# Steep hills.



## gavroche (29 May 2013)

My way of tackling steep hills is simple. If I can see the end of it as I start to climb, sheer determination will see me to the top after a lot of puffing and panting.
If , on the other hand, I can't see the end of it because it is a long one, then I go up as much as I can and then it is a long walk to the top. easy!


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (29 May 2013)

That's really cool


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## Matthew_T (29 May 2013)

Get speed up at the bottom if it is a short hill or just select a low gear that you are comfortable to spin in and take your time up it.

On club rides we usually chase each other up the hill, it makes for a lot of puffing at the top but at least we get up the hill quickly.


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## LarryDuff (29 May 2013)

I tend not to look up the hill but just keep looking at the road just in front of me and grind away. When it starts to level out it's a pleasant surprise.


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## Leodis (29 May 2013)

Matthew_T said:


> Get speed up at the bottom if it is a short hill or just select a low gear that you are comfortable to spin in and take your time up it.
> 
> *On club rides we usually chase each other up the hill*, it makes for a lot of puffing at the top but at least we get up the hill quickly.


 
Do you wear cycling caps as well?


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## BigonaBianchi (29 May 2013)

yes I can...yes I can....yes I am ...yes I am....yes I did ...yes I did...


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (29 May 2013)

BigonaBianchi said:


> yes I can...yes I can....yes I am ...yes I am....yes I did ...yes I did...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8JesWt8tDQk#t=16s


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## numbnuts (29 May 2013)

Being old and having emphysema I just sit and spin in a low gear, I refuse to get off and push


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## BigonaBianchi (29 May 2013)

T.M.H.N.E.T said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8JesWt8tDQk#t=16s


 

yes!! exactly that


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (29 May 2013)

BigonaBianchi said:


> yes!! exactly that


Always wanted to post that clip


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## Hip Priest (29 May 2013)

Anything 12% involves getting out of the saddle and 'powering' up. I can't sit and spin 'cause I haven't got a small enough gear!

Only two hills have ever seen me walking, but I've since beaten one and I'm working on an attempt at the other.


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## Cyclopathic (29 May 2013)

LarryDuff said:


> I tend not to look up the hill but just keep looking at the road just in front of me and grind away. When it starts to level out it's a pleasant surprise.


 
I find that when it starts to level out is when my legs really go to rubber and I want to stop.


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## ColinJ (29 May 2013)

gavroche said:


> My way of tackling steep hills is simple. If I can see the end of it as I start to climb, sheer determination will see me to the top after a lot of puffing and panting.
> If , on the other hand, I can't see the end of it because it is a long one, then I go up as much as I can and then it is a long walk to the top. easy!


It's an interesting approach, but I think that I have spotted a wee problem with it ...


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## musa (29 May 2013)

I just say 'Shut up legs' i never walk up just stop and rest and continue

Well ive walked once but not out of choice more support for someone


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## MickeyBlueEyes (29 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> It's an interesting approach, but I think that I have spotted a wee problem with it ...
> 
> View attachment 23944



Wow, would love a go at that ! !


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## sheffgirl (29 May 2013)

I have yet to conquer the steep hill on my way home in one try 
Fortunately it's flat at the bottom so I use that part to get into a low gear, then just pedal steadily and try to get as far as I can before giving up and stopping. I find counting to ten over and over helps. I will make it one day.


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## Rob3rt (29 May 2013)

Another snoozer form Gavroche............. why on earth do I walk into these all the damn time!


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## Eribiste (29 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> It's an interesting approach, but I think that I have spotted a wee problem with it ...
> 
> View attachment 23944


 
Is Charlie Croaker's (Michael Caine) blue coach still half on, half off the road up there?


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## gavroche (29 May 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> Another snoozer form Gavroche............. why on earth do I walk into these all the damn time!


Sorry to disappoint you. I thought this was a cycling forum with cycling related topics.


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## classic33 (29 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> It's an interesting approach, but I think that I have spotted a wee problem with it ...
> 
> View attachment 23944


I don't remember seeing hills like that round this neck o'woods. Can I take it its not a local road!

I've managed most of the local hills without having to resort to pushing. Even taken a Brox up from Elland to Junction 24(Ainley Top), and upto Leeds/Bradford through Yeadon & the road out of Otley.


