The 14th April started bright and dry with only a light wind which meant it was going to be a good day for riding up steep hills. Sadly despite having a map, the little black book of pain and a sat nav it still seemed to take ages to find the start of the climb up The Shelf. Even now as I type this I’m not sure I found the right road; it was only after driving up and down a series of identical looking lanes that I noticed a few cyclists using the same bit of road that I thought would be the right one. Only then was I fairly sure I was in the right place. To be honest The Shelf is a bit of a back lane bimble followed by a fairly gradual climb round the edge of a valley and it was the sheer number of little lanes that had me confused.
Reassured by the sight of other cyclists, and in a darkening mood as I had seemingly wasted a decent part of the morning, I made my way to what I thought was the start and started my ride back to the top. It was difficult finding somewhere to park and I ended up leaving the car on a rough bit of land just before the gradient starts to kick up a bit.
The first part of the ride is a bit of a meander through the back lanes just South of Ruthin and reminded me a lot of my training routes in North Devon. I did notice however that there was a fair bit of traffic using the lanes and had to stop a couple of times to let people past. On one of the early uphill stretches I decided to let a very patient farmer with a trailer full of livestock past and, in a seemingly innocent manoeuvre managed to injure myself. As I repositioned myself to get going again I had my right foot clipped into the pedal and was balancing myself with my left foot. Somehow I managed to over extend my left leg as I pushed off and felt a twinge of pain through my left calf muscle. I didn’t think much of it at the time but that calf muscle was to see me heading home the following day a bit earlier than intended.
Any way, after a bit of a wander along the back lanes I finally reached the part of the climb which I guess is where the climb gets it’s ‘Shelf’ name from; a section of road that curves gently around the edge of a hill with some lovely views to the right down the valley. Well, I say the views were lovely but I was more fascinated by the sheer number of grit bits I was seeing by the road side. Seriously, somebody in the local council had obviously blown the budget on them during the winter months. There are no prizes on offer but see if you can spot all of the bright yellow little blighters in the video. I lost count after a while.
The final slope was steep but not tremendously difficult and I can’t help but think that there must be some more interesting climbs in the area. The Shelf isn’t a ride that blew me away and after all of the hassle I had finding the damn thing I was glad to see the back of it.
After winching myself to the top of ‘Grit Bin Alley’ it was time to freewheel back to the car and move onto the climb at Penbarra. I wanted to get a move on as the weather was meant to be taking a turn for the worst later in the day and I also wanted to ride the Moel Arthur climb before finishing for the day. Stay tuned for details on how I got on.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Saturday, 18 May 2013
The Burway
With a week booked off work I thought it was high time to make inroads into sorting out the North Wales climbs. On the way up to Wrexham, which was to be my base for a couple of days, it made sense to tackle the Burway. Because of the location of the climb it seemed more sensible to tackle it on the way to North Wales although doing so would mean trying to ride up a very difficult climb after about 4 hours of being sat in the car. This approach has never worked out too successfully for me in the past but I couldn't think of when I would next be passing Church Stretton so just had to go for it.
The climb up The Burway starts in the heart of Church Stretton and doesn’t muck about with the road ramping up straight away. The drive up to the top revealed some amazing views from the very exposed section of road and although there was a bit of a stiff breeze the sun was out and it was relatively pleasant weather. That was due to change however and the wind was blowing in a series of nasty showers.
The only warm up I got was on the descent (which was great fun and very fast) and so I started the climb on pretty cold legs. Reaching the first really steep part of the climb as I crossed the cattle grid near the bottom I struggled to get on top of the gear I was pushing. Just as I found some semblance of rhythm and started to get my breathing under control the weather took a very rapid and dramatic turn for the worst. First rain started falling, then the wind picked up and then, just to add insult to injury, it started to hail. The exposed nature of the road meant that there was no hiding place from the awful weather conditions and I had to plough on into a bitingly cold head wind. I did pause briefly on the climb and considered finding somewhere to shelter from the rain and hail but there was nowhere to hide so within a very short space of time I was soaked through and freezing cold. I’m sure I’ve felt more miserable on a bike but right now I’m struggling to remember just when that was.
As ever the Blogger software is playing up so you will need to click on the link below or use the video bar to the right to see the ride footage:
As I reached the easier upper section of the climb the rain and hail started to fade out but the wind still stayed strong so despite being in bright sunshine as I reached the top I wasn’t able to warm up until I was back in the car with the heater on full blast.
All in all riding The Burway proved to be what some may term a ‘character building’ experience. Thankfully I would be a bit luckier with the weather over the following couple of days but my time in North Wales didn’t entirely to plan. More on that later.
The views from the top were superb. Just a shame they would soon disappear in low cloud and rain
The climb up The Burway starts in the heart of Church Stretton and doesn’t muck about with the road ramping up straight away. The drive up to the top revealed some amazing views from the very exposed section of road and although there was a bit of a stiff breeze the sun was out and it was relatively pleasant weather. That was due to change however and the wind was blowing in a series of nasty showers.
The only warm up I got was on the descent (which was great fun and very fast) and so I started the climb on pretty cold legs. Reaching the first really steep part of the climb as I crossed the cattle grid near the bottom I struggled to get on top of the gear I was pushing. Just as I found some semblance of rhythm and started to get my breathing under control the weather took a very rapid and dramatic turn for the worst. First rain started falling, then the wind picked up and then, just to add insult to injury, it started to hail. The exposed nature of the road meant that there was no hiding place from the awful weather conditions and I had to plough on into a bitingly cold head wind. I did pause briefly on the climb and considered finding somewhere to shelter from the rain and hail but there was nowhere to hide so within a very short space of time I was soaked through and freezing cold. I’m sure I’ve felt more miserable on a bike but right now I’m struggling to remember just when that was.
