Return to the Midlands - Part Two

Terrace Hill

I rode two hills on the 15^th 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 16^th 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...

 

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…

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...

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.

 

This is what a bike maintenance crisis looks like
 

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.

Adventures in Surrey - Part Two

White Downs

Saturday the 23^rd February had gotten off to a slightly stuttering start with Box Hill but after packing up the bike it was off to White Downs Lane for the second climb of the day. The hill isn’t all that far from Box Hill so I was still feeling pretty switched on when I got to the car park at the top after a very short drive. White Downs didn’t strike me as a particularly pleasant climb.

The only bit of colour on White Downs Lane. Even this seemed slightly creepy

For sure the low temperatures didn’t help but with it’s high banks and bare trees it seemed a very stark place. I was looking forward to getting it out of the way and moving onto the next climb before I even got out of the car.

 

Not a very cheerful car park to start a ride from

After another sub zero descent to the start I found I got into a decent rhythm (well, for me anyway) quite quickly. I obviously hadn’t cooled down too much from Box Hill and the initial part of the climb is a fairly easy gradient and even has a brief bit of down hill thrown in. The climb starts in earnest with a couple of sharp steep bends and then you have a nasty looking 18% grind to the top facing you. This was the point at which my pace slowed and I started selecting lower and lower gears. Like all of the climbs in Surrey this proved to be a busy bit of road, the traffic no doubt helped by a fat biffer slowly winching his way up to the top on a bicycle. My low gear grind wasn’t helped by the banks on either side of the road which made it difficult to figure out how far the top of the climb was. It was with some relief I noticed that the gradient started to ease slightly and I could shift into a higher gear before rolling back to the car.

That’s about all I can say about White Downs. It was a bit like going to the dentist; necessary, painful but thankfully over fairly quickly and forgotten about almost as fast. It wasn’t even as if there was a nice view from the top to take pictures of.

Leith Hill

Leith Hill proved to be only a short drive away and it didn’t take me long to get to the car park at the top. Once there I finished off my breakfast and rolled down to the start. Because I has planned an early getaway from the Travelhovel in Guildford and didn’t want to take on any climbs with a big meal sitting heavily in my stomach I decided to try a breakfast cereal bar. I can’t remember what brand it was but this marvel of modern food processing was purchased from that well known purveyor of all fine foods; a petrol station. I reasoned it would be quick to eat, light, and still full of calories. I sadly discovered that it was also so dry it was like eating a cork ceiling tile and utterly devoid of any flavours you would normally associate with breakfast. Ah well, I’ll know better for next time.

Riding down to the start of the climb was typically bone chilling but it was at least a more open bit of road with nice sweeping bends and more fun to get up to speed on. Like White Downs Leith Hill starts off at a more gentle gradient before getting steeper nearer the top. I’m not sure if it was the cold, tiredness or my strangely synthetic breakfast, but I was feeling a bit down on energy at the start of the climb. Where I should have been pushing a decent gear around I just felt a bit flat. By the time I reached the final section of the climb, which can’t be any more than about 10%, I had resigned myself to the ‘seemingly endless grind’ to the car park at the top as Simon Warren describes it. However, whilst my speed didn’t go up I did feel the pedals start to go round a little bit easier as the climb continued. I had managed to ride (albeit slowly) through the rough patch at the base of the hill and start riding with a bit more purpose. It wasn’t the most graceful ascent of Leith Hill but I managed to arrive in the car park at the top feeling slightly more with it that I was expecting.

 

A much needed pitstop at the top of Leith Hill. Shame the food wasn't up to much

After a quick breather in the car park checking out the many exotic looking mountain bikes being ridden to the local trails it was off to my final climb of the day at White Lane.

White Lane

On my way to Titsey where White Lane is located I was struck by how many people were out jogging, power walking and cycling. Because it was a bit of a trek back to Titsey (the one problem with not doing the climb the day before was the time and travelling it would add onto my day on the Saturday) I think I realised why so many people in Surrey are so keen on healthy outdoor activities. The driving I had witnessed during my time in Surrey was some of the most aggressive and ignorant I have ever seen. With so much stress and anger evident on the faces of Surrey’s motorists I can only assume it is the heart attack and hypertension capital of the UK and everybody is exercising on doctors orders. Now, I drive a lot for work so have seen pretty much all manner of stupidity on the roads but I can safely say I will only return to Surrey under duress. Lovely place and very pretty to look at, just a shame it is seemingly full of arseholes.

