THE toughest climb you ever rode and how did you fare ?

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Comments

  • andyrr
    andyrr Posts: 1,822
    Did the Etape Legend in 2007 which went up the Col du PLATZERWASEL - tops out at 1193m, seem to recall climbing up that beast for what felt like an hour with some riders having given up and standing or lying at the side of the road. Have never climbed for such a length of time, ground up with 39x27 smallest gear.
  • Lennox110
    Lennox110 Posts: 1
    Got to be Church Hill in Glyn Ceiriog for me.
  • d4evr
    d4evr Posts: 293
    The Hulltoon! :wink:
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    JustinLeeAtkinson wrote:

    Well done, I was in 34/25 when I tried it, stopped at the flat part opposite some houses as there were cars and a refuse lorry, and then just could not clip back in to ascend the rest of it. I did Riber ok which I thought was much easier than Rowsley Bar. However Simon Warren's 100 climbs book has it the other way round.

    Agree I found Rowsley Bar much tougher. Riber seemed relatively short in comparison, although steeper if you took the wrong line on the bends.
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Lauteret/Galibier last summer. Roasting at the bottom, thick fog and deep snow at the top. The day after doing Alpe d'Huez.
    Start of Lauteret-
    HeadingupfromLacduChambon.jpg

    Heading up into that cloud-
    Galibierstart.jpg

    After grovelling we were met with this, had to stop and take a pic-
    AlexwalkingupGalibier.jpg

    Celebrating at the top. It was FREEZING!! And it was the end of June!
    PoledancingonGalibierSummit.jpg

    Descending was 'interesting'...
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • KnightOfTheLongTights
    KnightOfTheLongTights Posts: 1,415
    loving the pose on that last pic ...
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Heh heh, i fancied a bit of pole dancing :)
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    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • KnightOfTheLongTights
    KnightOfTheLongTights Posts: 1,415
    man, I bailed out of a descent of the Tourmalet the other day in conditions a lot more benign than that (wind, rain, sleet, but no snow) by lobbing the bike in the back of some friendly bloke's van - do not envy you.
  • dnd100
    dnd100 Posts: 2
    Lennox110 wrote:
    Got to be Church Hill in Glyn Ceiriog for me.

    hi Lennox110, I have a private message from you re the cheshire cat ticket, I can't reply to you for some reason and don't know how to get in touch with you.
    Sorry, new to bike radar.
    Please can private message your contact details as I definitely want the ticket.
    Many thanks
  • bsbstevieb
    bsbstevieb Posts: 5
    d4evr wrote:
    The Hulltoon! :wink:
    I'd second that, especially if you go right up the Law....
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Haha - bloody right! Start from outside the McManus gallery, up part of Victoria Road, hit the Hilltown climb then destroy yourself up The Law. If you included that in a modern Pro race it would most definitely see off the best of the best. There's classic footage on YouTube of Sean Kelly and co collapsing after The Law time trial.

    Another inner city killer would be the Conchie. Pity it's a one way street - the wrong way (or maybe it's the right way ;-))
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBxPMU-l-v8
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Long mynd and long hill in Shropshire in a sportive last year. Was unprepared as had only been riding a few weeks. Hurt like crazy but I ground it out ...
  • rich164h
    rich164h Posts: 433
    MountainMonster wrote:
    Came up a hill the other day, 7km long at about 15% average, never below 14%. Without a compact, that destroyed me.
    Where was that? 7km at 15% average is just over 1000m of climbing in a single hill! That's the same as Snowdon from sea level. Was this one of the large scottish mountains on an MTB?
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    Haha - bloody right! Start from outside the McManus gallery, up part of Victoria Road, hit the Hilltown climb then destroy yourself up The Law. If you included that in a modern Pro race it would most definitely see off the best of the best. There's classic footage on YouTube of Sean Kelly and co collapsing after The Law time trial.

    Another inner city killer would be the Conchie. Pity it's a one way street - the wrong way (or maybe it's the right way ;-))
    I think you're missing the point - survival on the Hulltoon is not a matter of VO2 max ;-)
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    bompington wrote:
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    Haha - bloody right! Start from outside the McManus gallery, up part of Victoria Road, hit the Hilltown climb then destroy yourself up The Law. If you included that in a modern Pro race it would most definitely see off the best of the best. There's classic footage on YouTube of Sean Kelly and co collapsing after The Law time trial.