As ever the Blogger software is playing up so you will need to click on the link below or use the video bar to the right to see the ride footage:
What should have been a difficult but relatively short bike ride became a truly nasty experience. I had parked my car at the top of the climb and reaching that became my sole focus. All hopes of making a decent fist at climbing the Burway were forgotten as I just tried to survive and keep the pedals turning. I was barely able to get above walking pace for a lot of the climb as the cold and the wind sapped all of my energy.As I reached the easier upper section of the climb the rain and hail started to fade out but the wind still stayed strong so despite being in bright sunshine as I reached the top I wasn’t able to warm up until I was back in the car with the heater on full blast.
Just moments before taking this picture that distant bank of cloud had been making my life a misery
All in all riding The Burway proved to be what some may term a ‘character building’ experience. Thankfully I would be a bit luckier with the weather over the following couple of days but my time in North Wales didn’t entirely to plan. More on that later.
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Mow Cop
On the final day of my trip to Derbyshire I decided to drive home via Mow Cop. It was only about an hour away from Stanton in the Peak where we were staying and close to the motorway so it made sense to tackle it on the way home. The scenery as we travelled across Staffordshire was lovely so it was quite a pleasant drive.
On arriving at Mow Cop I have to say the steepness of the climb was pretty breath taking to behold. It isn’t as if I haven’t seen a 25% gradient before but when framed by houses and pavements the slope seemed to be all the more impressive. I can only assume the people living in the area have their handbrakes checked regularly.
I parked at Mow Cop folly which has a decent sized car park and the dog was taken for a short walk whilst I set the bike up. After battling against a strong head wind on Holme Moss the previous day I was feeling a bit stiff and sore. It had proved to be a really draining experience and whilst I felt full of energy it became all too clear as I freewheeled to the bottom of the climb that my legs weren’t at their best and I realised at that point I was going to have a hard time getting back up to the top. Whilst driving up and down the hill to check it out a couple of local club cyclists were riding up Mow Cop. One was clearly well in control of the situation and got to the top surprisingly quickly. His riding buddy however took about five more minutes to catch up with him and as he rolled to a stop to catch his breath at the top it was clear from the look on his face that he hadn’t enjoyed the experience. I suspected I would be slower still.
Mow Cop is a climb that has a well deserved reputation. After crossing over the railway line at the bottom of the hill the gradient slowly ramps up and doesn‘t give you a chance to ease off. The lower part of the hill isn’t particularly steep but my legs just weren’t turning too easily and I quickly found myself battling my own fatigue more than the gradient. The further up I climbed the harder I found it to keep on top of even a low gear as the gradient increased. The sight of the 25% ramp up past the Cheshire View Inn didn’t do much to help with my motivation. It is really quite an impressive site as the road suddenly steps up in severity. I can imagine a few drunks have literally rolled down the hill after a night out at the pub. After a few days of doing OK on the climbs it was inevitable that I was going to have a bad day at some point and today was the day for suffering.
The video for this climb can be found at the top of the Video Bar on the right of the screen. For some reason Blogger has suffered a bit of a temporary meltdown when it comes to uploading videos. As soon as the glitch with the software gets resolved I'll imbed the video but for now you'll need to access it either from the video bar or through Youtube where my channel is called Cyclinguphillslowly (it seemed a fitting and accurate name!). You could of course just click on the link below:
Mow Cop Video
As I winched my way up to the Cheshire View Inn I thought I would back off for a moment before trying to accelerate onto the hardest part of the hill in an attempt to up my speed. Pushing such a low gear (rest assured, I was in bottom) however meant that a sharp kick through the pedals succeeded only in throwing my chain off. Cue the slowest bicycle crash in history as my bike came to a shuddering halt and then tried to roll backwards down the hill. After disentangling myself from the rear derailleur (I have no idea how but my right leg got jammed in it as I tried to stop myself falling over)I dragged my bike to the side of the road and spent a minute or two sticking the chain back on a making sure it wasn’t going to come off again. If one good thing came of it I did at least have a bit of a breather before remounting and finishing off the climb but I think it is fair to say my heart wasn’t in it by that point. I just didn’t have the pace to make a good fist of the steepest section and pedalled myself to a standstill. This then presented me with the new problem of trying to get going on a 25% gradient. After a lot of swearing and weaving all over the road I did manage it and was able to slowly winch myself up to the top of the hill and then back to the car park.
On reflection my trip to the Peak District had been a fairly productive one and it was good to get some more the climbs ticked off. It was just a shame Mow Cop didn’t work out as smoothly as I had hoped.
Coming Soon
Of course, getting a further eight climbs out of the way doesn’t mean that I can rest on my laurels. Despite suffering on Mow Cop and having a long drive back home afterwards I was back on my bike the next day and have kept on top of my riding since. I have a busy couple of months ahead of me and my next stop will be North Wales. Then I’ll be off to Yorkshire before returning to Wales to finish off the remaining rides in the South.
To make my fixed gear bike easier to live with on longer training rides I’ve fitted a freewheel to the flip flop hub and it has been a revelation. In fact it is the bike I’ve been riding the most on my recent training rides and I’ve found that I’m now holding onto the higher gears a bit longer on certain gradients. Hopefully that bodes well for the future rides.
I’ve also decided to change the saddle on the Uncle John. I’ve fitted a San Maro Concor Super Corsa. It looks quite retro but feels better to sit on when the road goes up as it’s shape gives me more of a perch to push against. The old saddle was flat and quite unsupportive and also creaked like hell which was always off putting so it was time for a change. I’ve only been out on the Concor a few times and I may find I don’t get on with it long term but my initial impressions of it are good. Hopefully I won’t find out halfway up the Horseshoe Pass that I’ve actually bought a leather covered razor blade.
On arriving at Mow Cop I have to say the steepness of the climb was pretty breath taking to behold. It isn’t as if I haven’t seen a 25% gradient before but when framed by houses and pavements the slope seemed to be all the more impressive. I can only assume the people living in the area have their handbrakes checked regularly.
The impressive looking Mow Cop Folly. I tried to focus on reaching this and not thinking about the gradient. Reach this and you are at the very top.
