Hills Question

[JustT]

Hi all,

New to the site, and only 12 months into cycling. Love it, and regularly doing over 100 miles a week. With regular weekend rides with my local Tri club of 45-55 miles.

I live in Rossendale so it’s not exactly flat, but have decided to enter for the Helvellin triathlon this September. Never been one for speed, so going for the endurance thing lol.

So to the question, 'The Struggle' looms at me, and I have to get up it with the ability to still run 9 miles... All my training obviously contains hills, there is no flat round our way ha ha...but apart from Blackstone edge (Crag Vale) near Halifax, and going up to Bolton by bowland and doing the few hills round there, and back up Waddington fell from Newton, there are not many 'big' hills that I know of round here. Does anyone know of anywhere I could train, that would not include a long car journey, preferably within riding distance of Rossendale, but don’t mind a short car journey?

I was contemplating joining in this Sundays Yorkshire Dale ride, but not sure I should attempt it without first having experienced a few category 2 hills first. My problem is lack of knowledge about the area outside Rossendale for riding. If anyone has a few maps, a few good routes would be fantastic....

Thanks

T

 

[supercooper]

Hi and to C/C sorry I can't help you but I thought I'd just say hi and

 

[evilclive]

New to the site, and only 12 months into cycling. Love it, and regularly doing over 100 miles a week. With regular weekend rides with my local Tri club of 45-55 miles.
...
I was contemplating joining in this Sundays Yorkshire Dale ride, but not sure I should attempt it without first having experienced a few category 2 hills first. My problem is lack of knowledge about the area outside Rossendale for riding. If anyone has a few maps, a few good routes would be fantastic....

If you're doing the sort of rides you mention already, the only thing which should put you off this Sunday's ride is the worry that you'll leave everybody for dust :-)

If the weather's nice, come along, it's a fantastic set of roads. If people are too slow for you, nothing stopping you heading off on your own.

Re knowledge of riding areas : you can't go wrong with yellow (OS 1:50K) roads - ie not A or B roads (*). Pick a route, go for it - then pick another one. Anywhere hilly will be good, and you've got plenty of hilly choices near you. If you post a route up here, people might be able to suggest improvements, but it'd still be your route.

(* obviously in the same way you get on-road bits linking mountain bike sections, A or B road linking sections are often necessary)

 

[Globalti]

Rossendale Tri, eh? Ask Garrie Prosser about Birdy Brow on the end of Longridge Fell; it may not be as long as The Struggle but it's an absolute swine on a road bike. I watched Garrie sweat up it once a few years back. Otherwise there's a shocker on the Lancaster to Clitheroe road, a couple of miles outside Lancaster, Jubilee Tower Hill I think it's called - it's probably the best simulation you'll find around here. Oh, and Gisburn Forest to Bowland Knotts, short and brutish but worth it for the views alone. In fact you could go over that, nip along westwards towards Lancaster then cut back over the Jubilee climb and through The Trough for tea at Puddleducks in Dunsop Bridge. The owner Trevor bakes all the bread and cakes.

It's all my stamping ground, I might even come some of the way with you - I live just outside Blackburn.

 

[colly]

I was contemplating joining in this Sundays Yorkshire Dale ride, but not sure I should attempt it without first having experienced a few category 2 hills first.

Come along. It would be good to have you with us. As Evilclive has said it isn't a race and even if you find the hills difficult then you won't be the only one.

Realistically if you are doing 100 to 150 miles a week I should think you would find the hills a breeze. Ok maybe not a breeze but nothing you couldn't handle.

Only one way to find out ! Look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

 

[JustT]

Thanks all, will seriously consider it for sunday....

And thanks Globalti, will def try out your suggestions, and grab Garry about Birdy and Longridge. I am by no means a fast rider, slow and steady is my thing, but do love a challenge, just often lack the confidence.

 

[Glover Fan]

My tip for the struggle is to take it steady and get a rhythm going from the start. It starts off steep, stays quite steep for another couple of miles, desceptively descends a smidgen and then gets ridiculously steep at the end. An absolute killer.

I watched the triathlon a couple of years back on holiday and loads of people were really attacking the bottom of the struggle coming out of Ambleside. I can't imagine how they must've felt at the top.

 

[JustT]

Thanks for that, have watched a few video's on youtube and seen a few walking at the top, so would not be on my own if I had too, but I am a typicaly stubborn female and want to be able to ride the whole lot, and still put a good effort in on the run. I believe in being prepared, so hoping to get up there begining of August for a recci, so intend to try out Globalti's suggestions over the next few weeks.

 

[monnet]

Riding around the Trough, you've got plenty of hills to practice on. Climbing Waddington from the Bashall Eves side and then up to the Trough you can go on to bag Oakenclough, Harris End, Jubilee Tower and Quernmore Brow, depending on how you configure your route. I'm originally from Preston and they were my regular rides. The Cotswolds are lumpy but nothing's made me suffer more than that lot....well apart from trying to hold on to a 2nd cat race going through Chaigley. That was just brutal!

 

[Garz]

Rossendale eh!

Well you should be familiar with Ashworth Valley and the fairly notorious Ramsbottom 'Rake'. These are pretty much on your doorstep, the rake also being used in hill climbing championships in the past, are areas I hit regularly to give me something to sweat over.

 

[JustT]

Hi Garz, yep know the rake well, done it on my road bike, a friend of mine blew his chain on it a while back. Short and nasty, but not really long enough for a good simulation of the struggle. I am currently using it to train my uphill running, adding the ascent up to the tower on to it, now that knocks the wind out of you haha

Not been up Ashworth road, will have to try that one, is it steeper than Old Bets (edenfield road)? done that one from both directions. Usualy come back that way after doing Crag Vale, Always windy up there.

 

[Globalti]

Owd Betts is a turnpike road built in 1794 so it is pretty well engineered with reasonably consistent gradients for long distances. Ashworth Valley road on the other hand is much much older and will be a former packhorse trail, so it wanders around and swoops up and down all over the place, much more like The Struggle which is definitely a former packhorse road.

 

[pshore]

Does anyone know of anywhere I could train, that would not include a long car journey, preferably within riding distance of Rossendale, but don’t mind a short car journey?

Hill training is a good thing but you don't necessarily need them, you've just got to feel the burn and keep it going as long as possible (eg interval training). It's easy to do that on a flat road (which you don't have), or a gym bike or turbo trainer, or use a head wind etc.

 

[Ghost Donkey]

If you don't mind going to the other side of Halifax and fancy a day of sharp hill climbs you could go through Halifax and head over to Queensbury then Oxenhope, Haworth, Hebden Bridge areas. You might want to drive over some of the way as you could add a considerable distance and hill work before turning round back home.

 

[JustT]

Cheers all, will try that Ashworth Valley rd, and was thinking of going over towards Howarth one day next week, preferably when the weather is kinder, them there tops are mighty exposed in bad weather, and I am sick of getting wet haha.

Used a turbo with the club each week through the winter, done lots of spinning classes, hill reps, and now time trials with the club on wednesday nights, and the wind seems to have been a constant pain in the rear for the last few months, I'm forgetting what its like to cycle in calm weather. Just been out now following the blue around Rossendale haha.
Cheers all.... off to mapmyride