The legend of the 17% hill

cjcp

chuckcork wrote:

cjcp wrote:

chuckcork wrote:

Not a commute, but "White Down" which posts a gradient of about 18% on the sign at the bottom, is a regular feature, going down or up, on Sunday rides for Kingston Wheelers (or so I understand).

Long enough too.

Forgot about that one! It leaves me grabbing the handlebars with my teeth, saliav coming out the side of my mouth and snot blowing from my nose. I know, I'm a big wuss.

Don't know about that, but the first time I went up it, it left most of the others I was with off their bikes and walking (I think, I didn't have to stop) :P

:P Yep, walking is not an option.

bratboy

There is the aptly named "The Struggle" in the Lakes, going from Ambleside to the top of Kirkstone Pass - it's about 3.5 miles long and 25% at it's steepest. I've ridden it a few times during the Helvellyn Triathlon and it makes grown mean cry! Although steepest at in the final 500m the first couple of miles are just mruder as it's quite a narrow road and you can get a lot of cars coming down!

Here's the profile of the route http://www.trihard.co.uk/images/Helvellyn%20bike%20-%20Profile.gif - as you can see there isa little bit of a rest bit just before it rears up again!

It's probably the steepest I ridden, though the climb to the top of Ingleborough during the 3 Peaks Cyclocross was steeper (one has to carry the bit for that!)

I occassionly include Peakcock and Cobley Hill (both about 17%) on my commute home to stretch the legs

Rich158

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Bassjunkie you're a sadist but you're right I do need someone to chase!

I think its either 17% or 1:7 (if that means anything - I assumed they're both the same)

Problem is once you conquer one hill you look end up looking for something bigger to challenge yourself! I found a few nice ones on the Sunday morning ride I did before Xmas between Croydon and Selsdon :-)

+1, I found myself riding up Shooters Hill yesterday thinking this actually looks quite flat :shock: I know there's a couple of 16%+ hills in my locality I'm going to have to get aquainted with

The trouble is hills are as adictive crack, once you've got over the high of conquring one you need a bigger better fix :roll:

itboffin

Ask the same question to Litts in a couple of weeks



17% down hill covered in a thick layer of ice, that sorts the men from the boys.

Litts just doing a little route scouting found a couple of nice hills easy 20-25% in places

itboffin

oops I forgot, here's a small puddle I found

Feltup

You know the road is steep when you have to adjust your bosy position to either stop doing wheelies or to stop the back wheel from spinning up. The only biggish climbs I have done are Wrynose east and Blea Tarn with Wrynose east being by far the hardest.

The Fred Whitton Sportive takes in Kirkstone Pass 20%, Honister 25%, Newlands 25%, Whinlatter 20%, Harknott 33% and Wrynose 25% and in profile looks like this

iain_j

Which direction did you climb Blea Tarn from? I took my bike to the Lakes one day last summer just for the purposes of pootling around Windermere and maybe up to Ambleside. I ended up doing a 35 mile "pootle" through Grizedale Forest, Little Langdale and the Blea Tarn pass

The descent into Langdale was ace - it was so steep I thought I was going to go over the handlebars!

Feltup

Blea tarn from Great Langdale to Little Langdale. I love that descent, it flows so nicely. I overtook a car down there and it didn't catch up until part way up that horrible climb up to the Coniston road.

Rich158

itboffin wrote:

oops I forgot, here's a small puddle I found

I found a similar one last weekend, it got to the point I though I'd have to abandon the bike and swim to the side :shock: When your hand gets wet reaching for you water bottle you know it's deep.

Rich158

Feltup wrote:

You know the road is steep when you have to adjust your bosy position to either stop doing wheelies or to stop the back wheel from spinning up. The only biggish climbs I have done are Wrynose east and Blea Tarn with Wrynose east being by far the hardest.

The Fred Whitton Sportive takes in Kirkstone Pass 20%, Honister 25%, Newlands 25%, Whinlatter 20%, Harknott 33% and Wrynose 25% and in profile looks like this

You bastard, I've been trying to ignore that :evil: :evil:

iain_j

Does it go up The Struggle or the main road from Windermere?

Feltup

Makes your shoes stink too going through deep still water. Good effort getting through when it is above your chainset.

R34PER

hmmm, i'm not too great on hills and i just checked the (my first) sportive i entered (july 5th), the climbs are (mainly in the second half of the ride): @ 72km 17%, after 100km 10%, 10%, 20%, 14%, 15%, 12%, 17%, 17%, 15%, 25%, 20%. i think its about 4562 feet of climbing according to the conversion chart i just checked :shock:
the only people to blame are you lot too. if i hadnt visited the commuting section i would have been happy pootling round the local woods on my mtb and never would have bought a road bike with my redundancy money. anyway, i need to train more :?

Feltup

It goes up the Troutbeck road. I think the Struggle would be one extreme hill too many for some plus it is a real bottle neck.

Sorry Rich :twisted:

Rich158

There was little option but to keep going and hope it didn't get any deeper :? It was only three miles in to a 30 mile reliability run as well, and very kindly went over the top of my overshoes, and filled my lovely waterproof Sealskinz socks to the brim. Note to self, waterproof socks stop the water getting out as effectively as they stop it getting in.

The rest of the ride was accompanied my a very strange squelching noise at every pedal stroke, kind of like a duck farting :shock:

jimmypippa

I have some that are pretty steep, but Mr OS only marks them as "between 1:10 and 1:5"


The steepest bit on this commuting routeis 87m in 700m

iain_j

Feltup wrote:

It goes up the Troutbeck road. I think the Struggle would be one extreme hill too many for some plus it is a real bottle neck.