I parked at Mow Cop folly which has a decent sized car park and the dog was taken for a short walk whilst I set the bike up. After battling against a strong head wind on Holme Moss the previous day I was feeling a bit stiff and sore. It had proved to be a really draining experience and whilst I felt full of energy it became all too clear as I freewheeled to the bottom of the climb that my legs weren’t at their best and I realised at that point I was going to have a hard time getting back up to the top. Whilst driving up and down the hill to check it out a couple of local club cyclists were riding up Mow Cop. One was clearly well in control of the situation and got to the top surprisingly quickly. His riding buddy however took about five more minutes to catch up with him and as he rolled to a stop to catch his breath at the top it was clear from the look on his face that he hadn’t enjoyed the experience. I suspected I would be slower still.
Mow Cop is a climb that has a well deserved reputation. After crossing over the railway line at the bottom of the hill the gradient slowly ramps up and doesn‘t give you a chance to ease off. The lower part of the hill isn’t particularly steep but my legs just weren’t turning too easily and I quickly found myself battling my own fatigue more than the gradient. The further up I climbed the harder I found it to keep on top of even a low gear as the gradient increased. The sight of the 25% ramp up past the Cheshire View Inn didn’t do much to help with my motivation. It is really quite an impressive site as the road suddenly steps up in severity. I can imagine a few drunks have literally rolled down the hill after a night out at the pub. After a few days of doing OK on the climbs it was inevitable that I was going to have a bad day at some point and today was the day for suffering.
The video for this climb can be found at the top of the Video Bar on the right of the screen. For some reason Blogger has suffered a bit of a temporary meltdown when it comes to uploading videos. As soon as the glitch with the software gets resolved I'll imbed the video but for now you'll need to access it either from the video bar or through Youtube where my channel is called Cyclinguphillslowly (it seemed a fitting and accurate name!). You could of course just click on the link below:
Mow Cop Video
As I winched my way up to the Cheshire View Inn I thought I would back off for a moment before trying to accelerate onto the hardest part of the hill in an attempt to up my speed. Pushing such a low gear (rest assured, I was in bottom) however meant that a sharp kick through the pedals succeeded only in throwing my chain off. Cue the slowest bicycle crash in history as my bike came to a shuddering halt and then tried to roll backwards down the hill. After disentangling myself from the rear derailleur (I have no idea how but my right leg got jammed in it as I tried to stop myself falling over)I dragged my bike to the side of the road and spent a minute or two sticking the chain back on a making sure it wasn’t going to come off again. If one good thing came of it I did at least have a bit of a breather before remounting and finishing off the climb but I think it is fair to say my heart wasn’t in it by that point. I just didn’t have the pace to make a good fist of the steepest section and pedalled myself to a standstill. This then presented me with the new problem of trying to get going on a 25% gradient. After a lot of swearing and weaving all over the road I did manage it and was able to slowly winch myself up to the top of the hill and then back to the car park.
This is what the 100 Climbs will do to your car
On reflection my trip to the Peak District had been a fairly productive one and it was good to get some more the climbs ticked off. It was just a shame Mow Cop didn’t work out as smoothly as I had hoped.
Coming Soon
Of course, getting a further eight climbs out of the way doesn’t mean that I can rest on my laurels. Despite suffering on Mow Cop and having a long drive back home afterwards I was back on my bike the next day and have kept on top of my riding since. I have a busy couple of months ahead of me and my next stop will be North Wales. Then I’ll be off to Yorkshire before returning to Wales to finish off the remaining rides in the South.
To make my fixed gear bike easier to live with on longer training rides I’ve fitted a freewheel to the flip flop hub and it has been a revelation. In fact it is the bike I’ve been riding the most on my recent training rides and I’ve found that I’m now holding onto the higher gears a bit longer on certain gradients. Hopefully that bodes well for the future rides.
Time for an upgrade in the saddle department
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Day Trip to Yorkshire
OK, maybe the term day trip isn’t quite right. A day trip suggests taking in the sights and relaxing. My idea of a day trip at the moment is driving long distances and then virtually flaying myself alive trying to ride up steep bits of road. As my base for the week in the Peak District was close to Yorkshire and I was running out of nearby hills to tackle I decided that a hop across the border from Derbyshire into Yorkshire would be a good idea. The plan was to take on three climbs in one day and then return back to the holiday let for the, by now standard, beer, wine and ready meals (I don’t do sports nutrition).
The drive to the first climb of the day; Pea Royd Lane in Stocksbridge, took me up Rowsley Bar. I was last on the climb during my last trip to the Midlands and I’m pleased to say that the awful hairpins at the top have been resurfaced. I remember all too well locking up my back wheel on the way down to the start of Rowsley Bar and being grateful that my Surly Cross Check handles so sweetly as it could well have ended in tears.
Sadly Rowsley Bar was the only decent bit of tarmac I encountered on the journey up North. I knew the North of England had experienced a far worse winter than the South West but the state of the roads was astonishing. Even in a jacked up 4X4 I’d have struggled to make fast and comfortable progress. My little Fiat Qubo was bounced all over the road and I’m convinced my fuel economy was so good only because I spent most of the drive to Stocksbridge airborne. Yorkshire also looked liked it was still locked deep in the grip of winter as there were no leaves on the trees and not natural colours apart from brown. The odd snow drift lingered in the deepest lanes as well.
Pea Royd Lane
You get to the climb at Pea Royd Lane from the centre of Stocksbridge. The climb actually starts on Huntshelf Road near the big works before turning right onto what feels like a vertical (actually about 20% ) gradient that leads to a bridge over the A616. To give you an indication of just how steep things are going to get I was treated to the sight of a Mercedes Sprinter spinning its wheels as the driver approached Pea Royd Lane in the wrong gear and had to change down in order to prevent himself rolling backwards. It didn’t bode well but as this was my first climb of the day I didn’t actually feel too bad on the first really steep bit of the climb. After crossing the A616 the gradient eased slightly and I was able to get my breath back before the next big push up to and around a nasty left hand hairpin bend. I’d love to say I stormed up this climb but in truth I did my normal trick of finding a nice low gear and trying to just hang on until the end. Pea Royd Lane didn’t however prove to be the really tough climb I expected it to be. Sure, it was steep, but the really steep section wasn’t that long. The one thing that did affect me however was the wind. The further up I climbed the more exposed I became and that was something that would sadly become a theme for the day.
