Swiss Hill!!!

[doctornige]

I must be mad because i hate hills with a passion. It's on my 'to do' list

I like hills. Well, I think I like hills. Cycling every day or so in the Peak gives you a healthy respect for a hill, but it also teaches you how to deal with them - how to break them down into little parts to sprint, spit, churn and chew up. I like nothing more than a hill that steepens and slackens over and over so that I can develop a rhythm and a feel for when to sit down and when to stand the f**k up.

This little skill I seem to have developed was tested to destruction on the Polocini Rivington 100. I was near the front. At least I had a sense I was near the front. Myself and Cliff had been barrelling along with a pro am team who made a navigational error. The two of us swung off the main road onto the correct route, while the team stopped and shouted ahead to reel in the three riders who had obliviously blasted past the right-pointing arrow marker. There was nobody ahead of us apart from one of the event organisers. The disoriented team were still reassembling themselves from their mishap. Eventually they caught us, and I exchanged sprints at the head of the 'race' with one or two of their number. Cliff's cramp stopped him from giving chase. I felt fit. King of the hill and all that.

Then came Jeffers Hill, and my whole self-assembled edifice of cycling fitness came tumbling down in an embarrassed and exhausted unclip with a heart rate of 165.

And I never even saw Paul Talbot, who it seems finished the event some two hours ahead of me. Oh well.

 

[Rob3rt]

And I never even saw Paul Talbot, who it seems finished the event some two hours ahead of me. Oh well.

Paul Talbot is a very good climber (and a nice guy)! I have raced against him in a couple of HC's recently and the last time he put about a minute and a half to two minutes into me.

 

[Hacienda71]

Swiss Hill is not all that bad it is just the cobbles that add that element to it. Avoid it on wet autumn/winter days when leaves are on the ground.
Winnatts pass is much harder.

 

[andsaw]

Anybody ridden Swiss Hill in Alderley Edge (Cheshire)? I've just ridden it for the first time...BLOOMIN' ECK!! I've never seen anything like it!!! The hill is not that long but it's steep man...I reckon the middle part of it is over 20%!! The steepness is not the problem...the whole road is made of cobbles and it's really slippery!!!

Me and my mate was just went out this evening for an easy ride, rode about 20 miles and ended up near Alderley Edge Cricket Ground. I've ridden pass the Cricket Ground loads of times but didn't realise the legendary "Swiss Hill" was there!! My mate, asked me what time it was and I told him it was only 7.30pm and then he said "OK then, here we go" and he just turned up this road and I followed him when I was on the BIG CHAINRING!!! THAT BUGGER!!!!! As soon as I hit the cobbles, I knew exactly what was coming up and that it was Swiss Hill even though I've never been there before! I managed to change into my 3rd gear (39x21) and just stood up and pushed up the hill!! I didn't even care about the steepness but was more concerned about my tyres spinning all over the place!

If you ride up in a lower gear, your back wheel just spins all over the place, put it on a slightly higher one and it might get too hard to push due to the steepness and the front wheel keeps lifting off the ground! It's a wiard experience but I managed to get up it. Swiss Hill is a funny one, if you live near it and fancy a climb then have a go but make sure that it's a DRY day otherwise you are NOT getting up the top.

TIP: When you get half way up, make sure to stay on the left and use the tarmac where residents park their cars.....I didn't and it was well slippy!!

I thought i would have look round my town, nothing as steep as that, did some maths and it works out at 13.17% from bottom to top on that Swiss hill, damm i bet those blood vessels were bulging when you got to the top lol.