The Annual Lunacy Climbing Challenge Chatzone

[Dogtrousers]

One thing I like about cycling is that it gives you a very physical understanding of the terrain. The North Downs ridge is a typical escarpment, shaped like a door wedge, with one shallow (dip) slope and one steep (scarp) slope. The shallow slope runs down Northwards towards London and the Thames. Being made of chalk, rivers have cut deep valleys into it giving many short sharp climbs. The scarp slope is where the biggest climbs in the area can be found.

This means that my ride of two halves went first up and down short steep climbs in the valley of the Caterham Bourne river that flows North towards the Thames. Then the second half was down and back up the scarp of the N Downs three times. My legs hurt.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Horrible weather today. A biting cold wind on top of the Downs carrying little flecks of water and maybe some hail.

I did last week's loop in the opposite direction. This brought a new set of climbs into play, including Succomb's Hill which is a double chevron - quite rare inside the M25. Although in terms of numbers this was one of the easiest of my challenge rides, in terms of how it felt it was the hardest. I think that's down to the succession of very steep gradients right at the end. I'm now slumped in front of the telly watching the racing. I may be some time.

 

[Sea of vapours]

Another chilly but often sunny day with next to no wind and no wet stuff falling from the sky or on the roads. This route is my best attempt at a Lunacy Climbing level route really close to home. It almost ended about 2km after I started though, since the Langcliffe Scar road, which normally features a tricky, steeply sloping cattle grid at about one third of the way up, currently features a deep, road-width hole instead, since they're replacing the ancient grid with a shiny new one. Fortunately, there's a pedestrian route around the deep hole, though that'll stop anyone getting up there 'quickly' for a while.

Half an hour later, I thought I'd have to turn back due to a herd of about forty cows walking along the road near Malham Tarn, but fortunately they were being controlled by two dogs and were directed off the road for me to pass. I don't think bikes mix well with large numbers of moving cows as a general rule.

Today's HR of 27.6 m/km felt much more manageable than the previous of 36, but still rather hard work. It's about time a few more people had a go at this. I'm eagerly anticipating watching @ColinJ 's collection of routes in Calderdale.

 

[ColinJ]

Half an hour later, I thought I'd have to turn back due to a herd of about forty cows walking along the road near Malham Tarn, but fortunately they were being controlled by two dogs and were directed off the road for me to pass. I don't think bikes mix well with large numbers of moving cows as a general rule.

No - I have said it before - it can only lead to Udder Chaos!

Today's HR of 27.6 m/km felt much more manageable than the previous of 36, but still rather hard work. It's about time a few more people had a go at this. I'm eagerly anticipating watching @ColinJ 's collection of routes in Calderdale.

Er, so am I!

I came 'pretty close' this evening. Well, closer than not going out on my bike at all! 240 metres of ascent in 14 km. Must try harder!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I thought I'd have to turn back due to a herd of about forty cows walking along the road near Malham Tarn, but fortunately they were being controlled by two dogs and were directed off the road for me to pass.

What considerate dogs!

I'm impressed by your overall ascent values. I'm doing my best to squeeze the last % of climb out of my local landscape but there's only so much you can do.

 

[ColinJ]

Today's HR of 27.6 m/km felt much more manageable than the previous of 36, but still rather hard work. It's about time a few more people had a go at this. I'm eagerly anticipating watching @ColinJ 's collection of routes in Calderdale.

I think that the limit round here will be something like 31-32 m/km, maybe 33. I don't think 36 is possible without shifting the start/finish point away from Calderdale. I'll keep on thinking about it though.

Oh dear... my recent lack of exercise is starting to have unfortunate knock-on effects. I normally balance my warfarin intake, diet, and exercise, to keep my INR** stable. It has been creeping up over the winter because the normal balance has been disturbed. The anticoagulation clinic just rang to say that today's blood test shows me getting towards risky levels so corrective action is needed. They wanted to adjust my warfarin dose but I know from experience that once they do that instability can reign for 4-6 months. I got them to leave it alone for 2 weeks to give me a chance to reduce the INR and restabilise it at a safe level through increased physical activity. The bike and hills beckon!



** INR = International Normalised Ratio - a standardised measure of blood clotting time

 

[Sea of vapours]

What considerate dogs!

I'm impressed by your overall ascent values. I'm doing my best to squeeze the last % of climb out of my local landscape but there's only so much you can do.

Ho ho. You may infer that a man on a quad bike was at least present and, I presume, suggesting to the dogs how they might like to handle things with respect to traffic and their herd. About half an hour later, having dropped into Malham and gone up the other of the two roads down into it, the very same cows were massing on the road, fortuantely just beyond the point at which I was due to turn and re-descend. They'd got there via a mere 1.5km amble across level fellside.