Jackson Bridge
I arrived at the Jackson Bridge climb feeling fairly confident. Whilst I hadn’t exactly romped up Pea Royd Lane I hadn’t suffered as much as I expected to so felt like I still had plenty left in the tank. I also arrived at the climb slightly flustered as it is a difficult one to find. Well, that’s my excuse.
The first part of the climb ramped up very quickly to 20% which thankfully didn’t last long and I was soon able to soft pedal along a flatter section before the second kick up in gradient. The wind that had been a feature on Pea Royd Lane’s upper slopes seemed more pronounced but because of the shelter afforded by the terrain it wasn’t too much of an issue until I got to the final part of the climb.
I struggled a bit on the second steep part of the climb. I think I dug a bit too deep on the initial steep section and was found wanting when another big gradient loomed into view. It is my own fault as I knew it was there after driving up the hill to find somewhere to park. Thankfully after getting past the second steep section there was a brief dip before the final slope up the farm that marks the top of the climb. By the time I reached the top the wind had obviously picked up a fair bit which blunted my speed a bit. That said I must have been feeling OK as I took the dog for a short walk over the top of the hill once I had descended to the lay by halfway up the climb where I had parked the car. The next climb on the agenda was Holme Moss and with the wind picking up in strength I was a bit worried as to what I would find.
Holme Moss
I was actually looking forward to Holme Moss. On paper it is my sort of climb in terms of length and gradient. With Simon Warren giving it only a 5/10 rating I’m confident I could power my way up it fairly easily on a good day. Only thing is, I didn’t have a good day. I’m not sure just what the wind speed was at the top of Holme Moss but I found it difficult to get my gear out of the back of the car without some of the lighter items blowing away. Some of the gusts must have been at least 40mph which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. If I hadn’t already postponed the Cat and Fiddle because of strong gusting winds I would have been tempted to pass on Holme Moss and ride it another time. However, missing out climb after climb would have made a mockery of travelling all the way to the Peak District so I decided the only decent thing to do was to man up and go for it.
The descent down to the start was, with hindsight, a pretty reckless thing to do. I had a real fight on my hands to control the bike in the strong gusts and I carried a bit too much speed into a couple of the corners. Thankfully the road was relatively quiet and the new tyres proved to be pretty grippy. Once at the bottom I attached my helmet camera (it tends to catch the wind so I took it off for the ride down) and went for it.
Well, I say went for it. I was able to move at a half decent pace for about a ¼ of a mile before I started feeling the effects of the wind. The higher up I climbed the more exposed to the wind I became and the harder it was to make any progress. At times it felt like a giant invisible hand was trying to push me back downhill. For a lot of the climb I was flat out in bottom gear and making very little progress. It was totally dispiriting and exhausting. Riding out of the saddle was a non starter because it was too unstable in the strong gusts of wind so I just had to stay in the saddle and grind my way slowly up the hill. I have no idea how long it took me to reach the top. The ride became a war of attrition and it was one I couldn’t lose as my damn car was parked at the top. As I neared the summit I had to lean into the wind and some of the gusts threatened to wash out the front wheel of my bike. It was miserable.
After reaching the summit I returned to my car and decided the only way to get my gear into the back without it all blowing away was to turn the car around so that it faced into the wind. It turned out to be a smart move as a guy driving a delivery van pulled in, I guess to have his lunch, and wrecked his door as a gust caught it. The crunch of a van door hinge being pushed past its limit was clearly audible across the car park. Loading the car up took longer that it usually does as I felt so drained from riding into the wind. The incessant noise of the wind drove us to a lower car park in an attempt to get away from it before eating lunch and returning to the holiday cottage. It would be the following day when riding Mow Cop that I learnt just how much fighting against the wind had taken out of me…
The drive to the first climb of the day; Pea Royd Lane in Stocksbridge, took me up Rowsley Bar. I was last on the climb during my last trip to the Midlands and I’m pleased to say that the awful hairpins at the top have been resurfaced. I remember all too well locking up my back wheel on the way down to the start of Rowsley Bar and being grateful that my Surly Cross Check handles so sweetly as it could well have ended in tears.
Sadly Rowsley Bar was the only decent bit of tarmac I encountered on the journey up North. I knew the North of England had experienced a far worse winter than the South West but the state of the roads was astonishing. Even in a jacked up 4X4 I’d have struggled to make fast and comfortable progress. My little Fiat Qubo was bounced all over the road and I’m convinced my fuel economy was so good only because I spent most of the drive to Stocksbridge airborne. Yorkshire also looked liked it was still locked deep in the grip of winter as there were no leaves on the trees and not natural colours apart from brown. The odd snow drift lingered in the deepest lanes as well.
Pea Royd Lane
You get to the climb at Pea Royd Lane from the centre of Stocksbridge. The climb actually starts on Huntshelf Road near the big works before turning right onto what feels like a vertical (actually about 20% ) gradient that leads to a bridge over the A616. To give you an indication of just how steep things are going to get I was treated to the sight of a Mercedes Sprinter spinning its wheels as the driver approached Pea Royd Lane in the wrong gear and had to change down in order to prevent himself rolling backwards. It didn’t bode well but as this was my first climb of the day I didn’t actually feel too bad on the first really steep bit of the climb. After crossing the A616 the gradient eased slightly and I was able to get my breath back before the next big push up to and around a nasty left hand hairpin bend. I’d love to say I stormed up this climb but in truth I did my normal trick of finding a nice low gear and trying to just hang on until the end. Pea Royd Lane didn’t however prove to be the really tough climb I expected it to be. Sure, it was steep, but the really steep section wasn’t that long. The one thing that did affect me however was the wind. The further up I climbed the more exposed I became and that was something that would sadly become a theme for the day.
