Bury Clarion Hill Climb

Dave Mitchell receiving prize and medal for 3rd place

I was looking forward to this hill climb to see whether I’d improved over last year.  The climb was again organised by Bury Clarion over the same 1km course up Lumb Carr Road in Holcombe near Ramsbottom, with free Co-operative fairtrade chocolate for all entrants.

Last year I blew up really quickly and made it over the line in 2 minutes and 59 seconds.  This year I lasted much longer before I blew up, and had enough left for a sprint to the finish, my time of 2:38 representing a 21s improvement over last year.  Still no match for Dave Mitchell, who came in 3rd place overall with a time of 2:21 – a great time in the conditions.

Once again, I really enjoyed it – thanks to Bury Clarion for organising.

Hilly Rides

Battling up Mow Cop

I’ve had many conversations with fellow cyclists over the last couple of years about hills, and riding up (and down) them.  I guess they are a bit like marmite – most people either love them or hate them.  I’m not sure I love them but I’m definitely nearer the former than the latter.  I see climbs as a personal challenge, a goal to be conquered or an achievement to tick off (I’ve so far ticked off 14 from the 100 Greatest Climbs book by Simon Warren).  And I’ll be paying a visit to the French Alps in May with some mates in order to tick a few more famous ones off.  But I digress.  Hills are also great for training purposes – because if you can maintain a decent pace on a hilly ride then you’ll be surprised how much easier (and therefore quicker) a flatter ride will be.  In fact, if you are stuck for time and want to do a quickish ride but still get a lot of “bang for your buck” fitness-wise then a short route with a few stiff climbs could be just what you need.

What constitutes hilly is a subject of much debate.  Total climb is possibly one method.  Here’s a list of the top 10 rides I’ve done by total climb (as recorded by my Garmin GPS)

1. Tan Hill 200 – 132 miles and 12,071ft
2. Ryedale Rumble – 111 miles and 9,064ft
3. Pistyll Packing Momma – 132 miles and 8,905ft
4. Todmorden Loops – 72 miles and 8,900ft
5. Goyt Peak – 69 miles and 8,530ft
6. Northern Dales – 125 miles and 8,287ft
7. Lejog Day 1 (Cornwall and Devon) – 111 miles and 8,259ft
8. Season of Mists – 64 miles and 7,535ft
9. Up and Down to West Riding – 78 miles and 7,463ft
10. Macc Monster – 64 miles and 6,981ft

There are a few scientific methods for measuring how tough a climb is, such as the ClimbByBike-Index or the Fiets-Index, but I tend to use a very much simpler measure.  Basically, if a ride has anything over about 60ft of climbing per mile then I consider it hilly.  If it has around a 100ft of climbing per mile then I consider that to be very hilly.  Here’s a re-sorted list of the top 10 using ft climb per mile ridden as a measure

1. Todmorden Loops – 124
2. Goyt Peak – 124
3. Season of Mists – 117
4. Macc Monster – 109
5. Up and Down to West Riding – 95.7
6. Tan Hill 200 – 91
7. Ryedale Rumble – 82
8. Lejog Day 1 (Cornwall and Devon) – 74
9. Pistyll Packing Momma – 67.5
10. Northern Dales – 66

It’s not a perfect method by any stretch of the imagination but it’s something I’ve arrived at after riding a lot of hilly routes and events, and I can confirm that the two at the top were probably the toughest of the bunch on that list in terms of sheer climbing.

So if you are planning your training for the year, then have a go at a few hills.  I have a standard “quick” route that I use which is 32 miles and has just over 2,000ft of ascent, or a rating of about 63 – good enough for training purposes.  I also occasionally add The Rake into it for a quick burst of 25% challenge!  If you draw up a similar route for yourself and use it repeatedly to build up your hill-climbing ability then I suggest that your overall capabilities will improve, and your overall enjoyment of cycling too.

Macc Monster 2011

Remember - the camera adds 10lbs...

On Saturday I was having a bouncing competition with my youngest daughter (don’t ask – she’s a bit childish like that) when I had to stop because of a pain in my lower back.  I thought nothing more of it and it went away.  Until the first real climb of the Macc Monster when it started aching quite badly, and didn’t really stop for the rest of the ride.  Last year I rode the Macc Monster in bright October sunlight, riding in shorts and short sleeves and enjoying a really nice day round the hills of the Macclesfield Forest and edge of the Peaks.  This year it was windy and wet, but still as enjoyable, with the Kidscan charity organising another super event.

