The S-Bends, my very local piece of hell. Hopefully you tried the Glen Douglas climbs (Tulloch Road, esp the Loch Long side) while you were in the area, and the Peaton Road (esp West side) on the Rosneath Peninsula.
I confess that I didn’t do any of those climbs - I didn’t know they were there, but I will look them up and I will be back to ride them. It’ll be nice to ride around there without feeling that the guys operating the CCTV at the Navy base aren’t watching wondering why there’s an idiot riding up and down the hill right in front of them… 🤣
@@WheelygoodCycling I have a list of 28 climbs in this area, some of which are rather more testing than others. Unfortunately I can't post a link here without it getting deleted.
That’s a great list to have. It’s odd YT would delete the link, but it has its moments some of the time. One old trick is that you can sometimes replace anything that’s a dot (‘.’) with the word dot so that it doesn’t look like a link so, for example YT would be youtube dot com …
hit the top of brickworks turn left into Kettleshulme, Macclesfield road, turn right onto the A5004, down into Goyt and if its climbing your after you'll find it as there's no way out of the Goyt other than up and either way is beautiful.
I had ridden one of the roads out of Goyt (Shining Tor to my right) and, yes, it’s lovely round there. There’s a video of it on the channel from a couple of years ago…
I had to post something! On Wednesday this week I was driving from Haworth to Airedale G.H. I'm from Buckinghamshire and don't know thw area at all. When I drove through the village and the saw the hill in fron of me I was astounded. I've never seen anything so steep and was quite taken aback. (I've been driving 56 years and have a husband who doesn't drive, so I'm very experienced.) What was even worse was the "hairpin bed" near to the top and fortunately nothing was coming the other way. I ahve to congratulate you on cycling up the damn thing. Well done.
Thank you! That part of Yorkshire is full of narrow roads like this, including a few which are steeper and others which are cobbled (and a couple which are both!). You've brought back memories for me ... I should have a trip back down there soon...
I know what you mean - every time I look out of the window, it's miserable... If you've got access to an indoor trainer, that can help get you ready for the spring...
Yeah, fair comment. Thing is, I was Very Angry during the first part of this climb due to The Garmin Problem that it didn’t actually feel hard at all… 🤦
Well ... although we men know that you ladies are superior to us in every way; we don't always like to have it flaunted so brazenly at us... 😉🤣 More seriously, though, the first reason is that it's a combination of insecurity and competitiveness. There's even a slang term for a guy being overtaken (or dropped) by a woman which I won't repeat. I try very hard not to be dragged into such things, having been dropped, or passed, by many women on bikes over the years. I'm a stronger rider than some, and others are stronger than me. Gender is irrelevant. Not everyone can cope with this and some feel the need to engage Macho Mode when they feel 'threatened' in this way. The second is simply that, having been passed, they realise there's a fit (both senses) woman on a bike and want to be in your company which can either be a huge opportunity to meet someone or creepy depending on the circumstances! I know it can be irritating, but it can also have complimentary vibes in that it means they feel you're worth trying to catch...
Cheers! It’s the hardest stretch of tarmac I’ve ever tried to tackle. In some ways, though, the worst part was half an hour later when I put sanitiser on my shin to prevent me from getting an infection from the open wound after falling off. Damn, did that hurt… There are a few more ridiculous climbs on the channel: Afon Ddu, The Corkscrew, The Buttress and, to a lesser extent, Abdon Burf…
Thank you! This one isn’t nice. Technically, there are harder cobbled climbs (Shibden Wall and the utter brute that is Trooper Lane), but, for whatever reason, this one really gets to you by the top…
Cheers, and Chapeau for giving it a whirl! I'm not exactly high on the list, especially as Winnats was used for the National Hillclimb Championship quite recently so all the top Strava times are likely from then...
@@WheelygoodCycling Thank-you. My ex-neighbour, who is now in his 90s, once entered the National Hill Climb up it and he said that half way up, Tommy Simpson overtook him. No disgrace in that and I bet his time would have been much faster than mine. I starred the "OOOSH Winnats Pass" segment on Strava so the profile would appear on my Garmin. My time on that segment (nearly 1.5 miles) was 15-48, but at least I got up it in one go !
