Afan: Whites Level...

junglist_matty

Did Whites on Sunday, first time I managed to get all the way up the top without stopping for a break!
Took me 61mins 28secs from the Visitor Centre to the top (end of Two Tombstones), was well chuffed with that!

stumpyjon

Tis quite a climb, enjoyable though in a weird perverted sort of way. Beats fireroad climbs any day of the week.

weeksy59

Sadly i've not timed myself on it yet as i'm usually riding with 2 other lads who don't climb quite as well as me.

Next year though i'll have a go at climbing it, would be interesting to see what everyone does as a time etc.

Thewaylander

Matty where you from mate, only people from south flat england normally say thats a bad climb.. possibly one of the more fun and least painful clinbs in Wales.

Go to Cwm if you want to cry on a climb.. i have to camp half way up for a break there

VWsurfbum

quite interesting this?
i have only done whytes twice and we usually stop a couple of times on the way up to regroup and let the fitter people past, but last time i went i really didnt need to stop and wondered how long it would take? one of the guys who normally comes with us just zooms up to the top and waits for us to arrive, but as is normally rainy and windy at the top he really regretted it this time.

Whats other peoples times?

Mccraque

Raced up it in the summer with my ultra competitive mate - 29mins.

should not have eaten a giant cheese doorstep in the drop off beforehand... :shock:

joshtp

stumpyjon wrote:

Tis quite a climb, enjoyable though in a weird perverted sort of way. Beats fireroad climbs any day of the week.

im with you on that one, while it is tough (although, actually, there are some far harder climbs out there, its not soooo bad) its actually quite good fun, if its posible for a climb to be fun, infact i really like it, beats fireroad hands down...

Thewaylander

yuk i bet you felt like yacking a lung up!

weeksy59

Mccraque wrote:

Raced up it in the summer with my ultra competitive mate - 29mins.

should not have eaten a giant cheese doorstep in the drop off beforehand... :shock:

29 mins ? fuck....

joshtp

29! 29! ooh my goodness, i feel ill thinking about it....

junglist_matty

lol... Yeah, I wasn't really timing myself, I went with three other friends; they stopped near the bottom just before the first berm, and I carried on up; I had my mp3 player on to keep me going, got to the top and realised I could see how long it took because I was listening to a 2hour mix which I started at the visitor centre down the bottom of the hill....

Although yes, it was regrettable because I ended up having to wait 20 mins before my other friend arrived and another 30mins before the last friend got to the top, by which time I was frozen and the rest of the ride was very slow! Kinda wished I'd just carried on round the trail and met them at the end, next time I'll do that!

...I'm from Cambridge where there's no hills at all, but I'm used to climbs, done mtb'ing for years, ridden scotland, wales, and used to live in Bristol so hills are no biggy, just not half as fit as I used to be but I'm getting there slowly but surely! Was just happy to have done the climb without having to stop!

Next time I will properlly go for it, try and knock 10 mins or so off, I'll never get to 30mins like some people, but I'm not a total fitness freak like them!!! I like to just ride and enjoy myself, and I really enjoyed the climb this time round which is strange when I usually hate climbing!

homers_double

Mccraque wrote:

should not have eaten a giant cheese doorstep in the drop off beforehand... :shock:

VWsurfbum

junglist_matty
I work in cambride and have to ride in and around a bit (why do they hate cars so much here?) how on earth do you train round here? its completely flat? do you always go elswhere to ride?

RealMan

Thewaylander wrote:

only people from south flat england normally say thats a bad climb..

Have to say, I'm from Portsmouth, and I spun my way up in my big chain ring twice in one day, although not sure what time I did each time. Was a nice climb, but we both thought it wasn't challenging enough! Would be nice to see some tricky technical bits in the climbing. And even a chicken run for people who don't fancy it. Why leave that kinda stuff just for the descents?

Dobbs

I just remembered why I don't use this forum much.
So fit because you ride all of the hills in the MTB mecca of....Portsmouth?And the climbs are more technical than Afan? Did the WL climb in the 44T?
:roll:
Yeh right.

ads4

I loved Whites when I did my first Wales trip a few weeks back. Tough climb for me but enjoyable enough. It seemed to pass quickly due to the concentration needed, much better than a fire road climb for sure, hated Penhydd!!

stumpyjon

Ads4 wrote:

It seemed to pass quickly due to the concentration needed, much better than a fire road climb for sure

I think that's the key, keep it interresting.

littlebear

Ads4 wrote:

much better than a fire road climb for sure, hated Penhydd

That was my fault! I can assure you Ads that Penhydd on fresh legs is fooking sweet, once you reach Hidden Valley, Sidewinder and Dead sheep Gully of course... I could ride them all day long Speaking of which.. Are we going before Christmas, I'm getting Withdrawal symptoms?

Tom Barton

Penhydd is a great trail - once you finish the fire road its a very flowy trail.

And the first climb on whites is one of the most gratifying climbs I've ever done - due mostly to it being mostly trail, minima fireroad and semi-technical without being cwm carn!

