I fainted at the top of a steep hill on my ride today!

[YahudaMoon]

I get dizzy sometimes climbing air frames day in, day out in my job, I think Im getting old for my career

 

[steve50]

that is one hell of a climb up to Heptonstall village, I have never attempted to cycle it but have driven up it a time or two, it is not for the faint hearted by any stretch of the imagination.I'm glad you're ok Colin, take it easy fella, we are not as young as we used to be.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I second @steve50's comment about ageing
Glad you're ok @ColinJ but take it easy, we are not as young as we used to be!

 

[Sea of vapours]

Glad you're OK, Colin. Shall I book an ambulance to meet us at the top of White Shaw Moss (the gated climb from Dentdale to Kingsdale) on the 2nd July? Alternatively, maybe you could volunteer for gate opening duty and thus mildly reduce your exertion?

 

[Glow worm]

Relieved you're OK Colin. Its been great to read about you getting back in the saddle after your health problems. Take it easy fella and all the very best

 

[ColinJ]

[QUOTE 4327181, member: 9609"]that s one seriously steep climb, bike hike make it at 440' ascent in 0.7 mile (630' per mile) that is steeper than the biggest climb in the borders. What gear would you be doing that in ?[/QUOTE]
The lowest one that I have!

The CAAD5 that I was riding used to have a bottom gear of 39/29 so that was what I rode then. I always felt overgeared though so I converted the bike to a triple and now have a much more comfortable 28/29 bottom gear which I can spin rather than grind.

Glad you're OK, Colin. Shall I book an ambulance to meet us at the top of White Shaw Moss (the gated climb from Dentdale to Kingsdale) on the 2nd July? Alternatively, maybe you could volunteer for gate opening duty and thus mildly reduce your exertion?

The flaw in your suggestion is that I would need to be the first one to the gate, which is not going to happen unless the rest of you stop for a chat at the bottom while I go on ahead!

My confidence has been knocked a bit by this but I am hoping that it is only a temporary blip. I have been doing much harder hills than that and not having problems so I should have been ok.

I hope to do the Humber ride from York next weekend. That is a long ride, but flat, so I don't expect problems unless I am coming down with a bug, or have a more fundamental health issue.

 

[Pale Rider]

Looks like it's where I and everyone else except @Littgull parted company with @ColinJ on a recent forum ride.

We'd had enough of hills by then, but fair play to the pair of them for taking it on.

It does look steep, although on the OS map it doesn't have any of those nasty little black arrows to denote sharp gradients.

By the look of it, the road up the other side of the valley to Horsehold is steeper.

http://binged.it/1Pz9tWx

Edit: Look like Bing maps doesn't want to link to the OS map.

 

[EltonFrog]

If you feel dizzy again Colin try and find somewhere to lie down with your feet above your head resting on a wall or something, works for me if I over do it.

 

[Turdus philomelos]

I have been taking vitamin B complex for a few years now 'for insurance'.

For this condition taking a supplement is ineffective Colin. I would just pop it back on the to do check list when you next see the doc.

 

[ColinJ]

Looks like it's where I and everyone else except @Littgull parted company with @ColinJ on a recent forum ride.

We'd had enough of hills by then, but fair play to the pair of them for taking it on.

It does look steep, although on the OS map it doesn't have any of those nasty little black arrows to denote sharp gradients.

By the look of it, the road up the other side of the valley to Horsehold is steeper.

http://binged.it/1Pz9tWx

Edit: Look like Bing maps doesn't want to link to the OS map.

Yes, that is the hill that I went up with Littgull, though I think we stayed on Lee Wood Rd halfway up and took the longer, easier way up to Slack.

Horsehold is a brute, but it is a no through road, only serving a few hilltop farms, so I have only done it a couple of times on a road bike (just to see if I could!). I don't even go all of the way up on my MTB or CX bikes now, preferring to turn left up the offroad route past Weasal Hall.

The worst climb nearby is Church Lane/Mytholm Steeps, the most direct route up to Blackshaw Head. I have about a 50% success rate on that one. I make it up the multiple 16-20% sections, but the short double chevron section at 25% often defeats me. Here is a picture that I took after one emergency dismount ...!

If you feel dizzy again Colin try and find somewhere to lie down with your feet above your head resting on a wall or something, works for me if I over do it.

I have been talking to my friends and they said that I actually stood chatting to them for several seconds before I grabbed the chair, fearing collapse.

I have poor circulation in my left leg now because of damage to the valves in the veins of that leg caused by the DVT of 2012. It can cause the blood to pool in my left calf, which swells up. A couple of CycleChatters have commented on it on recent forum rides. I

One of my friends commented after the faint yesterday that I have a varicose vein on the back of my calf muscle. That is a post-DVT legacy.