7,087ft climbing

I mistakenly got up an hour earlier than I needed to having misread the registration time so I was there nice and early, with the weather damp but not too bad.  This is a well-organised sportive so we were off pretty much bang on time in a 200 strong peloton heading out from the HQ.  The field rapidly thinned out as we immediately started hitting the hills and I made my way through the field settling (and staying) in the first 30 or so riders.  We seemed to battle a headwind for most of the ride which somehow seems unfair considering it’s two loops but certainly as we hit the peaks the wind was blowing hard.

Not far from, and at the halfway feed station, I started chatting to a chap who introduced himself as Adam who had just joined North Cheshire Clarion.  He looks like the racing snake variety of cyclist and is apparently into time-trials so watch out Giles next year!  Adam, if you are reading this, welcome to the club.

The feed station had the usual basic, but very welcome, food such as banana, flapjack, malt loaf and water/energy drinks and I was soon on my way again.

Photo does not convey how wet and windy it was

The last 2 climbs were pretty tough.  The headwind was now brutal and the rain was being driven into our faces and was actually painful, especially up to the Cat and Fiddle.  But this is a great route and soon we were sweeping down descents towards the finish, and a complimentary steak sandwich and cup of coffee.

I keep recommending these rides – this one and the Peak 100.  They are great value, with well signed and interesting routes, good organisation and value for money.  And any proceeds go to the charity.  Give them a go next year – I will see you there.

By the way, if you like the photos they were taken by Rick Robson at CycleSportPhotos - I think they’re good despite the subject model – especially given the weather conditions.

Ride stats : 64 miles in 4hrs 40m @ 13.7mph average.  7087ft climbing, average HR 150bpm and 4099kcals used.

 

The Other Fleet Moss Randonnée

Well bizarrely Anthony and I found ourselves at the start of the ride ready to go a whole 15 minutes early, which is unheard of.  We’d parked in a space allocated to the Blind Society, but reasoned that the chances of a blind person wanting to park there were slim to none.  We were that early we didn’t know what to do, so we had a cup of coffee and a chat to all the people we now know in the audax world, such as Peter, who tells me he is an avid reader of this blog*  Anyway, we set off at 8am and strangely for an audax we rode in a peloton for the first 40 miles or so, which meant we were averaging over 17mph at the time.  We had a good chat with Mike Wigley, the secretary of audax uk, who has some interesting plans for the future, and who gave me some good advice about 24 hour time trials.

7007ft of ascent

Anyway after passing through Skipton and Cracoe and other places we seem to frequent a lot these days, we decided to stop for some food before we hit the big climb of Fleet Moss, which gets 9/10 in the 100 climbs book – although we were doing the easier south side apparently.  We ate in a bistro (get us) and then set off towards Fleet Moss.  Some slight routing problems overcome we hit the slopes.  We actually started climbing some 12 miles before but Fleet Moss itself is about 3 miles long with a couple of 14-15% sections.  I’d taken sun lotion with me so of course the day was cloudy, but still very warm going up.  We went up with some senior riders, two of whom went past me on the climb and I couldn’t catch them again – amazing stuff!  Anyway, at the top I waited for Anthony and then we set off down the descent.  The first bit is a 20% drop and then it flattens a bit before dropping again.  So we crested the hill and my heart sank.  There was a Land Rover in the middle of the road, and a cyclist lay covered with a blanket in front of it, with some of the other addaxes stood around.  My first thought was that he had been hit by the car but apparently he had come off trying to avoid a sheep and the kind souls in the Land Rover had stopped to help.  Our fellow audaxers had phoned for an ambulance some 20 minutes earlier so Anthony rang again.  There was a doctor in the group who suspected broken ribs (and something else I can’t spell).  Anyway, with the ambulance reminded again we set off and hit the main descent.  Normally I would fly down these but I was slightly unnerved so I stayed on the brakes.  Even so I hit 51.3mph!  On the way up we passed two ambulances with blue lights flashing, which was good news.  It turns out the air ambulance also turned out and eventually took the chap to hospital – I do hope he is okay and not in too much pain.