Jackson Bridge
I arrived at the Jackson Bridge climb feeling fairly confident. Whilst I hadn’t exactly romped up Pea Royd Lane I hadn’t suffered as much as I expected to so felt like I still had plenty left in the tank. I also arrived at the climb slightly flustered as it is a difficult one to find. Well, that’s my excuse.
The first part of the climb ramped up very quickly to 20% which thankfully didn’t last long and I was soon able to soft pedal along a flatter section before the second kick up in gradient. The wind that had been a feature on Pea Royd Lane’s upper slopes seemed more pronounced but because of the shelter afforded by the terrain it wasn’t too much of an issue until I got to the final part of the climb.
Quite a view and this wasn't even from the top
I struggled a bit on the second steep part of the climb. I think I dug a bit too deep on the initial steep section and was found wanting when another big gradient loomed into view. It is my own fault as I knew it was there after driving up the hill to find somewhere to park. Thankfully after getting past the second steep section there was a brief dip before the final slope up the farm that marks the top of the climb. By the time I reached the top the wind had obviously picked up a fair bit which blunted my speed a bit. That said I must have been feeling OK as I took the dog for a short walk over the top of the hill once I had descended to the lay by halfway up the climb where I had parked the car. The next climb on the agenda was Holme Moss and with the wind picking up in strength I was a bit worried as to what I would find.
Holme Moss
I was actually looking forward to Holme Moss. On paper it is my sort of climb in terms of length and gradient. With Simon Warren giving it only a 5/10 rating I’m confident I could power my way up it fairly easily on a good day. Only thing is, I didn’t have a good day. I’m not sure just what the wind speed was at the top of Holme Moss but I found it difficult to get my gear out of the back of the car without some of the lighter items blowing away. Some of the gusts must have been at least 40mph which didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. If I hadn’t already postponed the Cat and Fiddle because of strong gusting winds I would have been tempted to pass on Holme Moss and ride it another time. However, missing out climb after climb would have made a mockery of travelling all the way to the Peak District so I decided the only decent thing to do was to man up and go for it.
The sight of this thing taunted me all the way up Holme Moss. I had to hide from the wind behind a car to take this picture
Well, I say went for it. I was able to move at a half decent pace for about a ¼ of a mile before I started feeling the effects of the wind. The higher up I climbed the more exposed to the wind I became and the harder it was to make any progress. At times it felt like a giant invisible hand was trying to push me back downhill. For a lot of the climb I was flat out in bottom gear and making very little progress. It was totally dispiriting and exhausting. Riding out of the saddle was a non starter because it was too unstable in the strong gusts of wind so I just had to stay in the saddle and grind my way slowly up the hill. I have no idea how long it took me to reach the top. The ride became a war of attrition and it was one I couldn’t lose as my damn car was parked at the top. As I neared the summit I had to lean into the wind and some of the gusts threatened to wash out the front wheel of my bike. It was miserable.
View from the top of Holme Moss. Out of camera shot is the large rock I had to hold onto.
After reaching the summit I returned to my car and decided the only way to get my gear into the back without it all blowing away was to turn the car around so that it faced into the wind. It turned out to be a smart move as a guy driving a delivery van pulled in, I guess to have his lunch, and wrecked his door as a gust caught it. The crunch of a van door hinge being pushed past its limit was clearly audible across the car park. Loading the car up took longer that it usually does as I felt so drained from riding into the wind. The incessant noise of the wind drove us to a lower car park in an attempt to get away from it before eating lunch and returning to the holiday cottage. It would be the following day when riding Mow Cop that I learnt just how much fighting against the wind had taken out of me…
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Return to the Midlands - Part Two
Terrace Hill
I rode two hills on the 15th April. After riding up Michaelgate and having a break for lunch it was back into the car and on to the climb at Terrace Hill. After about 40 minutes of driving and one wrong turn I was at the top of the hill and preparing to ride down to make the start of the ascent. Unfortunately my legs just didn’t feel in the mood to party after a long day spent driving and I knew that Terrace Hill, the only 1 out of 10 hill in the book, was going to give me a kicking before I had even started.
I’ve found before that long intervals spent in the car between climbs translate into rubbish riding. Shuttling between closely spaced hills isn’t too much of a problem but after a lengthy period of time I guess your body figures you are done for the day and decides to wind things down. I knew whilst planning the day that travelling to Lincoln and then into the wilds of Leicestershire was going to be pushing things a bit and so it proved.
Terrace Hill starts off innocently enough and the first part of the climb is a gentle ramp up from a flat road. As soon as the gradient started to bite however I rapidly found myself clattering down through the gears in an effort to keep going. I can honestly say that on my regular training rides in North Devon I’d crank up a gradient like Terrace Hill in a fairly high gear and dismiss it as nothing more than a speed bump. For all the go I had in my legs it may as well been a 25 % slope as I found making progress hard work.
All I can say about this climb was that I’m glad it was over and the following day I was feeling in much better shape for a trip into Cheshire.
Swiss Hill
The plan was to tackle the Cat and Fiddle before lunch then head over to Alderly Edge to take on Swiss Hill. The 16th April however was windy, hellishly windy, and as my little Fiat was being buffeted all over the road I decided to take on Swiss Hill first and see if conditions improved before returning to the Cat and Fiddle.
Swiss Hill is a bit of an oddity, as you approach it you have the uneasy feeling that you are about to cycle up somebody’s badly maintained driveway. It is tucked away in a relatively affluent area of Alderley Edge and I couldn’t help but be amused at what the residents of Swiss Hill must think of Simon Warren now that he has placed their sleepy little cobbled road on a list of iconic British road climbs.
The hill itself is mercifully short as the cobbles are far rougher than the ones I had encountered the previous day in Lincoln. The road is also quite narrow and I dread to think what it would be like tackling it in wet weather. As on Michaelgate my natural tendency to remain in the saddle and spin a lower gear when the road heads up seemed to help keep things under control over the cobbles. The further up I went the more I got bounced all over the place however which impacted on my ability to keep the pace up. In other words I got slower. Not really a surprise.
