100 Greatest Cycling Climbs

mroli

Thanks Guys.

And I don't mean "just" Yorkshire (or any of those other places at all)! Honestly, the thing the book has given me is a massive appreciation of what a beautiful country (or 3 countries) the climbs are based in

nevman

Good luck on Buttertubs-ignore the 25% for 500 yards sign-its way much harder than that.

polocini

You need to hurry up with the climbs as book two is out in may!!!

AL

Bobbinogs

Heh heh. Puts my feeble performance into perspective. 6 done prior to yesterday but then managed to tick off Jiggers Bank (38) and Burway (39) in one windswept ride, so that's a grand total of 8.

Summer hols will be based near Paignton (so, just coincidentally, I get to tick off another 4-5).

Now, another book, that's all I need

tim_wand

Mr Oli, Great work! You ll fly the Mickelgate and Freewheel terrace hill (Leicestershire) after that lot.

Take it your going to do Mickelgate and Terrace on the same day? If so if you let me know the date I ll arrange for free Coffee's in Starbucks (Lincoln High Street) the Wifes the Manager or the Tea room (Sometimes not open this time of year) at Belvior Castle (Top of Terrace and to the left) run by friends of the family for you.

Terrace really is a singe you could do it 53/11 without leaving the drops but It was the original inspiration for the author.

t4tomo

nevman wrote:

Good luck on Buttertubs-ignore the 25% for 500 yards sign-its way much harder than that.

Same goes for Rosedale Chimney Bank You'd be well advised to pause about a third of the way up and fill your waterbottle with a pint of black sheep from pub there.

bigpikle

great blog - wish I'd seen it a lot earlier.

I'm 9 climbs in and would like to get them all done 1 day - I do have Crowcombe done though and you'll enjoy getting up that b4$7@£d

mroli

Crowcombe Coombe done last weekend (along with Salcombe Hill). Big up to the Carew Arms - what a fantastic place to have a pint afterwards. I thought it was a bit of a brute to be honest!

Will update the blog tomorrow. 86 down, 82 up on the blog and holiday booked for next month to go to North Wales and Yorkshire and pick up the rest. Lucky wife/daughter (dog thinks it is fantastic). Thanks for comments and tips - and Tim for the offer of coffee, much appreciated! Book 2 is on preorder with Amazon, but I think I'll leave someone else to do that one!

Pross

How did you find the Dartmoor climbs? In my experience it is more the culmination of the climbs around there rather than any individual one! Looking forward to getting back done there soon with a little excess baggage to carry around

mroli

I think you're probably right Pross - they don't rate to the steepness of, say a Lakes loop with Wrynose and Hardknott (and in fact any of about 5 others), but they come pretty continuously - its not rolling, it is up and down. Beautiful part of the country though....

porker33

Tks for riding the hills and then posting your comments......You have ridden a few of the hills I know and ride, but I wondered if any hill up to now has been seriously daunting or by far the biggest challenge....or ven much harder than anticipated?

Cheers.

mroli

Thanks porker33 - it has been a bit of an odd ride journey really - one of the things that inspired me was the fact that last year I did a JOGLE and this year I wanted to do something a bit different. We rode up the Longmynd (but from the "other" side) and only about 20 of 300 riders got up it (even James Cracknell failed (broken chain)). A guy I had met a few days previously and talked to about George and our charity said to me that he knew I'd get up it because I had the motivation. I think once you have that in your head and decent enough gearing (so for me a compact and 25/6 on the back) then there isn't anything totally horrendous (although I have not done Bwlch Y Groes or Rosedale yet!)

Anything in the book that is a 10/10 is painfully hard - normally just steep, steep gradient. Over 7 or 8 is a pretty difficult challenge 5+ gets the heart pumping hard!

I think one of the most tricky climbs for me was Constitution Hill in Swansea - just bouncing over the cobbles was tough - but the thing that I think really makes or breaks you on a climb is the weather. Some of the Scottish hills I did were into strong headwinds (some I had tailwinds!) and that hurt bad. Climbing up to Riber, the road was wet and I had to sit down or I got wheel spin, but then your front wheel would come up. And for sheer treacherous road conditions, York's Hill only gets a 6/10 but was properly filthy with mud, leaves, stones and more mud on the road!