In Hawes we stopped for a coffee and a chat with some people having a beer – which looked very inviting apart from the slight problem of some 70+ miles to go!  We left and headed south, straight into a long grinding climb and a stiff headwind.  It was horrible, really hard work but after about 7 miles we started going downhill again, through Settle and to Great Mitton where we stopped for a massive ice cream.

We then had to climb out of the hole in the ground that is Burnley valley from Burnley which took ages and was again quite unpleasant with a headwind, until we hit Todmorden (horrible memories of the Todmorden Loops audax!) and then headed downhill into Hebden Bridge.  There was a last sting in the tail which was a climb into Halifax before we finally finished.  This being a Chris Crossland audax there was plenty of great food at the end which was very welcome because for the 2nd week running I hadn’t eaten enough and was feeling it.

Overall, another great day with great company, and a really good event.  I hope the injured chap is not injured too badly and makes a quick recovery.

Ride stats : 125 miles in 7hrs 58m at 15.7mph average.  7007ft of climbing, average HR 133bpm, 5758kcals used.  Number of times Anthony mentioned my 12-27 cassette  - about a million*

*That’s a lie

Up and Down t’ West Riding #Audax

Another Sunday, another brilliant audax, and the end of my training for my London to Brussels ride.

The day didn’t start well.  Anthony was late picking me up, and then we drove past the HQ following the worst sat-nav in the world, which seemed to take us on ever increasing concentric circles away from where we needed to be.  Martin and Martina were both waiting for us, tapping imaginary watches as we pulled into the car park.

7,463ft of climbing

The route, of course, was hilly!  The first half, heading over from Denshaw towards Holmfirth, was really 4 or 5 longish drags followed by some great descents.  The halfway point was at Squires Tea Room in the Anglers Country Park, where we met members of Calder Clarion and Saddleworth Clarion, as well as a chap from Seamons RC.

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Suitably refreshed after some hot food, the return ride encompassed 6 big climbs, and they started getting a bit steeper, and building to a crescendo.  We rode past Emley TV tower and into the rain for a while.  There was an info control in Slaithwaite where Martin and I watched a canal barge going through a lock whilst Martina tried to buy the Co-op’s entire stock of flapjacks.  The climb out of Slaithwaite was pretty tough but that only led to a descent to the bottom of a hill known locally as Penny Hill.  This was really hard work.  The first quarter mile consisted of a 20-25% cobbled section that was wet and slippery.  The next quarter mile must have hit 30% before flattening to mere teens near the end.

The ride back to the HQ was a long, exposed moorland climb over Saddleworth which was okay once I got into a rhythm.

As per usual, great catering at the end from organiser Don Black and a good day had by all.

Ride Stats : 78 miles in 5hrs 48m at 13.4mph average.  7,463ft climbing, average HR 136bpm and 4,315kcals used

Tan Hill 200 Audax

Setting off from a car park in Padiham, near Burnley, at 8 am, a small group of audaxers headed North out of Lancashire and into the Yorkshire Dales.  In the group was Martin, Anthony and I from North Cheshire Clarion, riding the Tan Hill 200 audax which is a 200km audax with 4 AAA altitude points!  That effectively meant 4000m of climbing – uncharted territory for all of us, especially over such a distance!

By 8-30am we had already conquered the Nick o’ Pendle and the hills were coming thick and fast.  We moved North through Clitheroe and Slaidburn, skirting the Bowland Forest and then heading North East into the Yorkshire Dales.  A cafe stop in Hawes at a cafe with a fierce East European waitress helped fortify us as we headed for the big climbs up to the heighest points on the ride.

Martin at the top of a hill

The first was Buttertubs – thankfully up the “easier” southside and the views from 1700ft in the sun were fantastic.  Next up was Tan Hill, which has a steep kick at the start, a long grind, and then a sharp sting in the tail.  A quick stop at the Tan Hill pub and we were off again.  The third climb in this area was the worst – I don’t know what it is called but it was horrible.  A couple of miles long, rising 900ft, it was straight into a headwind which made it feel much, much worse.

Anthony can't quite get the hang of the right turn signal

Gradually the hills were sapping our strength and the headwind, although slight, was not helping.  We stopped at Bolton Castle tearoom for coffee and some cake  and then a final sting in the tail at 90 miles nearly finished the guys off.  From that point onwards we were hanging in until the end.