No disgrace at all bing overtaken by Tommy Simpson! The closest I ever got to him, and I mean that in its saddest sense, was when I put a club cap on is memorial on Mont Ventoux… I rode the National in 2022, not with any expectation of anything other than ticking off something from my bucket list and I got passed by a couple people, but I was so far down the order that it wasn’t any one famous! I videoed it and stuck it on the channel, for amusement: RTTC British National Hillclimb Championships 2022 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1WG1b26V2MM.html
Because it’s there? That’s always been enough for me… If you do give it a go, I’d recommend the simplest possible approach: at the bottom of the climb, find your lowest gear. And stay there. Pick a steady effort that feels like you could keep going for a decent amount of time and see how far you can get. If this is new to you, don’t worry if you don’t make it to the top first try: you’ve just set a marker for the next time… Best of British if you do decide to give it a go!
Bad luck choosing a fun run for your ascent! I think the kids did ok, although I did giggle at the parent trying to over complicate things when you approached her group at about 2mph! Awesome effort and I hope there’s better traction when I attempt this in mid Sept 2024.
Best of British when you give this a go! If you can seated for the first bit under the trees, then I reckon you’ll be past the slipperiest of the road (until you come back down, of course 😉). The fun run did do me me one favour - normally the gate at the bottom is shut, so you have to do a standing start on the lower slopes, whereas I was able to ride straight onto the climb. It also presented the opportunity for the runners to gawp at some middle aged idiot trying to ride up something which was proving tricky to walk…. 😂
I completely agree; I first did this on a sportive some years ago and was so disappointed with how easy it was compared to, say, Hardknott Pass in the Lakes. Blakey Bank, on the other hand, very much lives up to its reputation… 😉
Thank you, you're very kind. Good effort on starting on the book - it's taken me a while to get to just about through the first two books. And, whilst I'm not Simon Warren himself, you can see him on the video I took when I rode the 2022 British National Hillclimb Championship race: he's the rider who goes off before me...
@@WheelygoodCycling ah right, well anyway thanks for documenting all the climbs... I was thinking I might nip up to kettlewell in the car and give this one a try maybe tomorrow, although I'm a bit worried I might keel over..
@@WheelygoodCyclinghello, finally did park rash this morning! Quite a hard start but then it's not too bad... Even on top of the two hours it took me to ride there haha. Not sure it's a 9/10 for hardness. Unfortunately the top was just cloud. Did kidstones last year and wasn't aware there was a Yorkshire book?! Must get that. Cheers again it's fun seeing the hills before trying
Yep; I do keep an eye out for any tarmac ... just on the off chance I might see some before it goes extinct ... 😉. Are you still managing to get out on the bike?
@@dianecliff2776 Fantastic! And enjoy the 100 miler (by coincidence, I have a hundred miler event in a couple of weeks’ time) before we all decamp to the turbo trainer for the winter!
Yup, 'fraid so! On a club run, we occasionally shout 'tarmac' when we see some so that we can remember what it feels like to ride on a smooth surface... 😉
Used to drive up and down there once a day on my commute, only had the balls to ride up (and then back down) it once, never again! You made it look fairly easily so fair play!
I remember saying the same thing when I got to the top - the 10% feels like nothing. Good effort! While the climb was hard on the Fred - and the headwind didn't help - the descent was worse. MTB/gravel tires would be better suited to it.
Chapeau to you too! You’ve been really unlucky with the headwind; I’ve ridden Hardknott with an Easterly wind in the past and it was OKas the steepness of the hill stopped the wind coming straight down the road. Double chapeau! The descent is awful; the surface is no fun and the potholes seemed to be exactly on the line I wanted to take! I do have a video on the channel where I rode down this Western side and that’s just terrifying at the top where it feels like the road is just about to drop into the abyss…. ( ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UolRwJQG4H4.htmlsi=2ObV4mt_eTADjyYF )
The roads in France are a revelation if you're used to those in the UK. There are some poor road surfaces around the place, but, in general they're very good. I'd also say that the traffic is much better behaved too; they treat cyclists as proper road users and not just something that's in the way. It's just a very nice place to go and ride a bike!
i felt scared for you as you were weaving into the middle of the road (in and out) . I just wanted you to go on the footpath which had literally no one on it. Forget the rules and just keep safe. By the way I'm not a biker and just watched the video for the Cow and Calf link. All the best.
Hi there, really appreciate the comments. It is a dilemma where to position yourself when on a bicycle; you're not supposed to be on the footpath, but traffic can make it the safest option. I confess that I didn't feel unsafe on this climb as it didn't seem too busy, but I will absolutely bear this in mind in the future... Enjoy your biking!