Of course, the other thing that bites you on the hills is the effect that doing them in one go has on you - I think the most I did in one day was 6 and that batters the legs. I've never done the Fred Whitton, but I want to go and ride the route someday - that is a proper challenge.

mroli

Hi guys - just to give you an update on progress - I am now 96 climbs down with just (!) Rosedale Chimney in N Yorks to do - the remaining climbs being Terrace Hill, Michaelgate and Mott Street.

North Wales was challenging stuff - I think that Bwlch Y Groes has to take the prize for hardest climb attempted yet, I was overheating badly and really struggled my way up there, but up there I got.

Fford Penllech at Harlech Castle was ridiculously steep, but mercifully short - in N Yorks, there is hill after hill here of great riding, but Boltby Bank was a bit of an evil sod!

Have had dodgy internet since been away, so been unable to organise to hook up with anyone for the riding - many apologies - www.100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com has the updates as fast as I can put them up. Video is going to have to wait until I get a faster broadband connection I'm afraid - it is taking long enough to upload the photos on the blog.

Cheers

Cleat Eastwood

mroli wrote:

Hi guys - just to give you an update on progress - I am now 96 climbs down with just (!) Rosedale Chimney in N Yorks to do - the remaining climbs being Terrace Hill, Michaelgate and Mott Street.

North Wales was challenging stuff - I think that Bwlch Y Groes has to take the prize for hardest climb attempted yet, I was overheating badly and really struggled my way up there, but up there I got.

Fford Penllech at Harlech Castle was ridiculously steep, but mercifully short - in N Yorks, there is hill after hill here of great riding, but Boltby Bank was a bit of an evil sod!

Have had dodgy internet since been away, so been unable to organise to hook up with anyone for the riding - many apologies - http://www.100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com has the updates as fast as I can put them up. Video is going to have to wait until I get a faster broadband connection I'm afraid - it is taking long enough to upload the photos on the blog.

Cheers

was that harlech castle one the stupid 40% or am i thinking of something else? cant wait for the vids - well done mroli.

Pross

Brilliant effort - nearly there with a few easy ones as a wind down

tim_wand

Terrace hill, The original inspiration for Simon Warren , is going to be a bit of a let down after all of that,
Dont know if your doing it last to retain some kind of symmetry?

I now live in Newark on Trent Simons home town and lived most of my life in the Vale of Belvior where terrace is are you making it your last one. If so I know a number of owners of local tea rooms and Boozers near by who would gladly shout you a free lunch after that little lot.

mroli

Yeah - Harlech Castle is the stupid 40% one. I think the video of it is pretty good (I did it a couple of times) - but the "main" road through the village is bad enough at 25%. The only blessing is that it is very short - and if you can just keep the legs turning over it is fine.

Thanks Pross - with the exception of Rosedale, I'm not concerned about any of the others (I have done Terrace Hill this year already - but it was part of a 100mile ride and I don't have photos or video so I'm gonna do it again) - its just trying to fit them in!

Ta Tim - it is lovely round there - it probably won't be my last one, but Mott St will be - there was no idea or rational behind it - it was just how the dice fell! Very kind offer, but with a little girl in tow (7 months old) we barely know where/when we are going to stop - we are totally dictated by her needs/desires! Simon "apologised" for Terrace Hill to me - but on the 100 miler we did, it was enough to shatter our 9 man pack!

random man

mroli wrote:

in N Yorks, there is hill after hill here of great riding, but Boltby Bank was a bit of an evil sod!

+1 for Boltby Bank - I struggled up it last September expecting it to be tough but not that tough!

JamesB

I think that Bwlch Y Groes has to take the prize for hardest climb attempted yet, I was overheating badly and really struggled my way up there, but up there I got.

well done I agree must be (one of) / THE hardest climb around in UK.

I`m glad that my thoughts earlier in forum didn`t put you off and that it probably lived up to expectations !

mroli

Just got back from Rosedale Chimney. That was erm, interesting!