That's a climb I'd like to do, one which wouldn't have me quaking on the way up to it. I'd like to do loads of the others too but most I imagine my heart rate would be way up near the max before I even got there, with fear of what's coming up

Anyone ridden across Strines Moor near Sheffield? South to North, about ten miles across, it's generally downhill, but it crosses three short but steep river valleys. Drops down, crosses the river and climbs out again. Each one is progressively steeper, the final one climbs for about a mile with plenty of 25% - the inside corner of the first bend is like a wall. Nasty.

linsen

There is a 17% hill just on the way to Abbotsbury in Dorset which I attempted last October and found quite a drag. I was looking forward to flying back down but it was one of those "brakes full on" experiences that terrifies me......

I feel more confident around the pimples on Britain's landscape now, though they will always make my legs burn and my lungs hurt, I am sure

flattythehurdler

R34PER wrote:

hmmm, i'm not too great on hills and i just checked the (my first) sportive i entered (july 5th), the climbs are (mainly in the second half of the ride): @ 72km 17%, after 100km 10%, 10%, 20%, 14%, 15%, 12%, 17%, 17%, 15%, 25%, 20%. i think its about 4562 feet of climbing according to the conversion chart i just checked :shock:
the only people to blame are you lot too. if i hadnt visited the commuting section i would have been happy pootling round the local woods on my mtb and never would have bought a road bike with my redundancy money. anyway, i need to train more :?

Good on ya mate.

Feltup

I'll have to check out Strines Moor sounds like good training! I want to do a loop over Holme Moss then Snake Pass followed by either Winnats or the Edale Rushup road and then back over Holme Moss. If I can do that before the FW I reckon I should be in pretty good shape to get around the FW and maybe not have to walk Hardknott.

iain_j

Not sure how you'd get Winnats/Edale into it, but a good circuit is Glossop - Snake Pass - Ladybower - Strines Moor - Langsett - Crow Edge - Holmfirth - Holme Moss - Devil's Elbow - Glossop. Haven't done this circuit myself but done virtually all of it over a few different rides.

Feltup

Ahhh my planned route takes in Strines Moor just didn't know it was called that. In fact it takes it in twice once northwards then at the end of the ride southwards to Ladybower. The start and finish is Ladybower.

So not too far off what you are proposing except I fancy the double crossing of Holme Moss. Sick, I know.

iain_j

:shock:

Christ.

Be warned, Strines is three climbs in one. The northenmost one is worst - going north you've got a 25% monster, going south it starts the same but eases off quickly, but keeps going for about 2 miles.

Good luck

Feltup

Sounds like a wonderful warm up! :shock:

redddraggon

jashburnham wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Lol, a 17% hill is easy, even for a fatty like me....

kinda depends on how long the hill is though... take the Hautacam for example, avg gradient is 7.4% but it's 19km long.

Yeh but do you have any proper hills around London?

il_principe

redddraggon wrote:

jashburnham wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Lol, a 17% hill is easy, even for a fatty like me....

kinda depends on how long the hill is though... take the Hautacam for example, avg gradient is 7.4% but it's 19km long.

Yeh but do you have any proper hills around London?

Nothing like that! There's some decent stuff in Surrey, but then I like to head to the Black Mountains for some good stuff.

DonDaddyD

I'm going to have to look at this hill again. It's not long in fact incredibly short - about 10 three-bedroom houses long or so but it becomes gets impossibly steep quickly.

OK it is London, but in my experience, in a car, in the many places I've been (including a Mountain in Jamaica - Johnson Mountain) I've known nothing that immediately steep - despite the shortness of it.

itboffin

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'm going to have to look at this hill again. It's not long in fact incredibly short - about 10 three-bedroom houses long or so but it becomes gets impossibly steep quickly.

OK it is London, but in my experience, in a car, in the many places I've been (including a Mountain in Jamaica - Johnson Mountain) I've known nothing that immediately steep - despite the shortness of it.

Where is this bump you speak of...?

http://www.earthtools.org/ use this tool it'll give you some idea of the height etc. and good luck, conquer the beast

roger_merriman

itboffin wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'm going to have to look at this hill again. It's not long in fact incredibly short - about 10 three-bedroom houses long or so but it becomes gets impossibly steep quickly.

OK it is London, but in my experience, in a car, in the many places I've been (including a Mountain in Jamaica - Johnson Mountain) I've known nothing that immediately steep - despite the shortness of it.

Where is this bump you speak of...?

http://www.earthtools.org/ use this tool it'll give you some idea of the height etc. and good luck, conquer the beast

indeed i'd be intrested to see, i've not found any thing that steep in london note i don't say easy!

nightingale lane only gets into steep at the very end and isn't by any means a very steep hill, which is the steepest i can think of in london, and that one doesn't need to get out the saddle for if one is being lazy! at least with compact and 27t on the back, with the mtb one can just spin up it no bother.

i do use it as want to beat the hill nr my folks place that has 5 nice arrows and is a 1st gear in cars, i need to loose a fair bit of weight and get a fair bit fitter for that, though!

Bassjunkieuk

itboffin wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

I'm going to have to look at this hill again. It's not long in fact incredibly short - about 10 three-bedroom houses long or so but it becomes gets impossibly steep quickly.

OK it is London, but in my experience, in a car, in the many places I've been (including a Mountain in Jamaica - Johnson Mountain) I've known nothing that immediately steep - despite the shortness of it.

Where is this bump you speak of...?

http://www.earthtools.org/ use this tool it'll give you some idea of the height etc. and good luck, conquer the beast

Well if DDD has got the name right I think it's this one:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ena+Rd, ... 7&t=h&z=15

Twas the only Ena Road that the almighty Google maps recognizes and is only about 10 minutes ride from my house so I shall have to investigate!

Looking on Bike Hike at that road it does appear it's reported as .24 miles long with no impressive gradients, topping out at a 5 on their scale!