Hill Climbs - Advice Sought
cjessop
Posts: 36
Hi,
My local club has decided it would like to change the route for its annual hill climb on the basis of safety given that last year the road was very very busy.
We have been looking for alternative hills to use and this is where the crunch comes...
We have found a number however none quite match the busy road.
One is very steep (20% plus) however the road is so tight it is unlikely that a car can pass a rider, let alone a car coming both ways.
The other is relatively steep in parts (13%), quite tough at the top, however it is not as hard as the original road but would allow cars to pass.
As I do not have much experience of other hill climbs I was wondering if anyone can advise which route would be preferable as an alternative route or whether a very busy road bothers riders all that much. Both alternative routes are about 1.3 miles long.
Be interested to hear views out there of hill climbers.
Thanks
CJ
My local club has decided it would like to change the route for its annual hill climb on the basis of safety given that last year the road was very very busy.
We have been looking for alternative hills to use and this is where the crunch comes...
We have found a number however none quite match the busy road.
One is very steep (20% plus) however the road is so tight it is unlikely that a car can pass a rider, let alone a car coming both ways.
The other is relatively steep in parts (13%), quite tough at the top, however it is not as hard as the original road but would allow cars to pass.
As I do not have much experience of other hill climbs I was wondering if anyone can advise which route would be preferable as an alternative route or whether a very busy road bothers riders all that much. Both alternative routes are about 1.3 miles long.
Be interested to hear views out there of hill climbers.
Thanks
CJ
0
Comments
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I'm no hill climber but the 13% hill sounds plenty steep enough to me to sort out who's best at going up. How long do you expect a reasonable hillclimb TT to take?
At 5W/kg the 13% hill it would take ~ 10.5 minutes and a 20% hill ~ 15.5 minutes.0 -
Rider safety comes first. If cars cant get past the riders, and the riders are climbing at 8-10mph, you're going to get some irritated drivers. Given the two options you have, I'd go with the one allowing enough room for the cars to pass the riders.
Busy roads bother everyone. Cars hate having to watch for bikes, bikes hate feeling trapped by cars. Avoid the busy roads if you can, especially on a climb where the bike speeds are so slow.
Both alternate routes sound plenty steep and challenging but 1.3 miles sounds a bit short. Is there a longer climb available?0 -
which roads are they cjessop?0
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Thanks for replies.
I also consider safety to be paramount however I wanted to canvass views.
The roads that have been considered are Peat Lane (off Pateley Bridge) and Brown Bank Lane (near Addington).
Speaking with some guys last night I think I may have found a better alternative that I shall be checking out within the next few days; this road will have plenty of passing space and I'm informed it's relatively quiet.
Alex - the gradients I have quoted are the steepest parts of the climb not the average. At our last hill climb with an average of approx 12% for about a mile the winning time was 3.51 minutes.
Any further thoughts welcome.0