12,071ft of climbing

Overall the route was absolutely fantastic – well done to Andy Corless the organiser for a great day.  For the princely sum of £3 we got a great ride, great weather and a goodie-bag at the end that was easily worth way more than the entry fee.  Well done for Martin and Anthony for hanging in too – a very tough day but enjoyable nonetheless.

Ride stats : 129 miles in 9hrs 29m @ 13.6mph average.  12,071ft climbing, 6,863kcals used

 

 

First Ever Hill Climb

 

Tonight I rode just up the road from me to Ramsbottom to take part in Bury Clarion’s “Try it” hill climb.  There were riders from Bury Clarion, Bolton Clarion and of course, fellow North Cheshire Clarion riders – Dave, Adam, Steve and Paul cheering us on.

The course is probably just shy of a kilometre up Lumb Carr Road, and conditions were favourable – no rain and a tailwind.

Having never done a hill climb I had no idea what to expect, or what to do frankly.  Adam was riding single-speed and whilst that struck me as nuts, in a way it took away the uncertainty of what gear to start off in!

Anyway when I started I realised I was in the wrong gear and crunched through a couple accelerating rapidly.  Too rapidly.  I went off far too quickly and after about 400m or so I realised I was in trouble as I blew up big time!  Gasping for air, heart-rate at maximum and legs not really working I slowed alarmingly.  Not quite getting a second wind as I approached the finish line, I limped over, in part

a victim of my own over-exuberance and inexperience.

Adam did a great time of 2m 54s, I managed 2m 59s and Steve put in a good time with 3m 31s.  Dave (RoboDave!) put 40 seconds into me clocking 2m 19s.  To put that into context we’ve both clocked similar times on the Kilton TT this year.  In the space of less than a kilometre he caught two other riders and finished 3rd overall – a superb ride!

I did enjoy it though, especially the free chocolate at the end. Well done and thanks to Bury for organising it.

 

Hills, hills, hills…

The mind is both a wonderful thing and a terrible thing.  During last weeks Bowland Forest audax my mind had convinced me that I was struggling more on the hills, that I was not as fast and that I was more tired.  One of the advantages of being a data geek like me is that you can actually take a subjective view like that and use some data to analyse it.  So I did.  Up until the end of May last year I did 2,428 miles and 94,659ft of climbing.  Using a not-really-very-scientific-formula, that works out at around 39ft of climb per mile ridden.  The equivalent period this year sees me having done 3,146 miles and 101,729ft of climbing – or around 32ft per mile.  That would tally with me focusing more on quicker rides than hilly rides.  But there’s not much in it – certainly not enough to worry about.

But me being me I decided to do a few hills this weekend.  I warmed up on Saturday with a quick 32 miler including The Rake – which you can find on page 126 of the excellent 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs book by Simon Warren.

Saturday - 32 miles and 2000ft of climbing

Can you spot The Rake?

The weather was grey and overcast with wet roads but little or no rain.  The surface of The Rake is broken and difficult at the best of times but it was glistening with the wet, rainbow spectrum of spilt petrol/diesel/oil.  Picking a line was difficult, with my bike wheel spinning on occasion and I reached the top with a higher heart-rate than I expected and feeling it in my legs.  I must have been right, I thought, I’ve not done enough hills.  But on analysis of the data I found that the probable reason was that I had gone up the hill about 1mph faster than my previous two rides on this loop.  That doesn’t sound much but over a mile of climbing including 20%+ gradients it’s enough!  And overall I knocked 5 minutes off my previous best time for the ride.

Today I decided to go north again but heading over to Hebden Bridge – which if you like flat riding would be your version of cycling hell.

There was a stiff wind this morning and the route took in a mixture of short, sharp climbs, like Widdop, and long gradual climbs, like Cragg Vale.  Something for everyone!

Sunday - 76 miles and 6,339ft of climbing

Anyway, my legs felt very heavy today.  My time and average speed wasn’t particularly good.  I’ve noticed some riders who struggle to maintain a pace in a group but post some fantastic averages when out on their own.  I’m the complete opposite.  I need company to motivate me to go faster – on my own I just settle for “comfortable”.

Overall though I’m pleased with the rides, and I think it shows the value of recording data so you can test your subjective thinking and get to the real story.

