what would be a reasonable time up kirkstone pass?
Dr M
Posts: 171
quite new to big hiils (on the road bike), and just wondered what would be considered a reasonable time up kirkstone pass. Am just curious to see how good / bad my road fitness is!!
Been up twice there in the last few weeks, once from the mini roundabout at windermere to the pub: 32mins 13
and from ambleside up the struggle (from roundabout at the bottom to the pub) 28 mins 10s. that was today and was first time up there haha i soooo nearly stopped for a rest on the top bit!
Edit: Guess i posted this as i feel like i'm struggling on the hills on the steep bits, but i was quite pleased with the time when i got to the top... but do i deserve to be happy haha or am i still a slow unfit newby in need of lots more training!?!
Been up twice there in the last few weeks, once from the mini roundabout at windermere to the pub: 32mins 13
and from ambleside up the struggle (from roundabout at the bottom to the pub) 28 mins 10s. that was today and was first time up there haha i soooo nearly stopped for a rest on the top bit!
Edit: Guess i posted this as i feel like i'm struggling on the hills on the steep bits, but i was quite pleased with the time when i got to the top... but do i deserve to be happy haha or am i still a slow unfit newby in need of lots more training!?!
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Dr M wrote:quite new to big hiils (on the road bike), and just wondered what would be considered a reasonable time up kirkstone pass. Am just curious to see how good / bad my road fitness is!!
Been up twice there in the last few weeks, once from the mini roundabout at windermere to the pub: 32mins 13
and from ambleside up the struggle (from roundabout at the bottom to the pub) 28 mins 10s. that was today and was first time up there haha i soooo nearly stopped for a rest on the top bit!
Edit: Guess i posted this as i feel like i'm struggling on the hills on the steep bits, but i was quite pleased with the time when i got to the top... but do i deserve to be happy haha or am i still a slow unfit newby in need of lots more training!?!
I have no idea of the area you are talking about but everyone is different so what is good for one person will be bad for another but may be beyond the wildest dreams of a third person. You felt like stopping so I would say that you need conditioning. Keep doing the same routes, keep pushing until they get easier. then make the route longer and mix it up a bit with sprints and rests.
If you say y17 Stone down to 12.5 now raring to get back on the bike!0 -
Kirkstone Pass? Took me about 7 minutes the last time I went up it. There's a couple of sections where you can floor it in 3rd gear but be careful you don't hit the rev limiter.
Seriously though, all credit to you if you can go up there on a bike. I wouldn't dream of it. Well done mate.0 -
all credit! does it realy matter how long it took ? you got up without putting a foot down !
once you break its back it gets easier ,you see if i'm not right. anyone who has been up there will know why they call it the struggle!veritas vos liberabit0 -
I echo the previous comments. I bow down to you. I love the Lake District and really fancy taking one of my bikes over there but I struggle with severe inclines. Reckon I'd struggle to get up it on one of my mountain bikes let alone a roadie. :oops:0
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cheers for the comments :-) I've been lacking some motivation on the road bike this last week as everthing seems so hard over here, so have been doing mainly mountain biking, but i'm just going to keep at it, after all it can only get easier!!!0
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Dr M wrote:quite new to big hiils (on the road bike), and just wondered what would be considered a reasonable time up kirkstone pass. Am just curious to see how good / bad my road fitness is!!
Been up twice there in the last few weeks, once from the mini roundabout at windermere to the pub: 32mins 13
and from ambleside up the struggle (from roundabout at the bottom to the pub) 28 mins 10s. that was today and was first time up there haha i soooo nearly stopped for a rest on the top bit!
Edit: Guess i posted this as i feel like i'm struggling on the hills on the steep bits, but i was quite pleased with the time when i got to the top... but do i deserve to be happy haha or am i still a slow unfit newby in need of lots more training!?!
getting up "the struggle" in one piece is a fair feat in itself
the hills in the lakes will smash you to pieces
ride them for a year.. get a good 50-60 miler in at the weekend and you will reap a good reward...
every time i go up there i have to readjust ..lucky for me i get to do this 2-3 times a year
don't worry abut the times just get over them for now"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
32 minutes sounds OK. I did it in 38 in May, but not pushing 100%.0
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yeah sounds good to me. Kirkstone's a bugger no matter which way you approach it.