Right, back to the cycling. White Lane is a short, fairly steep and narrow climb. The only place to park up and set up the bike was in a layby across the road from the top of the climb. The layby was quite exposed and the wind was blowing a little harder and I can honestly say that as I started the descent to the start I was the coldest I have ever felt on a bike. It was a relief to be turning around to ride back up as at least I would be generating some heat.

I was hoping that White Lane would be a little quieter on a Saturday but sadly that didn’t turn out to be the case. It is clearly a cut through for locals and on such a narrow bit of road the cars did get in my way a bit, especially going up. My main problem however seemed to be a complete lack of pace. I couldn’t figure out was wrong as I was out of the saddle trying as hard as I could to get some forward momentum up. It was only as I reached the halfway point of the climb that I realised that I was in too high a gear. My morning was starting to catch up with my and I hadn’t been thinking straight at the bottom of the climb. Once I saw what the problem was I was able to make smoother and easier progress up the remainder of the hill. I didn’t get any quicker but I didn’t think I was going to blow up.

 

The view from what felt like the coldest spot in England to get changed. I can only apologise to the bus load of people who had to witness a fat man turning blue as he changed in the layby.

Once I’d reached the top of the climb it was time to change and start heading home. After stopping to buy something decent for breakfast of course. And yes I did make the mistake of stopping to buy it from a petrol station.

So, that’s Surrey done. I now only have three climbs to complete in the South East and a total of 65 remaining. It almost sounds a manageable number although I’ll be happier when I’ve got that down to below 50. I’ll feel I’m making real progress then.

One of the things I wanted to check over the course of the weekend was my level of fitness and to see how much work I have to put in before tackling some of the truly nasty looking rides in the North of England and beyond. I’m not quite where I want to be just yet but I can feel fairly happy with my efforts; in the space of four hours I managed to tick off four climbs and deal with all of the associated driving, fiddling with bikes, and setting up of cameras that goes with it without feeling too tired. In many ways it is all of the faffing and work involved with getting to the climbs that presents the biggest challenge and in that respect I seem to have my approach pretty much sorted these days. I just need to get a bit better on the whole riding bikes uphill thing that goes in the middle.

I’m also pleased to say that after several months of just not getting on with the Uncle John I now have it set up pretty much how I want it to be. I’m also finding it a fun bike to ride. For some reason I didn’t gel with it at first but since getting back from Surrey its been the bike I’ve ridden the most. Something has obviously clicked.

　

My next lot of climbs will be coming to you from the Midlands and Yorkshire and I’ve thankfully got a few weeks in which to prepare. Some of this preparation will be on my new fixed gear bike which is proving to be a very good training tool. Its just a shame it is so terrifying on the descents!

　

Adventures in Surrey - Part 1

York’s Hill

The plan was quite simple. Drive to Surrey on a Friday. Take on two hills in the afternoon and then a further three on the Saturday bringing my tally of climbs up to 35 and getting my 2013 campaign off to a positive start.

On the 22^nd February I packed my bike into the car and headed off to that there Surrey. North Devon to York’s Hill is a bloody long way and by the time I reached the climb I had been in the car for about 4 ½ hours. The weather forecasts all week had been saying how much colder it was going to be in the South East of England compared to the South West but, even with that knowledge, the first blast of icy air as I got our of the car was a nasty shock to the system. It was about 2.30pm when I got to the car park at the top of York’s Hill and as I set the bike up I was informed by a pair of cheery walkers that I had just missed a sideways snow shower. They were of the opinion I had the best weather of the day for my ride. Lucky me, that just left the freezing wind, greasy tarmac, potholes and patches of snow and mud to deal with.

In the little black book of pain Simon Warren mentions the poor state of the road surface on the hill and I suspect it has deteriorated a bit since he wrote about the it in 2010. I quickly realised on the way down that I had a nice grippy mountain bike at home with disc brakes and fat tyres and that I would have been better off sticking that in the car rather than my Uncle John. Slithering down a 20% gradient on rock hard tyres whilst trying to dodge wheel eating potholes wasn’t a pleasant way to try and warm up.

Of course the descent from hell did at least mean that I arrived at the bottom full of adrenaline for the journey back to the top. This helped initially but as I have learnt in the past, long hours in the car followed by a short steep climb is never going to end well and as I climbed further up what is actually a very short climb my cold legs had a hard time turning a decent gear. Lets just say it was a struggle, a short one, but a struggle nonetheless. It is always the shorter climbs that give me problems. I’m just not punchy enough in my riding style, preferring instead to ride my way into a climb. York’s Hill is short and very steep and so you either have to attack it head on at full speed or accept that you are facing a slow grind up in a low gear.

