Decent Hill?

Devon Lad

Just been out for a ride this morning and was feeling good so I decided to make an assualt on a hill I've always been afraid of I managed to get up it albeit spinning in almost the lowest gear :oops: but I was just wondering how the hill rates difficulty-wise as hills go... I put it into bike route toaster and the ascent is 55m in 0.87Km. Is this a decent effort or do I have a lot more hill climbing to do before I can call myself respectable?
Will

danowat

Toughest one I've done (considering Norfolk is "flat") is 100m in 0.75km, it was a struggle towards the end (Sandy Lane, West Runton, if anyone fancies a go)

Devon Lad

wow, makes my hill look like a small molehill! Think I had better get practising else it looks like the hills of Britain will eat me alive

ColinJ

Go up to the Yorkshire Dales and have a go at Park Rash to the NNE of Kettlewell!

danowat

fooking ell

ColinJ

danowat wrote:

fooking ell

That was my reaction when I rode up it!

I'd been told it was tough so I decided to go and have a go at it and devised a mega-hard 200 km route to take it in (nearly 4,000 m of climbing in total).

Somehow, when I got to Kettlewell, I convinced myself that the steep little climb out of the village (the left part of the profile) was the Park Rash climb, but then I went round the bend and the monster started to loom up ahead of me... :shock:

I had a 30/26 bottom gear and I only just made it!

Weejie54

This one's a pig - in Wales - and I live in Scotland!

http://www.everydaycycling.com/edc/news ... notts.aspx

masterchef

wow lmao 40% hill!! that would be soo hard lol

Flasheart

Unsuitable for motors .....okay for nutter roadies though

Bobbinogs

Hi Devon Lad, the hill I'm trying to crack in South Wales rises 300M in just over 1.5K (so nowhere near that 40% beast above). I haven't done it yet (without stopping, so that doesn't count) and my training for it resulted in a thigh strain and a few weeks off. Barking mad, I am having to do some training for a training ride!

Keep going though. It is all about personal challenges. Now you have beaten your hill, you can either set a time target or get a bigger hill!

rolf_f

ColinJ wrote:

danowat wrote:

fooking ell

That was my reaction when I rode up it!

I'd been told it was tough so I decided to go and have a go at it and devised a mega-hard 200 km route to take it in (nearly 4,000 m of climbing in total).

Somehow, when I got to Kettlewell, I convinced myself that the steep little climb out of the village (the left part of the profile) was the Park Rash climb, but then I went round the bend and the monster started to loom up ahead of me... :shock:

I had a 30/26 bottom gear and I only just made it!

Lol - I did it on the Richmond 5 Dales - Park Rash was at about 75 miles and just after Fleet Moss. Bit of a git!

Evil Laugh

danowat wrote:

Toughest one I've done (considering Norfolk is "flat") is 100m in 0.75km, it was a struggle towards the end (Sandy Lane, West Runton, if anyone fancies a go)

Is that near the Vernon Arms?

Me and the missus had some lovely rides round that way over the start of the summer (my parents live that way) and I swear Sandy Lane was on the way to that pub where we'd normally stop. Good food btw.

Never found anything you couldn't tackle in the big ring to be honest.

benno68

Bobbinogs wrote:

Hi Devon Lad, the hill I'm trying to crack in South Wales rises 300M in just over 1.5K (so nowhere near that 40% beast above). I haven't done it yet (without stopping, so that doesn't count) and my training for it resulted in a thigh strain and a few weeks off. Barking mad, I am having to do some training for a training ride!

Keep going though. It is all about personal challenges. Now you have beaten your hill, you can either set a time target or get a bigger hill!

Where is it Bobbinogs? I may give it a go.

markos1963

danowat wrote:

Toughest one I've done (considering Norfolk is "flat") is 100m in 0.75km, it was a struggle towards the end (Sandy Lane, West Runton, if anyone fancies a go)

Where did you measure that from Danowat? I take it from where it rises just after the railway bridge to the crest by the car park at the top which makes it nearly a mile. Don't have anyway of measuring the gain so I'll take your word for it about 100m

Bobbinogs

The start is about a 1/2 mile just out of Llanover (on the A4042 towards Llanellen). There is a skewed cross roads. I turn left and head up to Blaneavon. It is very shaded (so a little slippy) but just seems to keep climbing.

Once at the top you can cycle around for miles without doing a lot more other than admiring the fantastic scenary.