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## potsy (29 May 2013)

classic33 said:


> I don't remember seeing hills like that round this neck o'woods. Can I take it its not a local road!


That's my commute route


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## classic33 (29 May 2013)

potsy said:


> That's my commute route


Whats the descent like, hairpins bends included.


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## Mapster1989 (29 May 2013)

Winnats Pass, Derbyshire defeated me on my first attempt. Grinded to a halt, panicked, fell off whilst being clipped in (yes everyone has done it), turned around and went back down.

...but after about two months of avoiding it I did it again and... I DID IT!!!


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## ColinJ (29 May 2013)

MickeyBlueEyes said:


> Wow, would love a go at that ! !





classic33 said:


> I don't remember seeing hills like that round this neck o'woods. Can I take it its not a local road!


It's the Stelvio Pass which was supposed to feature in stage 19 of this year's Giro d'Italia, but that stage was cancelled due to snow.


Eribiste said:


> Is Charlie Croaker's (Michael Caine) blue coach still half on, half off the road up there?


Apparently, those scenes in The Italian Job were filmed on St Bernard's Pass.

Incidentally, I was living in Coventry at the time that the original Italian Job was filmed and I remember that the scene where the minis drive down the huge sewer pipe was shot in the new sewer system being constructed under the city!


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## Alan Frame (29 May 2013)

Lots of climbing usually indicates a lack of route planning.

Gravity is my enemy. Holds me down going up and pushes me down going down.

There's a lot to be said for "flat".


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## ColinJ (29 May 2013)

Alan Frame said:


> Lots of climbing usually indicates a lack of route planning.


Or was it a lack of low gear planning?


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## BigonaBianchi (29 May 2013)

There were one or two sections on the transam that had me pushing.the bike for a bit...the Rockies were ok, the Ozarks were steeper but shorter..I prefer the long approaches...short sharp 15% and I'm walking...no shame in.
That. Rather that than bust a chain.or pedal just out of some stubborn wish not to walk up any.hill.


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## ColinJ (29 May 2013)

BigonaBianchi said:


> Rather that than bust a chain.or pedal just out of some stubborn wish not to walk up any.hill.


I have seen people break chains on steep hills, but only when they have turned too high a gear and 'mashed' the pedals round. I've done hundreds of 20+% climbs and never broken a chain, but I spin low gears.


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## snorri (29 May 2013)

I am becoming increasingly aware of the rare forms of vegetation to be found at the sides of many of my local steeper gradients. It is getting to the stage where I seldom reach a summit without having had to stop at least once in order to study more closely the rarer of these specimens.


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## HLaB (29 May 2013)

There's some steephills round here, they only last a few hundred metres though  If I can I like to power up them but with longer climbs of varying steepness you have to be more clever to last to the top; I hope my body still remembers how to do that, Ive not had much practice lately


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## BigonaBianchi (29 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> I have seen people break chains on steep hills, but only when they have turned too high a gear and 'mashed' the pedals round. I've done hundreds of 20+% climbs and never broken a chain, but I spin low gears.


 
im 110 kilos


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## Matthew_T (29 May 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> Another snoozer form Gavroche............. why on earth do I walk into these all the damn time!


If you dont like it you dont have to comment. I think that comment was very mean. Gavvy is asking a normal question and you have basically said that it isnt interesting. Of course there are going to be things on here that people find uninteresting, dont complain about it.


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## ColinJ (29 May 2013)

BigonaBianchi said:


> im 110 kilos


I was 106 kilos at the time!

(Only 89 now ...)


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## Matthew_T (29 May 2013)

classic33 said:


> Whats the descent like, hairpins bends included.


I imagine that the descent is a little like this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0U1vpCcYNE

(1:45 onwards)


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## AnythingButVanilla (29 May 2013)

Matthew_T said:


> On club rides we usually chase each other up the hill


 
To the Benny Hill theme tune sexy style?


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## gavroche (30 May 2013)

When I changed my cassette to 11-30 , I was told by the shop that I would be able to get up any hills! I now have a chain drive of 30-30 for hills but still struggle on the steepest. I think I need to change my legs and go some years younger.


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## MarkF (30 May 2013)

LarryDuff said:


> I tend not to look up the hill but just keep looking at the road just in front of me and grind away.


