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

roger_merriman

cougie wrote:

The hardest climbs I've ever done are always in Wales. Not massively long - but its the gradient that gets you.
The old Bwlch by Vyrnwy, Methodist Hill by Llangollen - all buggers.

By comparison - Alpe d'Huez and the Stelvio are pussycats.

My folks live in the Brecon Beacons so have a few 3.5 milers with 1'300 ft of climbing namely the Blorange and llangynidr mountains, spectacular climbs but unless your woefully over geared its a great climb with out being punishing.

Though there are plenty of shorter sharper hills around there, that may only be short but make it for it spades in gradient.

On that comes to mind is the cuckoo/rhiwr which though only half mile, is close to 500ft climb so 17% average. It's really quite hard work on some of the ramps!

secretsam

ugo.santalucia wrote:

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

Errr...given that this is a 'beginners' forum, this is a little misleading! I'd have died trying to do Kop Hill on a 39x25.

You're not by any chance the fella on a Cervelo who flew past me up near Ashridge, are you?!?!?! Actually, probably not as I'm almost certain that was David Millar or another pro (he was tanned, lean, fcuking fast*, Cervelo)(plus there was a film crew a bit further up the road )

*Note: not just compared to my lardy ar53, he was fast full stop

zardoz

Since I started cycling again just over 15 months ago, Streatley Hill in Berkshire is the only hill that I have had to bale out of and do the "walk of shame". I went back there today and nailed it this time and was left wondering why I couldn't get up it last time. Its all in the head Carruthers!

mabbo

Ezy Rider wrote:

doesnt matter if it was fargo street in the usa, zoncolan in italy or the steepest climb 5 miles from your door. where was the most mentally and physically exhausting climb you completed or fell off the bike in utter exhaustion and gave up on ?

tell us about it

Nothing massive, but a little known ascent down here in East Sussex called Doleham Halt. We have plenty of good pulls down here, and there are several on the route to Doleham,(Which does not help). I got 3/4 of the way up when the front wheel lifted and my legs said "You're having a laff !!!!"

johngti

I tried a sportive in kent last April. I'd been cycling properly for 6 months. First hill was toys hill. Failed miserably, walk of shame. Next hill, row Dow. Failed miserably. Then st michaels lane. Failed. Miserably.

I've been doing loads more miles since but I'm put off going back to them for fear of failing again. In spite of not having to do the walk of shame anywhere else for months, those three have me running scared. Stupid really.

markhewitt1978

There's a hill right outside my house which I'd avoided for an age, as it goes straight up the hill in a straight line. For a good 6 months I would go around the other way where the road curves up the hill instead.

I eventually thought I'd try the hill I'd been avoiding, how hard can it be really? Actually really really easy, mid cassette on the big ring type easy.

rubertoe

The next one that I get too and I normally fare badly.

plowsie

Mam Tor, 39/53 with an 11-32 rear on my steel bike weighing myself in at 105kgs... I think my average speed was about 4mph up it... It wasn't even worth bothering for the speed, just the sense of completion and realisation that I need to burn some weight off, so I bought a carbon bike haha!

Tjgoodhew

Hollingbourne Hill in Kent up the South Downs.

Another short and sharp and ramps up right at the end. At one point i thought i was going to topple over i was riding so slowly but gritted my teeth and got up it.

Had to take a 5 minute rest at the top but i got up it and the sense of achievement for me was great

Guanajuato

plowsie wrote:

Mam Tor, 39/53 with an 11-32 rear on my steel bike weighing myself in at 105kgs... I think my average speed was about 4mph up it... It wasn't even worth bothering for the speed, just the sense of completion and realisation that I need to burn some weight off, so I bought a carbon bike haha!

To be fair to you, its the cliffs in the road surface that make it a bugger.

plowsie

Guanajuato wrote:

plowsie wrote:

Mam Tor, 39/53 with an 11-32 rear on my steel bike weighing myself in at 105kgs... I think my average speed was about 4mph up it... It wasn't even worth bothering for the speed, just the sense of completion and realisation that I need to burn some weight off, so I bought a carbon bike haha!

To be fair to you, its the cliffs in the road surface that make it a bugger.

Kudos to the guys that were on their MTB's up there, it was bad enough going up on the road haha!

TakeTurns

There was this one time I was strolling through a neighbourhood. Up ahead, an obstacle like no other. As the cars went over it, it seemed as though they were about to take off due to the steep gradient of this thing. As I approached this insurmountable challenge I embraced myself and got ready for the massive effort that was imminent. The moment I hit this hill, my bike and body were thrown into disarray due to the sheer nature of it. The sharp gradient had almost thrown me off my saddle. Just as I made it to the crest I thought what a relief, yet only to be violently thrown forwards as my front wheel dipped down the sharp descent. It was mentally tough and soul destroying. If I'd known I'd have taken one of those suspension bicycle things. These things were like an infestation, planted everywhere, only 10meters apart and some even had white paint with an arrow to signify that it was a KOM segment. I'm surprised any breed of cyclist could live around these parts with them around.