I suspect that if I had done as you suggest, I might have got away with it by using gravity to drain the blood back towards my heart rather than away from it when I was standing post-climb. Still, I think that prevention is better than a cure. I will accept a more sedate pace on the steeper climbs for now!

For this condition taking a supplement is ineffective Colin. I would just pop it back on the to do check list when you next see the doc.

I read about that problem at the time that I got ill. I wondered why some people needed vit B injections when others just take supplements. Turns out that the injections are needed when the digestive system is unable to absorb vit B from food. I don't have anaemia so I must be ok with that.

 

[Pale Rider]

Yes, that is the hill that I went up with Littgull, though I think we stayed on Lee Wood Rd halfway up and took the longer, easier way up to Slack.

Horsehold is a brute, but it is a no through road, only serving a few hilltop farms, so I have only done it a couple of times on a road bike (just to see if I could!). I don't even go all of the way up on my MTB or CX bikes now, preferring to turn left up the offroad route past Weasal Hall.

The worst climb nearby is Church Lane/Mytholm Steeps, the most direct route up to Blackshaw Head. I have about a 50% success rate on that one. I make it up the multiple 16-20% sections, but the short double chevron section at 25% often defeats me. Here is a picture that I took after one emergency dismount ...!

I have been talking to my friends and they said that I actually stood chatting to them for several seconds before I grabbed the chair, fearing collapse.

I have poor circulation in my left leg now because of damage to the valves in the veins of that leg caused by the DVT of 2012. It can cause the blood to pool in my left calf, which swells up. A couple of CycleChatters have commented on it on recent forum rides. I

One of my friends commented after the faint yesterday that I have a varicose vein on the back of my calf muscle. That is a post-DVT legacy.

I suspect that if I had done as you suggest, I might have got away with it by using gravity to drain the blood back towards my heart rather than away from it when I was standing post-climb. Still, I think that prevention is better than a cure. I will accept a more sedate pace on the steeper climbs for now!


I read about that problem at the time that I got ill. I wondered why some people needed vit B injections when others just take supplements. Turns out that the injections are needed when the digestive system is unable to absorb vit B from food. I don't have anaemia so I must be ok with that.

I saw the Church Lane climb on the OS map - it has a second pair of chevrons further up.

I've done double chevron climbs on the 20" wheel ebike, although the front wheel gets very light - I usually pop a couple of involuntary wheelies.

 

[MartinQ]

I suspect that if I had done as you suggest, I might have got away with it by using gravity to drain the blood back towards my heart rather than away from it when I was standing post-climb. Still, I think that prevention is better than a cure. I will accept a more sedate pace on the steeper climbs for now!

Must admit, I feel a bit dizzy most of the time and its this that really stops me from doing any decent rides these days (as you may have noticed :-)). A couple of years ago I came off my bike and ended up in a ditch for no real reason - flattish road, nothing else around, road reasonably decent .... Stay safe ....

 

[Pale Rider]

I sometimes feel a bit dizzy when I strain up a modest slope on my push bike.

That's plenty of exertion for me.

Much as I like cycling, no point in risking what is colloquially known as a 'gripper' for it.

 

[Mrs M]

Happy to hear you're ok
Sounds like your friends and helpers did a great job.
Take care x

 

[ColinJ]

Must admit, I feel a bit dizzy most of the time and its this that really stops me from doing any decent rides these days (as you may have noticed :-)). A couple of years ago I came off my bike and ended up in a ditch for no real reason - flattish road, nothing else around, road reasonably decent .... Stay safe ....

That's what put paid to a Scottish Great Uncle's cycling. He had cycled since he was a boy, but he ended up in a ditch for about the third time in his mid-80s and his doctor said "Och, I think maybe it is time to hang up your wheels ..."! I think a dodgy sense of balance was the main problem. I'd be inclined to switch to a tricycle in that eventuality.

Well, I was sensible today, for once ... I woke up feeling annoyed with that hill, and decided to cycle over, tackle it again, and actually make it into that cafe for my coffee and cake. Then I paused, thought better of it, and settled for a quiet day in instead. I still have a fuzzy head from yesterday so I decided to be kind to myself and rest.

I had a £15 eBay voucher which had to be redeemed by midnight so I spent an hour shopping around and bought a USB microphone for the home music studio that I am setting up. I got THIS ONE for £24.99 which seems a bargain. I have listened to some sample recordings and they seemed fine to my ageing ears.

I'm not sure if everybody installing the eBay app gets that £15 discount but it is worth checking if you intend to spend £30+ on one item. As I mentioned above - I think the offer closes at midnight tonight, but that may just be the voucher that I was sent.