 
That's what I do, disconnect my thoughts from the hill and my legs entirely.  Although this hasn't worked yet on the hill north out of Settle to Malham.

Oh, and Classic just reminded me, it's failed to work on Otley Chevin too.


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## tyred (30 May 2013)

I'm a big strong lad and generally will attempt to climb anything I come across, even on fixed wheel but occasionally, I find it nice to hop off even if I have the gears and legs to do it and walk for a change of pace.


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## Ningishzidda (30 May 2013)

Alan Frame said:


> Lots of climbing usually indicates a lack of route planning.
> 
> Gravity is my enemy. Holds me down going up and pushes me down going down.
> 
> There's a lot to be said for "flat".


The Earth's attraction net force is weaker than some.

PS, One is 'pulled'.


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## Roadhump (30 May 2013)

sheffgirl said:


> I have yet to conquer the steep hill on my way home in one try
> Fortunately it's flat at the bottom so I use that part to get into a low gear, then just pedal steadily and try to get as far as I can before giving up and stopping. I find counting to ten over and over helps. I will make it one day.


 
See you are from Sheffield. My daughter is at Sheffield University and when I visit her, I am always amazed at how hilly a city it is, I think there would be many hills that would be difficult to conquer there, must be excellent for stamina training but I prefer the flat landscape over here being someone who likes to do things with minimal effort.


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## Roadhump (30 May 2013)

Alan Frame said:


> Lots of climbing usually indicates a lack of route planning.
> 
> Gravity is my enemy. Holds me down going up and pushes me down going down.
> 
> There's a lot to be said for "flat".


 
Where I live it is generally too flat, I have to cycle about 7 to 8 miles to find a hill. Flat is good, but the lack of tackling hills seems to have stopped me building my stamina, I see cyclists elsewhere whilst out and about in the country tackling big hills and admire their ability to climb places I would give up on much sooner.


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## wiggydiggy (30 May 2013)

Advantage of buying a hybrid - granny gear for climbing!

Drop gear, spin, get passed by jogger lol


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## Roadhump (30 May 2013)

At the back of my mind I have always thought I must go and conquer Parbold Hill (near Wigan) but I have struggled with much shorter and less steep hills....must put it on my bucket list, only thing is, it might bring my bucket moment forward somewhat.


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## Roadhump (30 May 2013)

wiggydiggy said:


> Advantage of buying a hybrid - granny gear for climbing!
> 
> Drop gear, spin, get passed by jogger lol


 
Ha ha, got passed by a skateboarder on the flat a couple of years ago *hangs head in shame*


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## gaz (30 May 2013)

Had to get off and walk up one the other day. It was over 20% and I didn't have the gear for it 
I've since been back and done it with a different bike.


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## AnythingButVanilla (30 May 2013)

I have granny gears on both my hybrid and road bikes and still get off and push up hills. I'm starting to have actual panic attacks about Normandy next month.


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## Sittingduck (30 May 2013)

gaz said:


> Had to get off and walk up one the other day. It was over 20% and I didn't have the gear for it
> I've since been back and done it with a different bike.


 
Do tell....


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## Andrew_P (30 May 2013)

gaz said:


> Had to get off and walk up one the other day. It was over 20% and I didn't have the gear for it
> I've since been back and done it with a different bike.


Coulsdon Two Step?


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## Ningishzidda (30 May 2013)

There's a particularly steep hill near where I live. I've not yet ridden all the way from bottom to top.
I always stop half way up for a cigarette.


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## fossyant (30 May 2013)

Are you jesting about the ciggy. If not id stop smoking, you might get up the hill


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## ColinJ (30 May 2013)

fossyant said:


> Are you jesting about the ciggy. If not id stop smoking, you might get up the hill


I once did the Rossendale Mountain Bike Challenge when it included a climb of Ramsbottom Rake ...

 

(The helmet cam rider was clearly pretty fit!)

... and one of our number got dropped. He eventually caught up as we discussed which way to go at the top of the climb. We asked him what the hold up had been and he replied that he'd run out of breath on the steepest bit so he'd stopped for a ciggy break!


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## sheffgirl (30 May 2013)

I found a YouTube video of the hilly portion of my commute backwards, it doesn't look so steep in a car, but it definitely feels it 

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Kad9Y_dczo


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## gaz (30 May 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> Do tell....