Please don't come back next week and say you span up there one legged whilst munching on a sandwich

ColinJ

Rolf F wrote:

Lol - I did it on the Richmond 5 Dales - Park Rash was at about 75 miles and just after Fleet Moss. Bit of a git!

Blimey - Fleet Moss from that side is pretty tough too!

As for a 40% Welsh climb - that's just crazy! I can hardly believe that is accurate even though it says it on the sign. That's 60% harder than a 25% climb which is bad enough.

Even if you were strong enough to ride 40%, it would be ultra-hard to keep the front of the bike on the road and at the same time stop the rear wheel from sliding out from under you when you put the power down. Definitely impossible in wet conditions!

Weejie54

As for a 40% Welsh climb - that's just crazy! I can hardly believe that is accurate even though it says it on the sign.

Apparently, it is an exaggeration. It's only a mere 34% - and, officially, it's a one-way downhill.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/105618

roger_merriman

Bobbinogs wrote:

The start is about a 1/2 mile just out of Llanover (on the A4042 towards Llanellen). There is a skewed cross roads. I turn left and head up to Blaneavon. It is very shaded (so a little slippy) but just seems to keep climbing.

Once at the top you can cycle around for miles without doing a lot more other than admiring the fantastic scenary.

Please don't come back next week and say you span up there one legged whilst munching on a sandwich

the east side of the Blorange, yup steep but doable I was born and lived in that area for most of my life.

if your slipping shift your weight back, should be able to feel it.

benno68

roger merriman wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

The start is about a 1/2 mile just out of Llanover (on the A4042 towards Llanellen). There is a skewed cross roads. I turn left and head up to Blaneavon. It is very shaded (so a little slippy) but just seems to keep climbing.

Once at the top you can cycle around for miles without doing a lot more other than admiring the fantastic scenary.

Please don't come back next week and say you span up there one legged whilst munching on a sandwich

the east side of the Blorange, yup steep but doable I was born and lived in that area for most of my life.

if your slipping shift your weight back, should be able to feel it.

Cheers Bobbinogs - I'll try to give it a go some time. Don't worry, the only think I'm likely to be munching on is my lungs

Hey Roger - I bet you miss the thrill of the hill.

danowat

markos1963 wrote:

danowat wrote:

Toughest one I've done (considering Norfolk is "flat") is 100m in 0.75km, it was a struggle towards the end (Sandy Lane, West Runton, if anyone fancies a go)

Where did you measure that from Danowat? I take it from where it rises just after the railway bridge to the crest by the car park at the top which makes it nearly a mile. Don't have anyway of measuring the gain so I'll take your word for it about 100m

From the same point, I misjudged it slightly (did a quick and dirty check at work this morning), but I have the GPS data (with elevation correction) from my Garmin now I am at home.

You are correct, its almost bang on 1mile (1.63km), and the elevation gain is a mere 80metres

markos1963

Its still a shock to the system Danowat to us flatlanders to have to climb a mile even for only 80m elevation

ColinJ

Weejie54 wrote:

As for a 40% Welsh climb - that's just crazy! I can hardly believe that is accurate even though it says it on the sign.

Apparently, it is an exaggeration. It's only a mere 34% - and, officially, it's a one-way downhill.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/105618

Ah, now 34% on the inside of a tight bend on a steep climb I can well believe.

A local climb (Mytholm Steeps) has this stretch of 25%...



But it is considerably steeper on the inside of the bend at the top...



... where I once keeled over still attached to my bike when an idiot driver insisted on overtaking me on the bend and forced me to stay in by the cobbles! :evil:

brin

Get hold of Simon Warrens book, '100 Greatest Cycling Climbs' breath taking accounts of some monster climbs, all achievable, including this monster http://www.readingcyclingclub.com/docs/Bealach.pdf
:shock:

Weejie54

Get hold of Simon Warrens book, '100 Greatest Cycling Climbs' breath taking accounts of some monster climbs, all achievable, including this monster http://www.readingcyclingclub.com/docs/Bealach.pdf

This one seems to take the biscuit....

Near the top, a tourist asked me to pretend to cycle, for a photo. With the bike stationary and the brakes full on, I started to slide backwards down the hill to the sound of slipping rubber. I pushed on the pedals, but only succeeded in dislocating the back wheel.

Baldwin Street, Dunedin, NZ.

http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/ ... hills.html

Red Rider

Devon Lad,

Well done for tackling it and getting up. Which hill was it? Where abouts are you cycling?