Starts at 10% ish and finishes at about the same - there is just about 650m in between of between 20 and 35%! Literally feels like you've got a wall of tarmac in front of you in places - blog will be updated as soon as I have had a cup of tea!

mroli

OK - Rosedale Chimney (less video) up, videos being uploaded as we speak, photos to follow. Did 98/99 today - Michaelgate (in the middle of the Lincoln 10k and despite the road being "closed") and Terrace Hill (what a beautiful day - what a beautiful part of the country - what a lot of cyclists out today!) Posts to follow.

1 more to go - Mott St next Sat (31st).

mroli

Videos for all N Yorks climbs (inc Rosedale) are now up and also Penbarra, the Shelf and the Road to Hell. Rest coming shortly...!

nweststeyn

I'm gonna give the Cairnwell to Glenshee a shot tomorrow... Feeling quietly confident I'll make it up there. Not feeling so confident I'll be particularly fast!

hugo15

Really enjoyed your write up of the N Yorks moors climbs as they are local to me. I agree with you that Boltby is not a 7/10.... think Simon Warren must have been having a really good day when he did Boltby. It's definitely a 8/10 and much harder than Carlton Bank or White Horse.

Rosedale Chimney is just brutal. I laughed at the bit in your video where you said you were sitting down for a rest with the Garmin at 26%.

Cleat Eastwood

have driven up that penbarras one, that bend where you shout out made the car struggle - excellent vids though - whats been the toughest so far?

mroli

I think Bwlch Y Groes was the hardest. Wearing too much, steep and got too hot. Beautiful though. Closest I've come to a foot down was Bealach Na Ba - not really due to gradient - wind and trying to change my video cam.

Wrynose was properly horrible too - due to rain and wind.

Videos should be up for all the climbs apart from Michaelgate, Terrace Hill (both done awaiting pics) and Mott St - this sat....

In N Yorks Moors - Blakey Bank was worse than anything other than Rosedale I think. Rosedale was a funny one. It was incredibly steep, but probably because of the weather conditions, I never felt in trouble.

daviesee

nweststeyn wrote:

I'm gonna give the Cairnwell to Glenshee a shot tomorrow... Feeling quietly confident I'll make it up there. Not feeling so confident I'll be particularly fast!

It's a while since I did it (92 or 93) but as I remember it, it was longish but not steep.
Can't be too hard as I did Spittal of Glenshee over to Breamar and return. The return was FAST! :P

nweststeyn

Done! It might not be 'steep' but it was steep enough for me!

Got up in a oner though, albeit slowly. When it banks up at the very end, I wonder if any ramblers in the surrounding hills heard me shouting F***ING COME ON DONT STOP at myself. I'm not great at this climbing m'larkey. Might have been okay if I'd started in Spittal but I came from Dundee so it was a long day in the saddle! Hit a 'fun' 78.6km/h on the way back down though!

http://runkeeper.com/user/nweststeyn/activity/77975521

daviesee

nweststeyn wrote:

Hit a 'fun' 78.6km/h on the way back down though1

Yup!
IIRC I hit 54 mph as I passed a car 8)
Wasn't as much fun at the bottom though. There was a cattle grid back in the day :shock: Don't know if it is still there.
Biggest, fastest hop I have ever done, or intend to do. Don't know whether the smiley should be :P or :shock: but ended up as 8)

Pross

mroli wrote:

I think Bwlch Y Groes was the hardest. Wearing too much, steep and got too hot. Beautiful though. Closest I've come to a foot down was Bealach Na Ba - not really due to gradient - wind and trying to change my video cam.

Wrynose was properly horrible too - due to rain and wind.

Videos should be up for all the climbs apart from Michaelgate, Terrace Hill (both done awaiting pics) and Mott St - this sat....

In N Yorks Moors - Blakey Bank was worse than anything other than Rosedale I think. Rosedale was a funny one. It was incredibly steep, but probably because of the weather conditions, I never felt in trouble.

What has been you favourite? Also, are there any you felt shouldn't have been in there?