It was a speed bump.

Emphursis

It's hard for me to choose between this delightful hill http://app.strava.com/segments/1240437 or this one http://app.strava.com/segments/4204178

Neither look that bad on paper. The first is 2.3 miles with an average grade of 4.8%, with an elevation difference of 675 feet (and total gain of closer to 750) because of a little dip in the middle. But the first half mile averages 10.2% and the last half mil averages 13%, with sections well over 25%. The last part was the only time I've ever had to push up a hill.

The second has about 1100 feet of climbing over 5.9 miles, but only averages 2.9% because, again, there's a dip in the middle. The main bit is 1.3miles at 7.5% average. That one probably wouldn't have been so hard had I not done it on the hottest day of the year - the Garmin said there was an average temperature of 91F and it was closer to 100F on that hill.

ugo.santalucia

plowsie wrote:

Mam Tor, 39/53 with an 11-32 rear on my steel bike weighing myself in at 105kgs... I think my average speed was about 4mph up it... It wasn't even worth bothering for the speed, just the sense of completion and realisation that I need to burn some weight off, so I bought a carbon bike haha!

Mam Tor on the Edale side is a demanding climb, but it goes up in steps and it's never more than 16-17%... on the other end, the Winnats pass, same climb but from Castleton it's a relentless mile at 13% average, but 20% + most of the way up. The third way up, as per photo of the other user, is the old broken road, but it's not really passable with a road bike... I have tried a couple of years back and I had to walk a section... the gradient on the passable part of the road is otherwise not spectacular

marcusjb

The climb up from edale is a superb climb, much more enjoyable than winnats pass. Used to do it often in my youth. Brought a bike up around 3 years ago and went back to some old favourites including the mam nick climb.

The old road was always a hoot on mountain bikes. Must be 20 years since I rode up or down it.

kajjal

marcusjb wrote:

The climb up from edale is a superb climb, much more enjoyable than winnats pass. Used to do it often in my youth. Brought a bike up around 3 years ago and went back to some old favourites including the mam nick climb.

The old road was always a hoot on mountain bikes. Must be 20 years since I rode up or down it.

I used to love MTBing round Edale and Bakewell many years ago , some testing climbs there. The hardest one I found was going from near church stretton up to the top of the long Mynd, It was brutally steep with a road and off road section. You had to hunch over the bike shifting weight backwards / forwards so you didn't lose traction on the rear wheel while keeping enough weight on the front so it didn't pop a wheelie. Then you hit the off road section which was a combination of sandy tracks and grass. After a few goes made it every time but was a test of bike handling and fitness.

phreak

Not the toughest, but my favourite climb has to be the Pordoi. Just under 10km so not massively long and 6.8% so not massively steep, just a really nice climb with some stunning views. Have always tackled it from Corvara so might just be that it's been done with fresh legs but I'd take that climb round with me if I could.

The Gavia is similar, albeit a bit longer and a bit steeper. Stunning scenary.

nammynake

Not the toughest (Hardknott wins that hands down) but Greenhow Hill out of Pately Bridge always kicks me in the teeth. Seems to go on for ages but is only about 2.5 miles at 7% average. The climb heads West so invariably has a headwind on the second exposed half.

I think I'm just outside the top 20 for the segment but waaaayyyy off the top few times (1st is Tejvan Pettinger - British Hill climb champion 2013!)

If you're in the area give it a go!

http://www.strava.com/segments/greenhow ... mb-1097296

nedmoran

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Was talking to someone at the weekend who's a very strong rider, owns a bike shop, rides 20 miles there and back every day, 100+ on weekends, and he said that doing the Fred Whitton was the worst time he'd ever had on a bike!

He wouldn't be called Ritchie would he?
I did Honister in the summer when we had the 2 week heat wave hungover.
Got up it ok with a 12-27 compact. I'd tried it a few months earlier with a 12-25 and had a mins rest halfway up.

Pross

Peddle Up! wrote:

RichK wrote:

Ankerdine in Worcestershire. It comes 30 miles into the LMTT. Only done it once so far & I seriusly wanted to get off half way up. However, there were 3 specttors from a different bike club watching & it was only the shame that I'd have brought on the club that kept me going to the top

I'm not familiar with Ankerdine so I thought I'd look it up as I'm not too far away. It looks nasty, especially as it kicks up towards the top. This video give a nice feel of the challenge. :?

Ankerdine is what I'm riding up in my avatar. In it's own right it's not that tough and I probably do a climb as tough or tougher on at least 50% of my rides but 30 odd miles into a lumpy TT it's hard work. Second time I rode it I cramped up and barely made it over the top.

I'm not sure what the toughest climb I've done is, so many depend of wind direction and other conditions on the day. Probably this http://www.strava.com/segments/2095595 back when I thought I could climb (but only had 42 x 21 as a low gear), haven't been up it in 20 years as it is a dead end unless going mountain biking.