West Dartmoor-ish you can have a crack at Pork Hill (which is about 140m in 1.7km) which is unavoidably followed by Merrivale (160m in 2.7km). Then further up the B3387 you get Dartmeet (128m in 1.1km). Pork Hill and Merrivale will be on the Tour of Britain stage which starts in Tavistock - I believe Pork Hill will be Cat 1 though I haven't been able to find much info on the ToB KOM competition and can't recall where I read this.

These are all rough estimates from route sites. The Garmin is arriving soon tho. Bring on the geeky data!!

Happy Climbing,
RR

Devon Lad

Oddly enough reading all these comments actually makes me want to try and and throw myself up the nearest hill! I didn't do the big hill again today, did the circuit the other way round and did two medium yet still painful hills in short succession. Red Rider, I cycle in and around the south hams area, Dartmoor's a bit out of range for the time being A hill I have noticed though in the south Devon area is the one out of Aveton Gifford, just wondering whether anybody who has ridden that area has ever attempted that seemingly suicidal mission! :shock:
Will

Pross

Benno68 wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

The start is about a 1/2 mile just out of Llanover (on the A4042 towards Llanellen). There is a skewed cross roads. I turn left and head up to Blaneavon. It is very shaded (so a little slippy) but just seems to keep climbing.

Once at the top you can cycle around for miles without doing a lot more other than admiring the fantastic scenary.

Please don't come back next week and say you span up there one legged whilst munching on a sandwich

the east side of the Blorange, yup steep but doable I was born and lived in that area for most of my life.

if your slipping shift your weight back, should be able to feel it.

Cheers Bobbinogs - I'll try to give it a go some time. Don't worry, the only think I'm likely to be munching on is my lungs

Hey Roger - I bet you miss the thrill of the hill.

Biggest problem doing that route is that the road is very narrow in places and if a car comes down the hill you are stuffed. The next road up there (just outside Llanellen) is slightly wider. Both are 'easier' than the classic route up the Blorenge which is the Tumble (as used in many a bike race) but still a reasonable challenge. There's also some other narrow climbs up it from Clydach.

OP, once you get up a hard climb once you will usually find it much easier the next time as so much of it is psychological and it's easy to get bitten by the bug to find something harder. I'm still doing it even though I'm far from a climber's build these days :oops: What part of Devon are you? There's some excellent climbs down there (I intend doing some of them next month in the Tour of Dartmoor :shock: )

StefanP

There is few around here, save for Ditchling Beacon and he Zig Zag Road up Box Hill.. they tend to be quite short as there are few places where it goes from say 50m to 250m in the space of 2 or three kilometre. (There is one road, but it does it over 8 miles :roll: )

The toughest I know is probably Titsey hill close-ish to where I live, I dont have the on-road data for that one, its probably around a 150m climb in 3km, the byway that passes straight up the hill is rocky and cobbled for some of it and does 160m in 2km, but I guess that doesn't count, nor does the dirt road coming off the B268 which does 81m in 1km.

I also did a road near Crowborough called Mardens Hill, which for the first section is pretty steep and ends up doing 130m ascent in 2.3km.. so nothing like some of these climbs, but enough for me! And as hard as the South East gets :twisted:

Pross

Devon Lad wrote:

Oddly enough reading all these comments actually makes me want to try and and throw myself up the nearest hill! I didn't do the big hill again today, did the circuit the other way round and did two medium yet still painful hills in short succession. Red Rider, I cycle in and around the south hams area, Dartmoor's a bit out of range for the time being A hill I have noticed though in the south Devon area is the one out of Aveton Gifford, just wondering whether anybody who has ridden that area has ever attempted that seemingly suicidal mission! :shock:
Will

I know that hill well (got a caravan at Challaborough) but have never cycled it. I think it is one of those that looks worse than it is due to it being so straight. The main problem is that it wouldn't be a nice bit of road to find you have to stop on. Whereabouts in the Hams are you? The south side of Dartmoor may be within range. The climb just past River Dart Country Park is fun The main road out of Dartmouth would be a test as well.

Devon Lad

I'm right on the south coast on the westerly side of the south hams near Yealmpton. Best access to the moors would probably be through Ivybridge or up to Tavistock. Was thinking of cycling the A379 to Kingsbridge or Salcombe. That way I could take on the Aveton Gifford hill, and the road itself has some stunning views in places

bendertherobot

Try this one for size. It's unmarked for %. Take the immediate right and then stay right at the cattle grid.

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=51 ... 62.75,,0,5

Anyone help with the elevation? To me it seems like a climb of 250-300m in just under 1/2 km or so!