Tackled this one two days ago during an overnight in Weymouth, really enjoyed it! Quirky as you say and the views at the top were sensational. Didn’t think much of Coombe Valley Road though 😂
Boxley is a hideous climb, traffic so busy as you say... Try Hollingbourne Hill, its' just a little further east along the north downs, much wider & more of a pleasurable experience! Appreciate the videos, just subscribed 🙂
Many thanks for the suggestion 👍; it sounded familiar so I checked my list and it turns out that I have ridden Hollingbourne Hill, but haven't yet put the video up...watch this space, as they say...
I rode up it on my way to Whitby! Should have done my research as I was on my 90’s Ribble steely, the old girl did just fine though, it set me up nicely for Wrynose and Hardknott 2 weeks later..on the R5
Good effort to make it up on that bike! If you made it over Hardknott and Wrynose, have you put in for the Fred? I did manage to ride up Sutton Bank some time after I filmed this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bIpk9j31Ss8.html
@@WheelygoodCycling Cheers, 15kg all in including the saddle bag, I’m a rock climber of 20yrs and I got back into cycling with a few pals during lockdown, now I’m doing coastal rides on my own from Headingley Leeds so definitely hooked. Never done the Fred and I’ve only just read about it to be honest, my last ride over Wrynose and Hardknott was from Headingley to Whitehaven and I clocked 139 miles so I could have a bash on the R5…I still fancy repeating the Whitehaven on my Ribble 653 frame..just for the romance and being a knob who likes pain 👍
Within the cycling community, that approach is sometimes called ‘type 2 fun’; you’re hurting, hating every second, but loving it at the same time. If you can do that kind of ride, then the Fred should be well within your range. It’s a bucket list event for a lot of road cyclists and it is a bit special to ride. OTOH, if pain and big hills are more of a draw on their own, then I can commend a trip to the Halifax area for Shibden Wall, Mytholm Steeps, Dog House Lane, Old Lane and Trooper Lane…. 😉
@@WheelygoodCycling Cheers for that, I’ll take a look at those…loving the endurance rides for the tenacity but I’ve a soft spot for savage hills, big grin on my face at the top…good luck with the channel, subbed 👍
You’re very welcome, and appreciate the sub! That’s a very sound approach to becoming a very good cyclist- a bit of everything is generally recommended, although you’ll find many people touting their specific mix of higher and lower intensity training as the best. The reality is that everyone’s goals and physiology are different, so once you’ve found what works for you, keep at it!
The roads are so busy down there. I did this a couple of weeks ago but screwed up by not hitting the start of the segment. Not one of the great ones but I'll have to go back!
Too right about the roads; I hail from the North East where we just don’t see the volume of traffic you get in the South East and it’s a bit of a culture shock every time I cycle round there (long live the Cycle Paths!) Sorry to hear that you missed out on the segment; been there, done that! I’ve taken to checking the app on my phone at the bottom and top to make sure I get the full segment - there are a couple (Mytholm Steeps springs to mind) where the end of the segment isn’t quite where you think it is…
Tackled this one yesterday morning (6am early) about time too as a born n bred Bristolian! The hill approaching Vale Street was very intimidating, felt like I was going to tip over backwards at one point! Once at the junction looking at it in all its glory, I had the fear in the pit of my stomach 😂I rode on past the segment start and came downhill slightly taking it with a sweeping right turn, once past that initial few metres it was fine! Can see why so many cyclists are drawn to it, a novelty climb sure but no less a true wall!
Great effort! It is an unusual climb in that the steepest part is so steep and so short, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a challenge. It does change the experience if you tackle it from the very bottom of the hill, but it’s not as bad as you might fear - so long as you take the first part steady, you can still give the corner the beans and then hang on in there to the top…
This climb is on my door step, it has to have been dry for over 2 weeks to make it rideable, I've successfully completed it non stop twice out of 5 attempts 😅, definitely the hardest climb I've done, but there is another out of Melin y coed.
It is a proper brute of a climb and you live in a fantastic area if you like riding uphill! Is the climb out of Melin y Coed this one? www.strava.com/segments/27339739 Have you ever given it a go?
@WheelygoodCycling yes thats the one out of Melin y coed, I haven't Rode it yet, but intend to very soon, I've been told its harder than the yha climb, time will tell 🤣
It’s on my list, although it’s looking like next year before I’ll get the opportunity to ride it. Simon Warren rates it as harder than the Rowan YHA climb, but the only way to know for sure is to give it a try…
