as far away as New Zealand, I've never ridden on the road anywhere other than the UK

redddraggon

That's an average of 4% - I think you'd be looking at least an average of 7% (ish) for such climbs on the continent.

milton50

For an example Alpe d'Huez is around 8.5 miles long and has an average gradient of 7.9%. So getting on for double the distance and double the gradient.

hammerite

Milton50 wrote:

For an example Alpe d'Huez is around 8.5 miles long and has an average gradient of 7.9%. So getting on for double the distance and double the gradient.

and a maximum of between 11 and 14% depending on where you read about the climb/who did the calculation.

Barça

Thanks for the replies.
Bugger! That's the longest hill I can find within regular riding distance from me other than Snake Pass which can get quite busy at times, although being on the edge of the Peaks, there's plenty that are steeper.
My plan was to ride up and down it a couple of times, twice a week to start with to try and replicate an Alp climb ready for next years trip.
Is there anywhere in the North West'ish of England or North Wales where I can ride now and again that will give me some kind of bench mark on how I'm doing? I'll be riding with some others that I will probably not have ridden with before and I'd rather not be a complete loss to them :oops:

redddraggon

There's nothing in the UK that's too similar to Alpine or other continental climbs - most of the "monster" hills in the UK are really really steep but no where near as long as those abroad.

nickwill

Hartside from Melmerby in the North Pennines is probably the nearest public road to a Continental climb.
The private road up Great Dun Fell , also in the North Pennines climbs 600metres in about 5 miles, and is the closest thing I've found. It is a private road though.

Kléber

Finding a small hill and repeating it gives you short bursts and short rests. An alpine pass is a constant effort for an hour. There's a big difference.

Find a flat road, something like a smooth A-road but without too much traffic, and preferably with a tailwind all the way. Ride out on it gently for an hour, turn around and then stick it in the big ring and into the headwind, endure the maximum pain you can take for an hour. Your body can't tell if you are slogging uphill or slogging on the flat.

guv001

Alpe D'Huez is one of the shorter climbs as well. There are some climbs that although are not as steep the whole way last over 30km's. Check out this website for stats...

www.climbbybike.com

Jashin

There are lots of good climbs near Long Hill isn't there? A route including the Cat and Fiddle, Axe Edge, Gun Hill, Long Hill, Flash etc would have plenty of good climbing in it - you're not going to get much better preparation anywhere else in the area. You could also widen your range a little to take in Ilam, Cloud, Grindon, Dovedale etc. Another good option would be to follow the routes of the sportives held in the area - the Legbreaker Challenge, Spud Riley and Polka Dot Challenge, all have lots of good climbs in them.

Barça

Thanks for the further replies and the link to the website.
There is indeed plenty of good hills around here, you're quite right. In fact, there is a real bugger of a hill that climbs up from Errwood Res in the Goyt Valley and meets Long Hill at the top before it drops down in to Buxton but it isn't very long. It's Goyt's Lane. It's stats. according to Bikely are: 510ft in 1.1 miles
I think I'm just going to have to go up and down Axe Edge, Long Hill and Cat and Fiddle from Macclesfield as often as I can. I can crawl up Winnats on a good day and Mam Nick (Edale Road) is another climb I enjoy but I think I'm going to get a bit fed up going to the top, riding back down and doing it again....and again.....and again.
It's all cycling so it's all good

a_n_t

try holme moss abit further north, either way it's fairly tough!

steve_pushbiker

Just wanted to say that I have found a few errors on the climbbybike site and am not confident about data on the UK climbs on there at least. An example was a supposed climb near me that doesn't exist!

a_n_t

a_n_t wrote:

try holme moss abit further north, either way it's fairly tough!

took my own advice and did a nice circuit round there today.

oldwelshman

The closest I have ridden to alping climbs are rhigos and bwlch in swales and theres a few more long but not steep hills in swales, llangynadir, tumble ( a bit steeper) .
The advantage with the bwlch and rhigos is they are close together and you can do them both ways to have a really good climbing session, and you could alwys go from Hirwaun to aebrdare and over to Maerdy to mix it a bit.
Still any soret of climing is better than nothing in prep, but as others say, its not the same.
The big difference I found during the Marmotte and several climbs of ADH is that in UK when riding I sort of think, "oh, here comes a cloimb" even if it is half a mile or so
During the MArmotte on the climbs, I was pleased to see the 10km to go signs
A lot of it is in the mind when climbing continental climbs.

Barça

I did this one at the weekend but I was quite disapointed at how little the height gains were. I was also gutted to be passed so effortlesly by a guy in the full New Zealand kit but I comforted myself with the thought that he must have been a pro rider and his bike was way nicer (and lighter) than mine :-)

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Hazel-Grove-Macc-Cat-Fiddel-Peak-Forest-Hazel-Grove

a_n_t

Barça wrote:

I did this one at the weekend but I was quite disapointed at how little the height gains were.
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Hazel-Grove-Macc-Cat-Fiddel-Peak-Forest-Hazel-Grove

thats because we dont have huge mountains in the uk. Its easy in the peaks to link a few hills and easy climb over 5000 ft.

Barça

Should I be aiming for around 5000ft per session then A_n_t?
Thanks for the tips and advice everyone, it's much appreciated.

a_n_t

I dunno!!??

I'm just saying its easy to do around the peak district if you like climbing.


like this route http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6477609 for example.