SE_Rich

Just adding my thoughts - not sure RealMan was quite comparing the climbs around Portsmouth to those in Wales, merely pointing out you can be fit but not live in Wales...? (Just stirring sorry! )

With regards the OP - I loved the climb up Whites, but like a few others on here broke it up a bit wating for others in the group. Great climb. I would say though, I think Penhydd might be my favourite, went there a month or so ago - Hidden Valley, Sidewinder, Dead Sheep - loved it! Dead Sheep Gully was loads better than I remember. I would agree that the climb is not as interesting as Whites, but I quite like just getting my head down on a climb sometimes.

But lets be honest, it's not exactly the South Downs is it...

joshtp

littlebear wrote:

Ads4 wrote:

much better than a fire road climb for sure, hated Penhydd

That was my fault! I can assure you Ads that Penhydd on fresh legs is fooking sweet, once you reach Hidden Valley, Sidewinder and Dead sheep Gully of course... I could ride them all day long Speaking of which.. Are we going before Christmas, I'm getting Withdrawal symptoms?

im in agreement here, penhydd climb can seem painfully boring, but after the climb is done its wonderfull.

Alex

I did it twice in the one day earlier this year whilst training for Hell of the North Cotswolds.

First time was about 1hr 30, as I was riding with my little brother, the second time, on my own, I took just under 30 minutes as I had to stop half way up to change a tube that had punctured. There's nothing like impending darkness and the knowledge that someone's waiting for you to get back to encourage you to get on with it.

junglist_matty

Wow, some people must be super fit round here... you guys doing it in 12kmh+ (roughly 8mph) thats pretty dam fast for uphill!

For someone who asked where I ride in Cambridge, I do the wimpole loop about once a week and I go swimming a fair bit to keep general fitness up, here's a map of the route if your interested:

[I don't know why the map centres in the yorkshire dales, just move it over to Cambridge area and you'll see the route markers]
http://www.cycle-route.com/routes/Cambr ... -3024.html

bomberesque

/me waves willy

actually, I timed myself up white's earlier in the year as there had been some scroat on here with advice like "just ride in a bigger gear; you'll go faster" or something and he said he did it in half an hour or something. Mind you, iirc he was 14 so there you go

Looking back at Training Center (never throw data away, even useless data...) I managed it in just under 40 minutes, from the first gate (not the carpark) so say 42 from the carpark. I had done it in the morning but had been slower, mostly because I hadn't paced myself aswell so had to stop a couple of times to pick my lungs up.

I was completely made up with that, particularly because

a. I'm 40
b. I was riding the Evil, which is 30 lbs of pikey burley steel
c. I creamed my riding companions, one of whom is 10 years my younger, although tbf I think he was just having a bad day, he's normally loads faster than me

Still, the 14 year old scroat was faster. Damn him!

/me puts willy back where it belongs

VWsurfbum

junglist_matty wrote:

For someone who asked where I ride in Cambridge, I do the wimpole loop about once a week and I go swimming a fair bit to keep general fitness up, here's a map of the route if your interested:

[I don't know why the map centres in the yorkshire dales, just move it over to Cambridge area and you'll see the route markers]
http://www.cycle-route.com/routes/Cambr ... -3024.html

that was me, i take it you recorded or mapped that route?
is there much of a MTB scene up here? is there a few of you ride?

I cant wait to go back to afan to do a timed run, but my next scheduled trip to wales is CYB as the last two visits have been Afan..

miss notax

So, am I the only person feeling particularly slow and inferior after reading this post....?!!!

I would probably need resusitating if I rode all of the climb with stopping at all! :oops:

BorisSpencer

miss notax wrote:

So, am I the only person feeling particularly slow and inferior after reading this post....?!!!

I would probably need resusitating if I rode all of the climb with stopping at all! :oops:

No.

gregmorris234

bomberesque wrote:

/me waves willy

actually, I timed myself up white's earlier in the year as there had been some scroat on here with advice like "just ride in a bigger gear; you'll go faster" or something and he said he did it in half an hour or something. Mind you, iirc he was 14 so there you go

Looking back at Training Center (never throw data away, even useless data...) I managed it in just under 40 minutes, from the first gate (not the carpark) so say 42 from the carpark. I had done it in the morning but had been slower, mostly because I hadn't paced myself aswell so had to stop a couple of times to pick my lungs up.

I was completely made up with that, particularly because

a. I'm 40
b. I was riding the Evil, which is 30 lbs of pikey burley steel
c. I creamed my riding companions, one of whom is 10 years my younger, although tbf I think he was just having a bad day, he's normally loads faster than me

Still, the 14 year old scroat was faster. Damn him!

/me puts willy back where it belongs

Im the 14 year old! Was it the climbing forum?

littlebear

You can do it even quicker if you cut out the pintless bit that just takes you up a very steep fireroad climb. Then you can loop Hidden valley a couple of times with the energy you have saved :shock:

weeksy59

Due to some of your recommendations i'll be doing Penhyyd in the afternoon on Sunday now. Sounds like a cracking ride once you get the fire roads done and dusted.

Whites in the morning i'd imagine.

Can't wait

ads4

Fitness level is what I need to concentrate on this winter! Penhydd nearly killed me after doing Whites before it, the fire road climb went on and on...I wanted to throw my bike in the bushes when I got to the top!!