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

ugo.santalucia

Guanajuato wrote:

What would you class as a climb? Would 12km and 500m class (Shap from Kendal). Its a decent climb with sections over 10%, but far easier than some much shorter hills in the area, where there's 2km at a consistent 15% plus. There's just nothing really long enough to get into a rhythm, so its different rather than better or worse.

Anything is a climb... what is a TOUGH climb? For me it's one that it's tough no matter what bicycle or gears you've got. For that you need a bit of drop to wear you out... for some can be 400 mt, for others needs be over 1000 mt. Elevation helps too... over 2,000 mt it's hard breathing if the road is steep

If there is no significant drop, then it's just a matter of making life difficult for yourself... you can go to the extreme and tackle a small climb with a single speed bicycle and make it into a tough climb...
The climbs I like the most are those with an element of uncertainty... I have had to abandon some because the weather closed in or I didn't feel my legs on the day... that's hard to replicate up something that lasts 20 minutes

markhewitt1978

Coll de Femenia in Mallorca http://goo.gl/maps/utHLP was in April with not much chance to train over one of the coldest Springs we'd ever had. Made it up but only with stopping at just about every km post to get my breath . But continued all the way to Soller. In terms of distance that ride was very average at 37 miles, but it's still my best ever ride in terms of the sense of achievement.

mididoctors

I'm not buying the notion that the lakes is constricted route wise. for the degree off hilliness it has a very high density of uc roads...... especially the south west. infact its a strength of uk road routes in general. The west country is a maze, almost dangerously..... One over used area weak on road choice density is the surrey hills.

I agree the classic high french alps is spectacular and better cycling but it is limited in scope by the commitment you face as a route planner climbing over one of the big climbs. the best alpine cycling IME is the drome vercours regions slightly to the east, more roads less traffic more choices.....cheaper too.


but ateotd its just personal choice and favouritism.

mididoctors

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Anything is a climb... what is a TOUGH climb? For me it's one that it's tough no matter what bicycle or gears you've got. For that you need a bit of drop to wear you out...

you have a point I guess, though riding the tourmalet or ventoux is still less daunting than hardknott and wrynose with 145km in your legs or even fresh legs for that matter.... I get more a sense of achievement stitching a few lakeland climbs together over a 80-100k ride than than a classic alpine biggy. More so if I have already ticked it off.... I do love the light and air up those alpine climbs. the scenery is magnificent.

Your right about italy though there is some right nasty stuff.

specialized_nick

Widecombe or Pork Hill on Dartmoor, proper lung busters!

earth

sbbefc wrote:

Escher303 wrote:

elderone wrote:

Have you got a strava link to this as would fancy a go at it when visiting the daughter and grand kids who live near durham

If you are looking for some decent climbs around the Durham area, there's a few on this ride http://www.strava.com/activities/82404647. There's 5 or 6 from the 100 greatest climbs books on that one, along with those around Stanhope already mentioned. Take your pick, though to be fair climbs aren't too difficult to find round there! Brilliant and quiet roads through some amazing country.

The climb from st Johns Chapel is also a good climb, one of the best areas in the country to ride.

I think that was the one I did. St. Johns Church is certainly on the map and there's only one road past it.

littledove44

Well, I went out with a local club this weekend and the route planned included a loop route down a steep hill, along by the beach and then up a 25% gradient. Only about 500 hundred metres climb I guess, but I fully planned to skip the little loop and wait for them at the top as I have never done anything over 15%.

Shamed into doing it by a teenager who was with us I gave it a go, and only almost killed myself. Nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be (I assumed I would really die).

Some say I am a wimp running 50/34 and 34/11 but Sunday proved it a wise choice.

The funny thing is that three months ago when I got my road bike I planned routes to avoid hills and enjoy downhill. Now I do the opposite.

Is there a cure?

rolf_f

mididoctors wrote:

I'm not buying the notion that the lakes is constricted route wise. for the degree off hilliness it has a very high density of uc roads...... especially the south west. infact its a strength of uk road routes in general. The west country is a maze, almost dangerously..... One over used area weak on road choice density is the surrey hills.

Oh no - that is a fair point. Particularly since nobody ever goes to Western Cumbria so many of the roads have probably never been cycled on I like it out there - it's a forgotten world.

But seriously, I was specifically taking about the Lakes and there really isn't that much choice ("for the degree of hilliness" is kind of the point). Take the Fred Whitton - If you want to do a route from Coniston back to Coniston via Honister, pretty much the choices you have are
1) via Kirkstone or Thirlmere
2) your choice of Honister, Newlands or Whinlatter (yes, obviously you can do all three if you are mad enough)
3) That's about it.
You can head West but even via Thirlmere and doing only one of the Northern passes, you probably won't want to go sightseeing in Whitehaven on your way to Hardknott and Wrynose.