I think that is the trouble with this sort of challenge. It really is down to what's available. Even here those mid thirties HR numbers are rare, in this case since there just aren't enough roads close together to keep the horizontal distance down. I shall have to repeat things to reach thirteen I fear.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I think that the limit round here will be something like 31-32 m/km, maybe 33. I don't think 36 is possible without shifting the start/finish point away from Calderdale. I'll keep on thinking about it though.

That's still a pretty high rate. The Audax AAA standard at the short distances is 1,500m for 100km, or an HR of 15, so anything above that is most definitely 'very hilly' I feel. From previous discussions, the Peak District seems to provide perhaps the best options for high HR routes. That said, I'm hopiong to attempt a new highest HR in a few days, weather permitting.

Good luck with applying hills, rather than Warfarin, to INR stabilisation :-) It does sound like the better approach.

 

[ColinJ]

I think that is the trouble with this sort of challenge. It really is down to what's available. Even here those mid thirties HR numbers are rare, in this case since there just aren't enough roads close together to keep the horizontal distance down. I shall have to repeat things to reach thirteen I fear.

I was thinking exactly the same thing on my ride this evening! I think I will be lucky to find more than 2 or 3 qualifying routes from the Calder valley bottom coming in at sub-35 km. It should be much less of a problem to get under my personal limit of 40 km.

I came 'pretty close' this evening. Well, closer than not going out on my bike at all! 240 metres of ascent in 14 km. Must try harder!

It was lovely and sunny here this evening so I made a bit more of an effort. This time 480 metres of ascent in 24 km. I know it isn't a huge total but it was the first significant effort that I have been able to make since the end of January when I had an "unidentified illness"!!! I just felt a bit heavy and unfit, rather than very breathless and poorly. I'll ease my way back up to doing 1,000 m in a ride, and then work on doing it in shorter rides.

Now back to my OS maps!

 

[ColinJ]

Now back to my OS maps!

OMG - I have devised an horrendously hilly route which is crammed within a 4 km radius of Todmorden town centre... It is not the sort of thing that any sane person would want to do (), and is totally artificial. More obvious routes have too much 'down time' so on this one I will stop part way down some descents, u-turn, and go back up again. Still, this challenge isn't about 'sensible' route planning!

I will have to ride it to check the numbers*** but it is pretty much 1,000 metres of ascent in 23.5 km, a HR of over 42!!!

I would probably only ever do this precise route once, just for the experience. Normally, I would only do the hills in one direction and would link them up with easier sections for recovery and to allow me to look around at the scenery.

*** I'm not (totally) crazy - I will split it into several parts and check them one at a time.

 

[ColinJ]

You have created a monster with this challenge. Beware it may eat you.

Indeed. I am going to have to be careful on this one because my body isn't really keen on steep climbs these days so I'll use my lowest gear and climb very slowly. If I push too hard I can get heart arrhythmia which sometimes continues on and off for a day or two!

 

[ColinJ]

I didn't realise there was any other way to get up hills?

I have seen a few fixed gear superheroes do them in a 72" gear!

Health comes first. I've joined you in the clotty club, but only as a junior member. I had a TIA (lost vision briefly on one eye) and am on blood thinners now. Advice was just to carry on as normal. See what they have to say at my next review.

Oh, bad luck!

Are you on warfarin or one of the NOACs?

 

[ColinJ]

I have rejigged my earlier crazy route... to make it even more crazy!

Out and back in 2 directions from Tod Park.

1,000+ metres of ascent in 22.4 km - HR = 44.6.

I'm probably going to select the other 12 rides to have HRs no higher than 30-32! The route above will probably be one of my last for the challenge, in the autumn. I want to give myself as much time as possible to get fit for it, but do not want to do it in grotty weather late in the year.

My minimum should be HR25. I'll work out a nice local route for that one ASAP and gradually ramp up the ramps for subsequent qualifying rides!

 

[Sea of vapours]

I looked at the altitude profile of the first variant of this last night: looks decidedly hard work, though helped, no doubt, by having a start point close to home. If you do either of those you'll beat the best I've yet designed around here, whch is just short of 40. Certainly a very good idea to leave them 'til later in the year I think. Doing either of those from a low base fitness could be ... problematic I'd suggest !

 

[Sea of vapours]

Done! Well, my highest HR route is done anyway. I won't be able to improve on that without driving somewhere fairly distant so that pretty much means that, at 39.0 m/km, or a thousand metres in 25.6km, that will be my 'best' Lunacy Climbing ride. I may do it again too as it's somewhat easier than my routes from Askrigg using Fleak Moss and Oxnop Scar, despite having a slightly higher HR. Fleak Moss and Oxnop Scar have very steep sections on all four sides, whereas this route is each of the three roads up to the Kirkstone Pass and they are, relatively, quite steady gradients apart from a couple of sections on 'The Struggle' up from Ambleside. It was a lovely day too: sunny throughout and consequently definitely in the 'warm' category of days, with minimal wind.

In the graphic the climbs are, in order: south side of pass, The Struggle, north side of pass.