Better than comparing yourself to other people is to try and see what time you manage next time you go up it - if you improve on your time then bingo! but if not then you need to ask yourself why you were slower... and with those "ifs and buts" you join every other cyclist in the world
Andy0 -
I went up from Windermere the other week with full camping and touring kit and was very pleased to find the Kirkstone Inn at the top. No idea how long it took me or where I would have started to time it from as I started at Lancaster and finished at Longtown. I was just plesed to have got up it as it's the biggest thing I've gone up even without six bags on the bike.
Well done on the achievment - have you tried going up from Ulswater - I think it has some even steeper gradients (felt steep as I went down it).To err is human,
but to really screw things up you need a shimano - campag mixed drivechain.0 -
Well done! I've not trained in the Lake District yet, but understand Kirkstone is a steep one. However, I do live close to Winnats Pass, and although those steep buggers are fun to master once in a while, they're not the best for timimng, comparing and knowing your fitness level. Whatever level of fitness, you'll struggle.
To monitor progress and fitness level, registring your times at a more moderately steep climb you can climb in steady pace is a lot better to reliably time and check whether you improve or not.
Besides, I would be more concerned with whether you improve and keep make progress yourself than how you compare with some random others on an internet forum.0 -
My mission is to ride from home in Kendal to the top of Kirkstone in under an hour.... getting close now! Regardless of time I think Kirkstone is fantastic from all 3 directions and I try to ride one of them at least once a week. If you haven't done it yet then the climb from the north runs the Struggle pretty close!0
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I did Kirkstone Pass earlier this year with my mate as part of this ride (Was staying at Centre Parcs). Was wishing that I had a compact crank but managed it with standard gearing nevertheless. Only been riding since July (was 18 stone, now a svelte 15
)Can't see what time I did Kirkstone in on this 'pooter at work but enjoy...
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=192054&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=56501680 -
Rich K47 wrote:My mission is to ride from home in Kendal to the top of Kirkstone in under an hour.... getting close now! Regardless of time I think Kirkstone is fantastic from all 3 directions and I try to ride one of them at least once a week. If you haven't done it yet then the climb from the north runs the Struggle pretty close!
it has 4 ways up (or 3 with one variation if you like)
Holbeck lane is my fav way up.. you get the bottom third of the climb to yourself and a respite just before hitting the 16% ramps"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
NapoleonD wrote:I did Kirkstone Pass earlier this year with my mate as part of this ride (Was staying at Centre Parcs). Was wishing that I had a compact crank but managed it with standard gearing nevertheless. Only been riding since July (was 18 stone, now a svelte 15 )Can't see what time I did Kirkstone in on this 'pooter at work but enjoy...
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=192054&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=5650168
it took you about 35 mins according to your link
good graphics..crawling at 5mph on the steep part of the climb... then speeding up slighlty on the false flat (really over 7%) at the top
good 70 mile circuit
keep doing that and you will be strong as an ox"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
it has 4 ways up (or 3 with one variation if you like)
Holbeck lane is my fav way up.. you get the bottom third of the climb to yourself and a respite just before hitting the 16% ramps.
You're right, it's a nice bit of climbing up Holbeck Lane. I'll have to check the time for just the pass sometime.0 -
Dr M wrote:quite new to big hiils (on the road bike), and just wondered what would be considered a reasonable time up kirkstone pass. Am just curious to see how good / bad my road fitness is!!
Been up twice there in the last few weeks, once from the mini roundabout at windermere to the pub: 32mins 13
and from ambleside up the struggle (from roundabout at the bottom to the pub) 28 mins 10s. that was today and was first time up there haha i soooo nearly stopped for a rest on the top bit!