 

Reaching the top of the climb was a blessed relief as it meant I could get back into a warm car and enjoy some comfort before the next climb of the day which was meant to be White Lane. After spending rather too much time sticking my bike back in the car I then managed to get slightly lost on the way to Titsey were the next climb is located. I think my long day of travelling was taking its toll on me and by the time I found White Lane I really didn’t feel up to riding it. It isn’t much longer than York’s Hill but is used as a bit of a rat run by locals and in cold overcast conditions I didn’t fancy taking the climb on feeling as fatigued as I did. I decided it was best to come back the following day and take on the climb in a fresher state before finally heading home. Hopefully there would also be fewer impatient drivers charging up and down the hill.

With that decision made I headed to my overnight stop in Guildford. Yet another Travelodge beckoned and what turned out to be an awful nights sleep. The Travelodge in Guildford is on a busy main road and all through the night badly driven chav chariots with drain pipe exhausts cruised up and down relentlessly. To add to the noise created by cretins in cheap hatchbacks there was a particularly noisy party of lads who were in Guildford for a night out. With the bright lights of London so close I can only imagine they set their standards very low when they decided on Guildford for an evenings amusement. I think they managed to wake the entire hotel up when they arrived back at their room at 2.30 in the morning. I managed to get my own back when I left for Box Hill at 7am. Their room was next to the door which lead to the lifts and stairs and it is amazing how much noise you can make with a bike as you wheel it out to the lifts;anybody trying to sleep off a night of excess would have thought I was wheeling a mobile set of tubular bells through the corridor.

Box Hill

The Saturday morning started off feeling colder than it had been the day before and when I got to the top of Box Hill there were snow flakes drifting about on the air. The temperature in the wind was meant to be about -2 but as I descended to the bottom of the hill the windchill got considerably worse as my speed increased. I was hoping to really nail the descent at high speed but for the first time ever I had to slow down because my face was hurting so much with the cold. It wasn’t a very pleasant start to my day and I was only too happy to get to the bottom and start generating some heat as I climbed back up. Well, I say happy, once again I had failed to properly warm up and the lower part of Box Hill, which is by far the easiest section, was proving to be more of a challenge than it should be. The first climb of the day is always a bit of a leg stretcher but I do really need to work out a better warm up strategy than just plunging to the bottom of a hill in top gear. As it was I found myself pushing a very low gear around and having trouble getting on top of it. I also had the annoying rasp of a rubbing rear brake to distract me and just before the first uphill corner I stopped briefly to disconnect the brake. I wasn’t going to need it when riding uphill and couldn‘t be bothered to adjust it properly at the road side.

 

A sign you have arrived in cycling Mecca

As I cursed and faffed at the side of the road a chap out for his morning run got in front of me. My brief pit stop had seemingly allowed my legs to finally catch up with what the rest of me was trying to achieve and I was pedalling more smoothly when I got back on the bike but was still down on power. As a result the guy out for his morning run acted as a slow speed pace setter for me until I decided it was time to start riding with a bit more purpose and finally passed him. As I rode further up the hill I did start to warm up but it doesn’t rank as one of the fastest or most stylish ascents of Box Hill.

I was hoping to really gun it up Box Hill but it was starting to dawn on me that spinning up it and conserving energy for the other three rides was probably the best policy. Tackling multiple hills in one day does lead to a bit of a dilemma; even if you feel that you have good form you have to balance the desire to ride hard with the physical requirements of loading and unloading the bike several times in one day, navigating and driving to multiple locations and riding up several other hills. Throw in a rubbish warm up and freezing cold conditions and the need to conserve energy and not blow up completely becomes all important. I was also aware that I had the fearsome White Downs climb with an 8/10 ranking to follow. More of that in my next blog update…

　

5 Climbs to Open 2013

I've just arrived back home from Surrey where I've spent two days ticking off 5 more climbs bringing my total to 35. It was bitterly cold with traces of snow and if I'm being honest I was using the trip as  an early season fitness test (not very it turns out) as much as a chance to bag some more climbs.

A full write up complete with shaky, poorly edited, videos and random photos will follow in a few days but for now my thoughts on the five climbs tackled are:

York's Hill - Would have been more fun on a moutain bike. And smoother.

Box Hill   - A nice, if very cold way to start a Saturday. Not the fastest ascent ever but I did have three other climbs to consider.