The gradient slackened off a bit before the final short stretch of tarmac which leads to the top of the climb. The top was partially blocked by a Cheshire Chariot (Range Rover) which rather blunted the finale to the climb. Having to squeeze past a large car does take the shine off a little. Of course with a climb like Swiss Hill you can’t really claimed to have tackled it without making it back down to the bottom again. In an attempt to keep my bike in once piece I decided to take the road down fairly gently which, with the constant jarring from the cobbles, ended up with me having hands like claws and cramp in one leg by the time I got back to the car. That’ll teach me to go easily; it seems you have to attacked the cobbled descents as hard as the cobbled climbs. On uploading the video YouTube pointed out that the footage was shaky and asked if I would like the problem corrected. Couldn’t help but think that would be missing the point somehow…
After packing everything back into the car it was time to head back to the Cat and Fiddle where the wind was still blowing a gale. With the Cat and Fiddle climb being such a long one, and one I’m looking forward to riding, I decided to ride it another day. There are a host of climbs still to be completed in the area and I’d rather take on the A537 on a calmer day; it would have been a miserable slog in the windy conditions (something that I was due to learn all about on Holme Moss a couple of days later). On stopping at the Cat and Fiddle pub for lunch I got a demonstration of how strong the wind was when I found it was difficult to even get my car door open. All of the wooden picnic benches at the back of the pub were rocking in the gusts as if to dissuade me further. With so many of the North West climbs still to ride it isn’t as though I won’t be back up that way again and I‘d rather wait for a better opportunity.
Time for a bit of a breather
I had the following day off before a big day out in Yorkshire. I was after all meant to be on holiday and I figured my dad and the dog would appreciate a day doing touristy things. One of the things on the agenda was a trip to Bakewell which turned out to be a strangely sterile place. The Bakewell slices we had were very nice but apart from an amusing sign for a sausage seller there wasn’t much that stuck in the mind. The dog was also treated to a walk around the grounds of the Chatsworth estate (well it was his birthday) and then a trip to the village pub in the evening (which he didn’t seem to enjoy quite so much).
After a day resting and drinking and not doing much else it was off to Yorkshire for three climbs and, unfortunately, more windy conditions. More of that to follow…
I rode two hills on the 15th April. After riding up Michaelgate and having a break for lunch it was back into the car and on to the climb at Terrace Hill. After about 40 minutes of driving and one wrong turn I was at the top of the hill and preparing to ride down to make the start of the ascent. Unfortunately my legs just didn’t feel in the mood to party after a long day spent driving and I knew that Terrace Hill, the only 1 out of 10 hill in the book, was going to give me a kicking before I had even started.
Even flat roads eventually go uphill. The slightly eerie approach to Terrace Hill
I’ve found before that long intervals spent in the car between climbs translate into rubbish riding. Shuttling between closely spaced hills isn’t too much of a problem but after a lengthy period of time I guess your body figures you are done for the day and decides to wind things down. I knew whilst planning the day that travelling to Lincoln and then into the wilds of Leicestershire was going to be pushing things a bit and so it proved.
Terrace Hill starts off innocently enough and the first part of the climb is a gentle ramp up from a flat road. As soon as the gradient started to bite however I rapidly found myself clattering down through the gears in an effort to keep going. I can honestly say that on my regular training rides in North Devon I’d crank up a gradient like Terrace Hill in a fairly high gear and dismiss it as nothing more than a speed bump. For all the go I had in my legs it may as well been a 25 % slope as I found making progress hard work.
All I can say about this climb was that I’m glad it was over and the following day I was feeling in much better shape for a trip into Cheshire.
Swiss Hill
The plan was to tackle the Cat and Fiddle before lunch then head over to Alderly Edge to take on Swiss Hill. The 16th April however was windy, hellishly windy, and as my little Fiat was being buffeted all over the road I decided to take on Swiss Hill first and see if conditions improved before returning to the Cat and Fiddle.
Swiss Hill is a bit of an oddity, as you approach it you have the uneasy feeling that you are about to cycle up somebody’s badly maintained driveway. It is tucked away in a relatively affluent area of Alderley Edge and I couldn’t help but be amused at what the residents of Swiss Hill must think of Simon Warren now that he has placed their sleepy little cobbled road on a list of iconic British road climbs.
The hill itself is mercifully short as the cobbles are far rougher than the ones I had encountered the previous day in Lincoln. The road is also quite narrow and I dread to think what it would be like tackling it in wet weather. As on Michaelgate my natural tendency to remain in the saddle and spin a lower gear when the road heads up seemed to help keep things under control over the cobbles. The further up I went the more I got bounced all over the place however which impacted on my ability to keep the pace up. In other words I got slower. Not really a surprise.
The gradient slackened off a bit before the final short stretch of tarmac which leads to the top of the climb. The top was partially blocked by a Cheshire Chariot (Range Rover) which rather blunted the finale to the climb. Having to squeeze past a large car does take the shine off a little. Of course with a climb like Swiss Hill you can’t really claimed to have tackled it without making it back down to the bottom again. In an attempt to keep my bike in once piece I decided to take the road down fairly gently which, with the constant jarring from the cobbles, ended up with me having hands like claws and cramp in one leg by the time I got back to the car. That’ll teach me to go easily; it seems you have to attacked the cobbled descents as hard as the cobbled climbs. On uploading the video YouTube pointed out that the footage was shaky and asked if I would like the problem corrected. Couldn’t help but think that would be missing the point somehow…
After packing everything back into the car it was time to head back to the Cat and Fiddle where the wind was still blowing a gale. With the Cat and Fiddle climb being such a long one, and one I’m looking forward to riding, I decided to ride it another day. There are a host of climbs still to be completed in the area and I’d rather take on the A537 on a calmer day; it would have been a miserable slog in the windy conditions (something that I was due to learn all about on Holme Moss a couple of days later). On stopping at the Cat and Fiddle pub for lunch I got a demonstration of how strong the wind was when I found it was difficult to even get my car door open. All of the wooden picnic benches at the back of the pub were rocking in the gusts as if to dissuade me further. With so many of the North West climbs still to ride it isn’t as though I won’t be back up that way again and I‘d rather wait for a better opportunity.