    Another inner city killer would be the Conchie. Pity it's a one way street - the wrong way (or maybe it's the right way ;-))
    I think you're missing the point - survival on the Hulltoon is not a matter of VO2 max ;-)

    Don’t worry, I’d factored that in. You need to maintain speed so you don’t get bottled/spat on/savaged by a mutant Cairn Terrier/heckled* and that’s just from the old biddies :lol:

    *QI of the day - only recently found out that the word ‘heckle’ originated in Dundee.
  • elderone
    elderone Posts: 1,410
    My worst to date has been the horse shoe pass climb.Managed it twice now without walking.Though a hill leading to my house which is nothing special, is always a struggle and the effort is always out of proportion to its size.I guess its because I reach it totally puffed out from my ride and am always just happy to get up it.
    Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori
  • nammynake
    nammynake Posts: 196
    Hardknott is the toughest I've ridden. I have done it twice now, the first time during the Lakeland Loop sportive with 34-25, the second time on the Fred Whitton with 34-27. The second time was comparatively easy due to the gearing an a tailwind. The first time was brutal - I had some lower back pain which stopped me from climbing out of the saddle so I was forced to bring the entire climb seated.

    I'm doing the Marmotte this year so probably in for a new world of pain!

    I had a particularly hilly ride around Halifax last weekend including Cragg Vale (pretty easy unless you thrash it) and a particularly nasty climb known as Mytholm Steeps.

    http://www.croftmill.com/cycling.html
  • marylogic
    marylogic Posts: 355
    Mont Ventoux on a crap holiday hire bike with a slight hangover and no training.

    It wasn't pretty.

    I don't know how many times my Dad and I stopped for a rest but in my defence we cycled the whole way up and at no point did we even think about turning back.

    I didn't really know anything about road cycling at the time so I had no idea what I was letting myself in for (well except for the bl**dy great mountain in front of me)

    Can't wait to do it again!
  • feemackenzie
    feemackenzie Posts: 130
    At the moment, Cambuslang Main Street to the top of the Cathkin Braes, home of the MTB circuit for the Commonwealth Games.

    http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/183586460
    Felt z95 - loving my first road bike
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    thegreatdivide wrote:
    *QI of the day - only recently found out that the word ‘heckle’ originated in Dundee.
    That's teckle so ut is!
  • apjs87
    apjs87 Posts: 35
    Pork Hill - Dartmoor - Couldnt speak, was too busy drooling
  • declan1
    declan1 Posts: 2,470
    A hill right outside my house - takes me 5:30 to climb, and when I went for my all out record on it I got to the top, got off the bike and actually lay down for 10 mins on the tarmac!

    Road - Dolan Preffisio
    MTB - On-One Inbred

    I have no idea what's going on here.
  • daviegb
    daviegb Posts: 126
    Cheddar Gorge today - 34 degrees farenheit into a gale force wind!! It was my first day of riding in the hills since surgery to fix my collar bone in January. It's usually a straightforward climb, but today was a different story!!

    Col/Cime de la Bonette from Jausiers - it's about 24km in length & climbs nearly 1,600 metres to top out at 2,802 metres. It doesn't sound that tough, but you generally have to climb into a head wind & then the final 1km up to the Cime is a tricky 12%!
  • ThatBikeGuy
    ThatBikeGuy Posts: 394
    Rosedale Chimney, North York Moors.
    Not a particularly long climb but ramps up a wee bit in places (33%). Struggled due to the heavy rain making the back tyre lose traction. Was also 60 miles into a ride over the moors so wasn't exactly "fresh" in the legs, made it to the top in one go, just! :lol:
    Cannondale SS Evo Team
    Kona Jake CX
    Cervelo P5
  • Buckie2k5
    Buckie2k5 Posts: 600
    feemackenzie wrote:
    At the moment, Cambuslang Main Street to the top of the Cathkin Braes, home of the MTB circuit for the Commonwealth Games.

    http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/183586460

    and doggers :D cant see your route you have it set private.
  • duncanjohnston66
    duncanjohnston66 Posts: 31
    honister pass beautifull scenery but god its a ball breaker
  • Rigga
    Rigga Posts: 939
    Kirkstone pass in Lake district, was many years ago but my god was a killer!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Toughest on paper turned out to not be the toughest for me.

    Toughest on paper was the Tourmalet.

    The only climb I haven't ridden all the way up was the Col d'arthe - first mountain I ever rode up. Got in the bus less than a km till the top, but I was mentally broken.

    ybi49uob480goks0004gw8c-col_bagargui_esterencuby_profile.gif

    Took me 2 solid days of climbing mountains to get over that mental blow.
    _
  • sgtzara
    sgtzara Posts: 4
    Torr Head, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland while doing the Giants Causeway Sportive.

    Arrived at the last 'fuel' stop before the climb which I'd never driven/cycled/been up before. Got myself ready and off I went. Got to the top of the hill after a bit of a struggle and thought, 'Flip, that wasn't too bad'. Nice wee flat bit for a wee while then boom, another hill out of nowhere followed by climb after climb. With 60 odd miles of tough riding already having zapped my legs I ended up getting off the bike and walking most of the hills. Thankfully I wasn't alone in doing that.

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