Tupwood Lane just south of Caterham. My gestermation of 20% might have been a bit over, it looks to be more 16% at the steepest.


LOCO said:


> Coulsdon Two Step?


*grumbly grumbly grumbly*


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## Rob3rt (30 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> I once did the Rossendale Mountain Bike Challenge when it included a climb of Ramsbottom Rake ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...





They used the Rake for the National HC Championship last year. It is a proper British climbers climb, short and savage. This year they are using the Stang.


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## Andrew_P (30 May 2013)

gaz said:


> Tupwood Lane just south of Caterham. My gestermation of 20% might have been a bit over, it looks to be more 16% at the steepest.


 That looks like a weekend challenge, need 37th to top the CC leaderboard


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## gaz (30 May 2013)

LOCO said:


> That looks like a weekend challenge, need 37th to top the CC leaderboard


Go for it! If you follow the road around to the left afterwards then there is a really nice view here


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## Hip Priest (30 May 2013)

BigonaBianchi said:


> I prefer the long approaches...short sharp 15% and I'm walking...no shame in.
> That. Rather that than bust a chain.or pedal just out of some stubborn wish not to walk up any.hill.


 

You've got a healthier attitude than me mate! I obsess over the hills that have defeated me, and resolve to get over them. I did a 100k sportive last year in a decent time, but I was so gutted I had to walk for 200yds up a hill that I felt I hadn't completed the route


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## ColinJ (30 May 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> They used the Rake for the National HC Championship last year. It is a proper British climbers climb, short and savage. This year they are using the Stang.


I went over to watch when they held the championship there in 1999. Won that year by an anorexic-looking Jim Henderson who definitely had his power-to-weight ratio sorted, but looked as if he would be blown away if you sneezed in front of him! 

The top riders were impressively on top of their fixed gears but I had to laugh at the optimism of some of the also-rans ... Why on earth would you stick a gear on your bike that you were incapable of turning over on a steep climb like that! Some of the riders did inadvertent trackstands towards the top and looked as though their heads were going to explode. IIRC, one or two actually fell over.


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## matthat (31 May 2013)

Roadhump said:


> Where I live it is generally too flat, I have to cycle about 7 to 8 miles to find a hill. Flat is good, but the lack of tackling hills seems to have stopped me building my stamina, I see cyclists elsewhere whilst out and about in the country tackling big hills and admire their ability to climb places I would give up on much sooner.


 
I to used to be in southport!! Parbold is probably the one and only challenge around that way.


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## matthat (31 May 2013)

matthat said:


> I to used to be in southport!! Parbold is probably the one and only challenge around that way.


 
I really must start finishing reading threads before quoting!! @Roadhump I presume you know the area pretty well but a good ride is Mere Brow,Croston,eccleston,wrightington then the easier way up Parbold Hill and the best way down!  Then as i'm sure your aware there is plenty of lanes back across to southport either clieves hill way or back scarisbrick along Drummersdale and wyke lane. I lived just by the red lion and have ridden most of the lanes around that way!


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## Sittingduck (31 May 2013)

LOCO said:


> That looks like a weekend challenge, need 37th to top the CC leaderboard


 

I will have to go and have another go at it sometime soon. Freezing cold SUnday morning with a cassette / chain that was slipping in the small chainring, if I recall correctly 
Bit of a bummer to get to unless you go via the lanes from the Caterham side and retrace your steps. I messed up on my navigation around there and was on the main A22 about to drop off the Cliff face down the dual carriageway, before thinking better of it and turning over the cyclepath, which led me to the hill.

Gaz you should try Succumbs... just down the road, I think by the Ann Summer warehouse? Don't be tempted to break in they probably have it well guarded.


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## gavroche (31 May 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> Another snoozer form Gavroche............. why on earth do I walk into these all the damn time!


 Well, we are on the third page now .Not bad for a snoozer is it?


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## Andrew_P (31 May 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> I will have to go and have another go at it sometime soon. Freezing cold SUnday morning with a cassette / chain that was slipping in the small chainring, if I recall correctly
> Bit of a bummer to get to unless you go via the lanes from the Caterham side and retrace your steps. I messed up on my navigation around there and was on the main A22 about to drop off the Cliff face down the dual carriageway, before thinking better of it and turning over the cyclepath, which led me to the hill.
> 
> Gaz you should try Succumbs... just down the road, I think by the Ann Summer warehouse? Don't be tempted to break in they probably have it well guarded.