Time for a bit of a breather
Any cycling challenge requires a robust approach to hydration.
I had the following day off before a big day out in Yorkshire. I was after all meant to be on holiday and I figured my dad and the dog would appreciate a day doing touristy things. One of the things on the agenda was a trip to Bakewell which turned out to be a strangely sterile place. The Bakewell slices we had were very nice but apart from an amusing sign for a sausage seller there wasn’t much that stuck in the mind. The dog was also treated to a walk around the grounds of the Chatsworth estate (well it was his birthday) and then a trip to the village pub in the evening (which he didn’t seem to enjoy quite so much).
Worryingly I wasn't the only person taking photos of this sign. Mind you, coffee and sausages are two of my most favourite things...
Monday, 22 April 2013
Return to the Midlands
The march to complete the remaining climbs out of the hundred continues and last week I had a week booked off work so I could tackle some more. The plan was simple; drive to Derbyshire, stay in holiday cottage in the heart of the Peak District and take on several of the remaining climbs in the Midlands region and a few from Yorkshire. I even had a trip over the border into Cheshire.
Riber
After a seemingly never ending drive up on the Saturday to Stanton in Peak just outside Matlock my first challenge of the week was to take on the climb up to Riber Castle on the Sunday morning. It was a climb I put off when I was in the area last year and I’m pleased I did. It is a tough climb with a rating of 9/10 and I feel I returned to it with more experience of the steep stuff and a lighter more responsive bike. The last time I was in Matlock I had also just struggled up Bank Road which is a climb steep enough to put you off riding anything else on the same day.
Riber Castle really is quite a long way up - I'm glad I only saw it from this angle after completing the climb
After parking halfway up the climb it was time to descend to the bottom and start the long grind to the top. It is by no means one of the longest climbs but the really tough gradients don’t come until the very end and you have a chance to get into your stride as the climb builds over the course of a long drag up through suburban streets.
The weather was good and I felt pretty decent as I started the climb. I wasn’t going to be setting any records but I felt comfortable and was nicely warmed up by the time I reached the first fearsome hairpin that marks the start of Riber Road. In the 100 climbs book Simon Warren states that speeding up and swinging wide is the best way to tackle this first bend and to keep your momentum up. The road is so steep at this first corner the pavement has been replaced with steps and so I was going to need as much speed going into it as possible. As I accelerated I felt my front wheel lift which was a bit unnerving and just as I got the bike back in shape and I started to swing wide I encountered something that Mr Warren states is a risk on this climb; an oncoming car trying to use the bit of road yo have just swung onto. Put simply I was on the wrong side of the road and had to almost fall sideways to get out of the way. It was entirely my fault but does go to show that slow and steady on some of the busier climbs may sometimes be the best way. After uttering the odd swear word it was time to remount and stagger on up the increasing gradient.
With each hair pin bend the road seems to get steeper and by the time the top homed into view I was going flat out but covering the ground very slowly. Actually that’s how I finish on most of the steeper climbs. After reaching the top it was time to descend back to the car and somehow the tight, steep hair pin bends were even worse on the way down. It felt good to have finally ridden the Riber climb and not experienced the sort of difficulty on the steep bits I was expecting.
Riber was to be the only climb I tackled on the Sunday as I had a big day out planned for the Monday during which I would take on Michaelgate in Lincoln and Terrace Hill.
Michaelgate
Michaelgate must be one of the shortest climbs in the book and is located in the heart of Lincoln. The drive to Lincoln was relatively straightforward but trying to get parked and find the climb itself proved to be time consuming. First off my crapnav had a bit of a meltdown and seemed convinced that Lincoln didn’t have any decent parking near the centre of the city.
Lincoln Castle, apparently built to repel people trying to find somewhere to park
Once I did finally locate a car park I then had to try and find the climb. My dad was intending to try and film me as a reached to top of the climb but after dragging the dog around the centre of Lincoln for twenty minutes I decided I would go off on my bike, find the climb and then ring him with directions on how to find it. It was quite a hot day and it didn’t seem fair to lead them both on a wild goose chase (quick tip: go to the cathedral, find Steep Hill from there and Michaelgate can be found halfway down). Needless to say this didn’t work and I managed to find the climb and ride it before being able to get through to my dad on his mobile. Because of this I had nowhere to leave my shoes and camera kit and ended up having to ride the climb with a courier bag loaded with stuff slung over my shoulder. In truth this wasn’t much of a hindrance as the climb is very short. Being a cobbled climb it is also very bouncy but my riding style of staying in the saddle and spinning a low gear seems to work quite well on this type of climb. In fact when I tried to stand on the pedals to inject a bit more pace I nearly got bounced to a halt.
As I reached the junction with Steep Hill I swung into the side street that leads up to the left and reached the end of climb and a nice smooth tarmac road. After this it was time to retrieve my dad and the dog from a bench near the Cathedral before heading off for some lunch and the drive to Terrace Hill.
If I had just headed here first and worked my way downhill I would have saved a lot of time in finding the climb
Unfortunately the good form I had felt on Riber the day before and on Michaelgate was to vanish when I got to Terrace Hill. Stay tuned for more details...
Sunday, 7 April 2013
When Bicycle Upgrades Go Bad
I blame York’s Hill for the annoying weekend I’ve just had. It has been a weekend where I’ve spent too much time getting angry at simple bicycle components in the garage and not enough time out on my bike. I should explain; when I rode York’s Hill back in February my normally efficient V brakes struggled in the cold, damp, muddy conditions. With a spare set of 29er mountain bike wheels in the garage and some disc brakes that I knew would work with the brake levers I already had on the bike I figured it would take no time at all to transport my Uncle John to modern, largely weather proof and powerful disc brake utopia. It is even something I did to my old Karate Monkey a little while ago and so far the brakes have worked just fine.