Edit: Guess i posted this as i feel like i'm struggling on the hills on the steep bits, but i was quite pleased with the time when i got to the top... but do i deserve to be happy haha or am i still a slow unfit newby in need of lots more training!?!
Training for what, precisely?. If the measure of your fitness is to compare with some random punters on a forum then its probably not very objective. Be happy if you felt happy to get up it, if you want to compare with others ride with some friends, enter some sportives or do time trials. But perhaps not worry eh and just enjoy ?0 -
Anyone heard of a 100+ mile ride/race, think it is organised by the triathlon crowd? Does Hardknott, Wrynose and some convoluted route around the Lakes. Sounds a bit sadistic really!
Kirkstone is bad enough to walk up, so well done!0 -
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The profile...
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Yes, that is the one. Respect to Dave Boyle's bike!?!?!? That is some route...
Thanks for that NapoleonD - not saying that I am thinking of using it as a training goal :shock:
It looks bad enough, when you look at the initial visible bit - then pan across to get the 2 final climbs...yeah, it is sadistic!!!0 -
we did the whole route opn sunday. brutal.
I walked up hardknott, I was almost bonking. knobber for not takign more food.
my favourite was honister. Dont know why but it was the most satisfying.0 -
I did the Fred Whitton Challenge this year and it is a very hard route; the climb of Kirkstone on the 'Fred' route is not so bad as you are quite fresh at that point. If you want to gauge your fitness over Kirkstone you should do the Three Counties Challenge; on this route you reach Kirkstone from Ullswater side after you have covered 100 hilly miles. I also live in Kendal but I have never timed my accent of Kirkstone. I do a ride up from Kendal over Shap and round Ullswater to Kirkstone; it is a good climb no matter how many miles you have covered.0
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the fred is a tough profile
averaging 30kmh over that lot is no laughing matter...
honister from seatoller is brutal and the hardnott is a brain mangling knee cap popper chucked in after 90 miles...
I reckon its harder than many a years etape..
the guys who live in this area and ride this stuff regularly are hard to follow over this terrain.."If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
avg 30kmph? jesus, we got nowhere near that. only managed 23, although we were carrying some weight (about 7 kilos).0
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Reading this thread has given me an idea for a jolly jape next time I'm up in the Lakes - a triple ascent of Kirkstone. Probably start from Hartsop on the north side, then from the roundabout at Windermere with the Struggle to finish. Don't know how long that would take; two hours seems a nice round number to aim to beat, but there's only one way to find out! Could this be the North's answer to the Richmond Park 3-lap challenge?0
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oxfordian wrote:avg 30kmph? jesus, we got nowhere near that. only managed 23, although we were carrying some weight (about 7 kilos).
check the faster times!
23 ain't bad btw..."If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
I do a ride up from Kendal over Shap and round Ullswater to Kirkstone; it is a good climb no matter how many miles you have covered.[/quote]
That is one of my favourite rides from Kendal. A brilliant mixture of climbing and faster sections. I know my best time for that is 3.10...... hopefully I'll get under 3 hrs soon! Not certain exactly how long the pass takes as part of that.0 -
I will have to time myself the next time I do this route. Problem is by the time I get to Kirkstone I will have forgotten to set the stopwatch and by the time I reach the top I won't care!0
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I remember hitting the Kirkstone at about the 200 mile mark on the Knotty a couple of times (starting in Nottingham). It's not run any more - the organiser moved to Bath.LeighB wrote:I did the Fred Whitton Challenge this year and it is a very hard route; the climb of Kirkstone on the 'Fred' route is not so bad as you are quite fresh at that point. If you want to gauge your fitness over Kirkstone you should do the Three Counties Challenge; on this route you reach Kirkstone from Ullswater side after you have covered 100 hilly miles.0 -
andrew_s wrote:[
I remember hitting the Kirkstone at about the 200 mile mark on the Knotty a couple of times (starting in Nottingham). It's not run any more - .
because its insane"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0