White Downs - Starts OK, gets brutal, and narrow.

Leith Hill - Started out OK, turned into a bit of a nasty drag to the top which coincided with my energy levels waning.

White Lane - Bit of a rat run for local drivers. Would have been more manageable if I'd started out in the correct gear. Doh! Damn cold at the top and there is only an exposed lay by to get changed in.

Thats all for now. I have a small Fiat that looks like a mud bomb has gone off inside it that needs to be dealt with and a load of video footage to sort through. Watch this space for a comprehensive update.

Oh my God…its full of speed

Sorry for the terrible misquote of a classic Arthur C Clarke line but that’s kind of how I feel about my new fixie. After a bit of faffing around with the brakes (which are proving to be very important so I’m glad I spent some time getting them right) and some hassle in finding the right bottom bracket my On One Macinato is finally finished, road ready and…well, bloody scary if I’m being honest.

My whole life I’ve ridden bikes with a free hub on the back wheel. I’ve ridden single speeds before but never a fixed gear and, well…lets just say that the modern free hub is a greatly under appreciated bit of engineering. But more of that later.

The Macinato is a lovely looking bike and is actually the first where I’ve actually bothered to cut down the steerer tube. For a £150 frame and fork it’s a nicely made bit of kit. The chap who runs my local bike shop confirmed everything on the frame runs straight and true. I built it up for bad weather training rides but its going to be a shame to get the nice sparkly red paint all mucky. There is no clearance for mudguards so I’ll also be getting mucky.

 

It looks so benign propped up against the garage door...

I built up the On One for some hard core hill climb training and to develop a bit of extra suppleness and power in my pedalling. I figured a fixed gear was the best way to do it and as I had most of the bike in the garage in various piles of spare parts it has proven to be a pretty cheap bike to build. The only major expense apart from the frame and fork has been getting a decent quality rear wheel built by my local bike shop and even that wasn’t too expensive. I’m beginning the see the attraction of fixies; they’re cheap. I’ve kept the gearing fairly low for the time being with a 40t chain ring on the front and a monstrous 20t sprocket at the back. If that sounds low it is because this bike has been built for going up hill. I’m finding that a low gear is also ideal for learning how to ride fixed.

 

Source of both terror and exhilaration in equal measure

The bike handles beautifully and rides smoothly on the 25mm tyres I’ve fitted. Its been a while since I’ve ridden anything that feels so direct and sharp to be honest and without the weight of multiple chain rings, cogs and shifters I suspect my training rides are going to be fun. Well, I’m sure they will be once I’ve learned the right way to ride a fixed gear bike. I would consider myself a pretty experienced (if not necessarily the fittest) cyclist but trying to get my head around the new world of cycling I now find myself in has been rather confusing. Now, I know it is possible to slow down a fixie by applying backwards pressure on the pedals but I live on top of a hill and, as someone who is used to coasting down the steep bits whilst applying the brakes, I’ve very quickly learnt rule number one in fixed gear riding the hard way; Don’t Stop Pedalling! Ever. I don’t think the ‘feet up in the air whilst the pedals spin like a food blender' look is considered particularly cool in fixie circles. I’m starting to get the hang of not easing off on the pedalling but it does feel quite alien at the moment. Mind you, riding a fixie certainly gives you a good work out on the hills so it should be a good training tool. The bikes acceleration is also pretty good with such a simple drive train so getting the bike up to speed doesn’t take a lot of effort.

The secret of a good training ride is finding a nice spot for lunch

 



The new fixie should also help me build up my stamina. During January I became aware of an uncomfortable truth. Spending last year cycling up steep hills has completely ruined my ability to make long, sustained efforts on the flat. Even my training rides last year consisted of me thrashing myself up various local hills and then coasting down the other side. Great for short term power and getting familiar with the granny ring but pretty much useless for building base fitness. Once I get the hang of it the fixie will be pressed into service on some fairly long training rides. I’ve also started doing some longer training rides on my heavy old touring bike in recent weeks. The Macinato will be used on short punchy weekday lunchtime rides and my old Thorn Sherpa (officially the heaviest bike in the world. Fact) will be used for training at the weekends. I’ll find out in a couple of weeks if my slightly more structured approach to my training pays off in a couple of weeks time when I tackle the remaining hills in Kent and Surrey. That reminds me, I must give the Uncle John a clean and service at some point before I use it again. Can’t be seen on Box Hill with a dirty bike, what would the resident MAMILs think?