That's not to say that there aren't quite a few rides but the options for varying them are vastly smaller than they are compared to, say, Pendle. It's the downside to Mountains - there are fewer roads for obvious reasons. If you want more variety, you need to get a bike with knobblies.

dsoutar

Using a very loose description of road, my toughest was on when I was cycling the Dempster highway. The last 5km to the top of the Richardson mountains when it had been raining for a week and the road was basically just 6 inches of mud and almost uncyclable meaning I had to push the bike. I looked like something that had crawled out of the bog. A very grim experience indeed.

markhewitt1978

earth wrote:

sbbefc wrote:

Escher303 wrote:

elderone wrote:

Have you got a strava link to this as would fancy a go at it when visiting the daughter and grand kids who live near durham

If you are looking for some decent climbs around the Durham area, there's a few on this ride http://www.strava.com/activities/82404647. There's 5 or 6 from the 100 greatest climbs books on that one, along with those around Stanhope already mentioned. Take your pick, though to be fair climbs aren't too difficult to find round there! Brilliant and quiet roads through some amazing country.

The climb from st Johns Chapel is also a good climb, one of the best areas in the country to ride.

I think that was the one I did. St. Johns Church is certainly on the map and there's only one road past it.

If you go around Stanhope area there's nowt but climbs; all of them spectacular, can't go wrong

OverTheHillAt21

According to Strava my biggest so far is a modest 859ft over the Campsies but the best was climbing Glen Fruin which was shorter but harder and has great views and history (famous clan battle).

http://www.strava.com/activities/86995001#1797678235

http://www.helensburgh-heritage.co.uk/i ... Itemid=462

ugo.santalucia

OverTheHillAt21 wrote:

... climbing Glen Fruin which was shorter but harder and has great views and history (famous clan battle).

I trump you big time on this, having climbed Edge hill several times... far bigger battle!

rickeverett

bloody hell....


http://www.cyclosport.org/uploads/archi ... 09/fw2.jpg

Said I wanted to do Hardknott Pass !

secretsam

I'm not saying, as I'm a pansy and have only really ridden in Bucks. So my entries of Kop Hill and Whiteleaf in the Chilterns probably pale into insignificance.

Did someone on here suggest that Lakes were flat!?!??!!?!? Are you nuts?!?!?!?! I'm working in Kendal and it's pretty lumpy from what I've seen!!!

marcusjb

What the Chilterns lacks in length, it makes up for in steepness. There are ridiculous little climbs dotted throughout the Chilterns.

Jon_1976

Nothing as glamorous as most of the climbs mentioned in this thread as i've only cycled in the UK. Plenty of nice cat 3 & 4 climbs near me, which I can do relatively easily now. I happened upon this by accident in the summer, and it broke me :? i need to back and try it again at some point

http://www.strava.com/activities/62576895#1180132182

rpherts

rickeverett wrote:

bloody hell....


http://www.cyclosport.org/uploads/archi ... 09/fw2.jpg

Said I wanted to do Hardknott Pass !

There's a sign at the bottom saying "unsuitable for any vehicle in winter". I wonder why?

Driving over Hardknott in my old car was bad enough. I was convinced it was going to keel over on the hairpins.

ugo.santalucia

marcusjb wrote:

What the Chilterns lacks in length, it makes up for in steepness. There are ridiculous little climbs dotted throughout the Chilterns.

None of them individually is really hard... Kop hill, Whiteleaf, Kingston Blount and a few other dodgier lanes.. nothing really serious... 39 x 25 will get you up no probs. 6-7 minutes efforts. I think Whiteleaf gets a 6/10 in the 100 climbs book, which is quite generous.
Of course when you pack 21 of them in a sportive, it becomes a tough day on the saddle

OverTheHillAt21

ugo.santalucia wrote:

OverTheHillAt21 wrote:

... climbing Glen Fruin which was shorter but harder and has great views and history (famous clan battle).

I trump you big time on this, having climbed Edge hill several times... far bigger battle!

Yes OK but my battle story included "300 cows, 100 horses, 400 sheep and 400 goats"

janetthompson

Mount Teide in Tenerife.
My boyfriend Phil and I went there on holiday in May and planned the holiday around attempting Teide as our first mountain.
Started from sea level in El Medano - that was a mistake! We fared ok at the start, which is the steeper part of the climb, stopping to rest in San Idrisio and Grandilla. Then we set off on the TF-21 to Villaflor, thinking that it should be a gentler gradient from there. Which it was, but it's just so relentless - If anywhere was actually flat on that road, I didn't find it. I actually cheered when we got to Villaflor. We stopped for some lunch and patted ourselves on the back, as we figured that there really wasn't that far left to go, maybe 15-17km. So, after a decent rest (probably too long), we painfully set off again, got out of town and passed a sign saying 'El Teide - 25km'. That was the point the fight started draining out of me. I was having a hard enough time turning the pedals as it was, but at the speed we'd been travelling, it meant at least another 2 hours of climbing. And I only had two gears left. Determined, we pushed on, but by 6km out of Villaflor, I was in first gear and finding it hard to keep turning the pedals over. The cloud had come down, it was getting cold, I could barely see. I stopped, totally broken. Phil told me that he was glad I had, because he was in just as much pain as I was, but is too stubborn to just give up - he stopped for my sake, so he said(!)
The descent was pretty terrifying too. It was cloudy, raining and freezing cold. By the time we got below the cloud line, it was getting difficult to control the brakes properly, so we stopped at the first bar we found for coffee!
But, we are determined, and just because we failed this time, will not stop us from trying again next time!