The Hafod along with the Rhiwr that has been mentioned previously are horribly steep and on my to do list. The Hafod includes this short section
http://www.strava.com/segments/3597951

To give some context, the person in second on that segment was racing (successfully) in international level half ironman triathlons at the time he did that ride.

Diogenes

With my shape and gravity enhancing weight just about anything is a challenge but the hardest I have got up so far was probably Whinlatter loaded with panniers or Fleet Moss during a recky for the etape du dales. The hardest I still can't get up is Chimney Bank just out of Rosedale.

D

Tiesetrotter

tkp wrote:

owenlars wrote:

tkp wrote:

Got plans to ride Manali -- Leh as fast as I can next year; I'll let you know how that goes!

I've walked Manali to Leh. Good luck

Haha, well I'm saving up for some lightish wheels and I live in a good spot for altitude training. Did you walk highway 21?
I've spent quite a bit of time up in the Kullu skiing and walking so having recently started cycling the idea to do manali-leh stuck.

Cool, I spent a lot of time wandering and climbing up there when I was younger. They were some of the most amazing memories of my life. On the way down from Leh to Srinigar (not the most sensible idea as we were to find out later) we met two Italians, father and son, riding from Milan to Shanghai on the most mountainous route they could find!

Tiesetrotter

johngti wrote:

I tried a sportive in kent last April. I'd been cycling properly for 6 months. First hill was toys hill. Failed miserably, walk of shame. Next hill, row Dow. Failed miserably. Then st michaels lane. Failed. Miserably.

I've been doing loads more miles since but I'm put off going back to them for fear of failing again. In spite of not having to do the walk of shame anywhere else for months, those three have me running scared. Stupid really.

If you have been putting the miles in then you'll be fine. We generally do Toy's, York's, Row Dow, Brasted, Chalk Pit, Sundridge etc on our club runs. There are a lot of those little snorters on the south side of the North Downs. Although I admit Row Dow and York's are the tougher ones, but they are all very short.

MrGrumpy

http://www.strava.com/activities/228866 ... /950457706

was by far the hardest I`ve done thus far and I did that one on a fixed 48 x 16. Very painful climb indeed. There was actually another small sharp climb a few miles back in which I would of been quicker walking

Anonymous

Road to carpark in the sky: Avg 7%, bits over 12%, about 315ft gain in 800m.

I hate it, the last 200m is the worst about 10%.

moscowflyer

In terms of shortish and sharp, Challacombe in Devon destroyed me even on a 34-25. I'd taken both bikes with me and the night before going home I knew I couldn't leave without beating it so went back and got up on a 34-28. The sense of triumph was euphoric, as only conquering a hill that's previously beaten you can give.

Other than that, Las Palomas in Andalucia tore my legs off, it came around 45 miles in when I did 'La Sufrida' last year and with the Garmin reading 32 degrees and having passed up the option of refilling my bottles at the bottom, it was one of the worst experiences I've ever had on a bike.

kerjataiwan

Ungaran Mountain, middle java. awesome adventure


__________________
God is Good

ai_1

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've done this climb twice, once in March and once in November last year. We started at the beach in El Medano and like you went up through San Isidro, Granadilla & Vilafor. We went as far as the ridge before you descend into the caldera. This is about 35km from El Medano and about 10km beyond Vilafor if I remember right. According to my Garmin we reached an altitude of 2200m at the ridge ( I think the sign said it was a bit lower). Also according to my Garmin there's not a single meter of descent. You climb the entire way with an average gradient around 6.5%. It's fairly consistent, rarely less than 5% and maxing out around 11%. It was pretty relentless but I found it a little easier than I expected. Planning the ride before the first ascent I had it in mind that I might turn back at Vilafor but I was still in good shape so after stopping for 15mins to have a cup of coffee I carried on. I struggled at times between Vilafor and the top where the gradient is often around 10% but I got there in one piece.
There's a small volcano on the end of the beach at El Medano called Montana Roja which makes it easy to find El Medano. On a clear day, after a long morning in the saddle you can still look down and see where you started!

I loved the descent. It's a winding road with a very good surface most of the way down. The view's good too when you have time to look. We passed a group of team sky riders and a support car during the descent in March, they were climbing, we were descending. I think I spotted Ian Stannard's jersey but there wasn't much time to look as I was doing 50-60km/h and approaching a corner at the time.

I'd highly recommend this climb.

TFC1

I have only been riding for a few months and had to get off my bike for the first time ever recently when i was riding inthe Peak District. The climb was pretty short, on Bradshaw Lane to the Barrel near Hathersage.

I was absolutely gutted about not making it up until i checked Strava and saw the bit i failed on was 25% and near the end so not feeling too bad about it now.

VmanF3

Rock of Gibraltar took it out of me...Short Sharp Shock!