Seriously Steep Hills

[ColinJ]

I recently took part in the Pendle Predator. That had a succession of 17%ers with a nasty wall at the end 22% for half a mile it was savage, and I will not be in a hurry to go back.

I rode the earlier incarnation of the event - the Pendle Pedal - and I will definitely be doing that route again, maybe as a CycleChat forum ride, but not until I've lost 3 stone in weight!

 

[JonnyBlade]

Try the Twinnings Salisbury it has 4 hills at the half way point the highest of which rises to over 840 feet

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

North York Moors has some interesting ones. I went up Blue Bank near Whitby in July: 850' in 2 miles. Max gradient 30%; several parts at 25%. Climbed 2400' on that ride. (That's a lot for me.)

 

[Garz]

And your from Bolton!

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

And your from Bolton!

Yes; practically flat round here in comparison.
I think the N York Moors councils must have got bulk discount on 25% signs.

 

[father ted]

My commute home at night (lit roads) has a 1 mile 12% max hill after 11 miles of riding along the A6. Riding around Derbyshire I have 4 hills all over 20% within 15 miles of me and a lot of alpine'esk climbs that are upto 8% for 3/4 or 5+ miles, the A625 upto Froggat, B6001 from Grindleford, the climbs upto Crich and.. well all around me is hilly.

 

[briantrumpet]

Peak Hill near Sidmouth is a good 'un - about 460ft in 0.7 miles. It's the one I head out to from time to time for a steep but friendly climb - it undulates a bit on the way up, so you can vary the rhythm. And then you get a lovely descent down to Otterton.

 

[Bayerd]

Is that the one that starts at the Silent Lady? Bugger if it is.

No (although that one is also a swine), it's halfway between Slaithwaite and Marsden. To find it you'd need to turn down off the A62 directly opposite West End Garage near the Olive Branch. Follow the road for about 3/4 mile and you come to a railway bridge on the left. Don't follow the road under it, instead carry straight on to a road that is only wide enough for a single vehicle, then it starts to climb and you need to hope you don't get a car up your jacksy half way up like I did today as I was down to 3.5mph at the time, in the granny. It's one of them where the front wheel lifts if you sit and the back wheel spins if you stand. Once you've gone around the first hairpin the real steep bit begins and for about 50 metres it's well over 20%.

 

[gb155]

Joel Lane ain't that bad (Gee Cross Dan)

Gaz you need to go to Broadbottom and climb Gorsey Brow - turn right just before the rail bridge as you go down through Broadbottom. Then if you want a real killer, loop back round, back through the village, climb upto Charlesworth and then do Chapel Brow/Monks road. At least you can whizz down Chunal after.

I used to think you were joking, my garmin indicated it's between a 25&28% climb at points

But it seems your not joking !!! Crazy man

 

[nickprior]

Hmm, where would I begin ...

Agreed! And up the valley round Todmorden as well - many roads from valley bottom to moor top. About 1000' over 1 - 1.5 miles. Up and down those in an evening makes for a good workout. Note to self - leave some energy to get home with ...

 

[chillyuk]

I'm sure those who have done LEJOG will remember the big climbs on the A99 of 13% complete with hairpin bends.
I can't remember if they are before or after Wick.

 

[martint235]

I rode the earlier incarnation of the event - the Pendle Pedal - and I will definitely be doing that route again, maybe as a CycleChat forum ride, but not until I've lost 3 stone in weight!

I really must take my road bike up north some time. Originally from Nelson but had a mountain bike when I left 20 odd years ago. It would be a challenge to see how I cope with proper hills!!

 

[fossyant]

As Colin J suggested , any hill is hard if the gearing is too high. Even the pros gear down for the big climbs so why ordinary riders persist in straining on 39/25 or worse is beyond me.

Grrr, 42 x 21 when I was a lad.

Moved down to 39 x 21 as I got older. Since accident was able to fit a 24 which helped, but that's it, can't fit anything lower to my bikes - the mech's won't take much more (old skool stuff).

So I'm well and truely stuffed now getting up steep stuff, especially after my shoulder op. Replacing the whole gear system on a 20 year old bike is a no-no. Time for a new bike I thinks

 

[fossyant]

I used to think you were joking, my garmin indicated it's between a 25&28% climb at points

But it seems your not joking !!! Crazy man

I thinks the Garmin was telling porkies. If it was that steep it would have a chevron or two on it.

Joel Lane ain't easy, but I'd put it at about 15% maximum

 

[TheSandwichMonster]

I've been avoiding hills for a while now - no real reason, but I'm commuting a lot at the minute, so I've been avoiding the tougher rides just for an easier life. With that (and the tour of Britain) in mind, I went out two weekends ago and rode up Haytor just to see what the pro's would be doing. It hurt, and I needed to bring out the granny (on a triple!) to get to the top, but I made it without stopping and with a smile on my face.

Last night, I decided to ride the tougher (but shorter) route home from work - a hilly ride over Haldon from Clapham (near Exeter). It's a stone-cold cow of a climb. According to BikeHike it's only 2.6km from start to finish, but it kicks about a third of the way up and then it kicks again shortly after that, for nearly 200m of climbing in that distance. I've still not managed to conquer it in a single sitting (though a couple of pints at lunchtime probably didn't help), and I've no idea on how it compares to "proper" hills, but it certainly hurts me. Assuming bikehike is accurate, then it's up at nearly 17% at it's steepest.