Despite having a rather unpleasant time of it the last time I rode up Challacombe Hill I managed to complete it a second time today. I was up in Woolacombe to say hello to Steve Benton and wish him well on the truly astonishing challenge he has set himself of completing all 100 climbs in 13 days. Like me Steve is taking on the climbs for charity and judging by the speed with which he went up Challacombe he is well up for the task. I didn't ride up with Steve as my approach is rather more sedate than his and I would only have gotten in the way (my low speed zig zagging up a steep gradient is almost an art form).
I decided to ride half way up the climb to cheer Steve on and after he went past I figured I was most of the way up so I may as well complete the climb. Getting going on a 25% gradient is never much fun but at least this time around I didn't have a howling gale and torrential rain to deal with. Challacombe as ever was a nasty little climb to tackle but as with all steep hills there was payback for my efforts in the form of a fun high speed descent. I may not get up the climbs quickly but with nice powerful brakes on my Cross Check and a weight advantage (when it comes to going downhill at least) I managed to cruise into Woolacombe with a smile on my face and red hot wheel rims. All in all a good morning out. I don't intend to take on that damn hill again though...
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