I reckon you must have covered nearly every segment in Surrey! I have a few over you but they are ones you have not covered for a year or so, and I'm not saying where they are lol


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## Ningishzidda (31 May 2013)

One sure fire way of stopping any chatroom thread of this title is to mention Ffordd pen Llech.


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## Rob3rt (31 May 2013)

gavroche said:


> Well, we are on the third page now .Not bad for a snoozer is it?


 

Fortunatelly, the conversation moved on so your initial statement became completely irrelevant!

I certainly didn't return to the thread because of your contribution, I returned because ColinJ's post re. the Rake showed up in my feed.


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## gaz (31 May 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> I will have to go and have another go at it sometime soon. Freezing cold SUnday morning with a cassette / chain that was slipping in the small chainring, if I recall correctly
> Bit of a bummer to get to unless you go via the lanes from the Caterham side and retrace your steps. I messed up on my navigation around there and was on the main A22 about to drop off the Cliff face down the dual carriageway, before thinking better of it and turning over the cyclepath, which led me to the hill.
> 
> Gaz you should try Succumbs... just down the road, I think by the Ann Summer warehouse? Don't be tempted to break in they probably have it well guarded.


Excuses excuses! 

I know succumbs, 25% right?
I think you need to get the timing right with the traffic, it's a little too narrow and a little too busy for my liking. Been down it several times.


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## gavroche (31 May 2013)

Rob3rt said:


> Fortunatelly, the conversation moved on so your initial statement became completely irrelevant!


 Actually, you are talking a lot of hot air as all the conversations are about steep hills, the object of my thread which I initiated, thank you very much. Roger and out.


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## Roadhump (31 May 2013)

ColinJ said:


> I once did the Rossendale Mountain Bike Challenge when it included a climb of Ramsbottom Rake ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Wow!! Excellent vid, doubt I would survive that...max H.R. would be well exceeded.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (31 May 2013)

Roadhump said:


> Wow!! Excellent vid, doubt I would survive that...max H.R. would be well exceeded.


How can you exceed a maximum?


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## Roadhump (31 May 2013)

matthat said:


> I really must start finishing reading threads before quoting!! @Roadhump I presume you know the area pretty well but a good ride is Mere Brow,Croston,eccleston,wrightington then the easier way up Parbold Hill and the best way down!  Then as i'm sure your aware there is plenty of lanes back across to southport either clieves hill way or back scarisbrick along Drummersdale and wyke lane. I lived just by the red lion and have ridden most of the lanes around that way!


 
As it happens I use Drummersdale Lane to go the other way and get into the country around Lathom, Burscough and Mere Brow quite a bit, then return to Southport via Banks and the Coast Road (where the wind, rather than the gradient, frequently offers a stern challenge). The distance varies between 25 and 35 miles depending on how you meander. The Croston to Wrightington route sounds good, the countryside round there is tremendous - must give it a whirl soon.


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## Roadhump (31 May 2013)

T.M.H.N.E.T said:


> How can you exceed a maximum?


 
Good point, how ever it happens, still think my ticker would pack in trying that.


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## Rob3rt (31 May 2013)

gavroche said:


> Actually, you are talking a lot of hot air as all the conversations are about steep hills, the object of my thread which I initiated, thank you very much. Roger and out.


 

It might be about hills, but it is no longer about your inadequacy in ascending them.


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## Archie_tect (31 May 2013)

The south road up out of Rothbury is a long one + Whickham Bank gets steeper towards the top!


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## Matthew_T (31 May 2013)

The start of this video has a hill that I often have to walk up:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voM7mJLTh28

On this particular occasion I could have cycled a bit more but decided not to chance the ice.

For locals it is Gwaenesgor hill from Prestatyn.


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## Accy cyclist (1 Jun 2013)

My technique is to count 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 to the sound of my scraping chain,and to keep my head down looking at the floor as much as possible. The sight of what lies ahead of you can be quite off putting, so i only look up for pot holes,parked cars and pedestrians every now and then.


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## Zofo (1 Jun 2013)

I favour the zig-zag style ;-

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW0e3FjB2t0


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