Of course thinking that everything will be easy to sort out is usually a sign of impending failure and, as a result, I’ve spent the best part of two days going in round in circles. The first problem arose when I tried to fit new 28mm tyres to a set of 29er rims. I can confirm that they do fit; your hands will be sore for days afterwards but with enough grunting to make a wrestling match look like a silent movie they will fit. Honest.
After reducing my hands to lumps of raw flesh it was time to get going on the disc brakes. The callipers are easy enough to mount and I even managed to get the wheels spinning without fouling the rotors at my first attempt. So far so good I thought, but then came the cabling up. I don’t think it has ever taken anybody nearly a whole day to get a set of cable operated disc brakes working. At least it hasn’t until now. I’ve set up Avid BB7s before and they are good quality brakes but despite using all of my bike maintenance know how I ended up with a front brake that worked but felt spongy and a back brake that didn’t work at all. Well, it did at first until I decided to adjust it at which point it stopped working and the cable clamp started fouling the main calliper body. Oh and I also managed to fray the cable to the point where I needed to drive to Halfords (which was the only place open on a Sunday) to buy a new one. With a new cable inserted I still couldn’t overcome the problem of the cable moving the clamping bolt sufficiently out of position that it kept hitting the main calliper body. I also frayed the replacement cable. Some swearing may have happened at this point. I'm quite sure drawing blood isn't meant to happen either.
With the light fading and my chance of a bike ride disappearing fast I did the only thing I could think of; I took off the back disc brake and re-fitted the V brake, along with the old back wheel. I was beginning to think I had lost my mojo when it came to working on bikes but as the whole process to restore things to how they were only took me 20 minutes and ended up with a more powerful brake I must be doing something right. After a quick test ride confirmed that the front disc brake really is quite spongy I have taken the decision to swap the front wheel out and return to a V brake on the front as well.
I suppose some good has come out of the whole tiresome experience. My brakes now have nice new cables and I’ve fitted some sportier, grippier tyres to the bike. On the negative side I have lost most of a weekend and I have run out of time to trim the damn steerer tube to a more aesthetically pleasing length yet again. Looks like I’ll be offending the eyes of cycling purists for some time to come.
Coming Soon
In the near future I’ll be back in the Peak District to finish off the remaining climbs in the Midlands and to make a start on the North Western and Yorkshire climbs. I’d like to say I’m going into the next round of climbs fit and full of enthusiasm but the extended spell of cold weather has slowly sapped my will to get out on the bike and my training rides have started to get shorter as a result. That said I’m getting up the local hills pretty well and training on my fixed gear bike, when it isn’t terrifying me, has given me a bit more kick when it comes to short steep hills. I just wish going back down them again didn’t involve my legs spinning at what feels like 5000 rpm.
My next round of hill climbing fun will involve finally facing up to the fearsome climb that takes you up to Riber Castle. Last time I was in the Matlock area I decided to wait until a future date before I tackled it. My faithful Surly Cross check is a bit sluggish on the really steep stuff and I had just ridden up Bank Road and was feeling pretty empty legged. There will be no excuse this time around. My Uncle John is more responsive and lighter than my Surly and in theory I should be getting better at this hill climbing stuff. Mind you in theory I should have been able to fit new disc brakes… Watch this space for an update soon.
Of course thinking that everything will be easy to sort out is usually a sign of impending failure and, as a result, I’ve spent the best part of two days going in round in circles. The first problem arose when I tried to fit new 28mm tyres to a set of 29er rims. I can confirm that they do fit; your hands will be sore for days afterwards but with enough grunting to make a wrestling match look like a silent movie they will fit. Honest.
After reducing my hands to lumps of raw flesh it was time to get going on the disc brakes. The callipers are easy enough to mount and I even managed to get the wheels spinning without fouling the rotors at my first attempt. So far so good I thought, but then came the cabling up. I don’t think it has ever taken anybody nearly a whole day to get a set of cable operated disc brakes working. At least it hasn’t until now. I’ve set up Avid BB7s before and they are good quality brakes but despite using all of my bike maintenance know how I ended up with a front brake that worked but felt spongy and a back brake that didn’t work at all. Well, it did at first until I decided to adjust it at which point it stopped working and the cable clamp started fouling the main calliper body. Oh and I also managed to fray the cable to the point where I needed to drive to Halfords (which was the only place open on a Sunday) to buy a new one. With a new cable inserted I still couldn’t overcome the problem of the cable moving the clamping bolt sufficiently out of position that it kept hitting the main calliper body. I also frayed the replacement cable. Some swearing may have happened at this point. I'm quite sure drawing blood isn't meant to happen either.
This is what a bike maintenance crisis looks like
I suppose some good has come out of the whole tiresome experience. My brakes now have nice new cables and I’ve fitted some sportier, grippier tyres to the bike. On the negative side I have lost most of a weekend and I have run out of time to trim the damn steerer tube to a more aesthetically pleasing length yet again. Looks like I’ll be offending the eyes of cycling purists for some time to come.
Coming Soon
In the near future I’ll be back in the Peak District to finish off the remaining climbs in the Midlands and to make a start on the North Western and Yorkshire climbs. I’d like to say I’m going into the next round of climbs fit and full of enthusiasm but the extended spell of cold weather has slowly sapped my will to get out on the bike and my training rides have started to get shorter as a result. That said I’m getting up the local hills pretty well and training on my fixed gear bike, when it isn’t terrifying me, has given me a bit more kick when it comes to short steep hills. I just wish going back down them again didn’t involve my legs spinning at what feels like 5000 rpm.
My next round of hill climbing fun will involve finally facing up to the fearsome climb that takes you up to Riber Castle. Last time I was in the Matlock area I decided to wait until a future date before I tackled it. My faithful Surly Cross check is a bit sluggish on the really steep stuff and I had just ridden up Bank Road and was feeling pretty empty legged. There will be no excuse this time around. My Uncle John is more responsive and lighter than my Surly and in theory I should be getting better at this hill climbing stuff. Mind you in theory I should have been able to fit new disc brakes… Watch this space for an update soon.
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