markhewitt1978

I've got to give Hardknott a go at some point as the Lakes are less than 2 hours away from Durham. I've driven over Hardknott pass a few times - pretty easy in a car tbh, and watched cyclists struggling up. Does it get that steep that it just becomes impossible to ride at all?

dodgy

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Does it get that steep that it just becomes impossible to ride at all?

Some people have to walk it, either due to lack of experience/fitness or gears. But lots of people scoot straight up it.

Personally, I think it's a real test.

markhewitt1978

Cool; I'll put it on my list for this year. My lowest is 34/30 which has managed to get me up most things.

sbbefc

Has anyone here ridden Hardknott Pass and Bwlch y Groes? How do they compare? If you can ride one you can ride the other?

markhewitt1978

I've driven over both of them.

Bwich y Groes, especially going North is a long long steep climb, it just constantly goes up and doesn't quit in terms of gradient. However Hardknott is all switchbacks and seems shorter.

del1962

Toughest climber was Honister Pass from Buttermere, I had problems on 25% section and could not get started again at this point.

rickeverett

markhewitt1978 wrote:

I've got to give Hardknott a go at some point as the Lakes are less than 2 hours away from Durham. I've driven over Hardknott pass a few times - pretty easy in a car tbh, and watched cyclists struggling up. Does it get that steep that it just becomes impossible to ride at all?

dodgy wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Does it get that steep that it just becomes impossible to ride at all?

Some people have to walk it, either due to lack of experience/fitness or gears. But lots of people scoot straight up it.

Personally, I think it's a real test.

Think you would struggle with the average 11-25 cassette. It hits 30% a few times. Think most that do it, do it in the lowest you can get probably with a super granny above 25T. Cant remember if the hardest side is the East or West. Driving it I went over from Eskdale in the East and it was steep - if you meet someone on the way down as your going up its real clutch burner. Its almost a tarmac path.

charlie_potatoes

Janetthompson wrote:

Mount Teide in Tenerife.
My boyfriend Phil and I went there on holiday in May and planned the holiday around attempting Teide as our first mountain.
Started from sea level in El Medano - that was a mistake! We fared ok at the start, which is the steeper part of the climb, stopping to rest in San Idrisio and Grandilla. Then we set off on the TF-21 to Villaflor, thinking that it should be a gentler gradient from there. Which it was, but it's just so relentless - If anywhere was actually flat on that road, I didn't find it. I actually cheered when we got to Villaflor. We stopped for some lunch and patted ourselves on the back, as we figured that there really wasn't that far left to go, maybe 15-17km. So, after a decent rest (probably too long), we painfully set off again, got out of town and passed a sign saying 'El Teide - 25km'. That was the point the fight started draining out of me. I was having a hard enough time turning the pedals as it was, but at the speed we'd been travelling, it meant at least another 2 hours of climbing. And I only had two gears left. Determined, we pushed on, but by 6km out of Villaflor, I was in first gear and finding it hard to keep turning the pedals over. The cloud had come down, it was getting cold, I could barely see. I stopped, totally broken. Phil told me that he was glad I had, because he was in just as much pain as I was, but is too stubborn to just give up - he stopped for my sake, so he said(!)
The descent was pretty terrifying too. It was cloudy, raining and freezing cold. By the time we got below the cloud line, it was getting difficult to control the brakes properly, so we stopped at the first bar we found for coffee!
But, we are determined, and just because we failed this time, will not stop us from trying again next time!

I climbed Teide last month. There is an easier route if you use TF82, TF38 thenTF21. You can then descend TF21, TF51 but save some legs to climb back out of the crater. Also recommend the La Gomera climb which is an hour and 50 euros on the ferry inc bike.

TBH I don't think I could stop for lunch halfway up as I'd really struggle to find my legs again.


Masca on the Western side of Tenerife has to rate up there with the hardest. I struggled in a hire car

nammynake

I did Great Dun Fell in May - loved it, but wouldn't have classed it as particularly tough.

Hardknott after 100 miles on the Fred Whitton - f*ck me, that was tough. Managed to grind up with a 34-27.

thegibdog

nammynake wrote:

I did Great Dun Fell in May - loved it, but wouldn't have classed it as particularly tough.

You must've had a nice tailwind.