Ride Stats:

Saturday : 32 miles in 1hr 54m at 16.7mph average.  2,000ft of climbing, 1,591kcals and average HR of 146bpm

Sunday : 76 miles in 5hrs 24m at 14.1mph average. 6,339ft of climbing, 4,167kcals and average HR of 139bpm

 

 

 

Todmorden Loops – Hard, Hard, Hard!

Today I did possibly the most difficult ride I’ve ever done.  It was a real challenge.  71 miles of almost relentless climbing – some 2700m or 8900ft of it.  There were long draggy hills and short (-ish) sharp and very steep hills.  They just kept coming.

It was sleeting on the way to the HQ this morning which had turned to a light drizzle by the time we arrived.  North Cheshire Clarion riders Anthony, Phil, Martin and Martin(a) were braving the elements.  After a cup of coffee we were ready for the off – left out of the HQ, left again and then HANG ON A SECOND, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!  ”This” was a 20% mile-long climb literally within minutes of the start.  Cold muscles protested as we dropped down the gears and headed up the road, which looked like a wall with a line down the middle.  My lungs were really painful as I struggled to get oxygen in – and they didn’t recover for the rest of the day, leaving me sounding like a 40-a-day chain smoker.  I soon went past some people pushing their bikes until I reached the summit and then waited for the others.  The ride went downhill (well, uphill) from that point on.  A big climb up to Weir and then a drop into Bacup, followed by the climb out over the tops to another fast descent down towards Todmorden.  Turn right and a climb up to Lumbutts and the end of the first loop, at which point Phil retired as his asthma was flaring up alarmingly.

Caked up we set off on the second loop dropping down from Lumbutts at which point Martin punctured

You don't want to do that...

Off again and then up a big climb again – a half mile or so at a steep gradient.

We went up all of those hills you can see...

...and those

Then a descent down to the start of Crag Vale – the longest continuous climb in England.  Nearly six continuous miles of climbing but I got into a nice rhythm at between 10 and 11 mph and I trundled up going past a number of riders and feeling pretty pleased with myself.  Then a guy in white went past me like I was stood still and put a quarter of a mile into me in a very short time.  The top of Crag  Vale is moorland and I thought I was catching him – the gap was closing.  Then the headwind off the moor hit me too and the gap opened up again!  A fast descent from the White House down into Littleborough and towards Todmorden and then turning right and up again back to our second visit to the church hall at Lumbutts.  Sterling service (and an eccentric “pep rally” from the vicar – I think he was the vicar) saw us full of cake again and ready for the last loop.  Phil had met us there so with his words of encouragement ringing in our ears we headed off again.

A fast descent from Lumbutts and then an absolute beast of a climb.  At least a mile, maybe more, of gradients between 18 and 20-odd%.  It was ridiculously hard work.  At the top I waited for first Martin(a) to come up and then Anthony.  And then… nothing.  And nothing.  And then a guy in a blue waterproof – that must be him.   Er no, and the guy hadn’t seen anyone.  But hang on, his mate was behind, he’d have seen him.  Nope.  Desperate phonecalls ensued to be met with voicemail.  None of us wanted to ride down it, worried we wouldn’t get up it a second time.  After 20 minutes, Martin rang.  Somehow he was at HQ, having ridden past the right turn into the monster climb.  20 minutes later he was with us.  The route now took us onto the same route as the end of Seasons of the Mist, but in the opposite direction.  A real roller coaster of painful hills and then fast descents.  And that continued pretty much all the way back.

Overall there must have been 10 climbs with a gradient over 15%, some of which must have been 20%+,  and numerous smaller ones.

As somebody who likes hills by the end even I had had enough.  My legs were like jelly, my lungs were sore and concentrating was difficult!  Even my arms were sore from pulling on the bars up hill and braking hard on the fast descents.

All through the day we had criss-crossed a group of lady riders.  As we limped into the HQ at the end as four broken men in a daze, they were sat there very chirpily chatting away.  The final demoralisation!  But then we realised that we’d done it, which was something to be proud of, and for my own personal satisfaction I didn’t stop on a single hill.  Having said how difficult it was my HR did not hit maximum as much as it did last year, hence I guess I’m getting fitter.

The food at the end was welcome and tasty – another audax that puts the Sportives to shame.  Chatting to one of the lady riders she mentioned she reads an NCC blog so if that was you Trio, then it’s probably mine.  Much respect to her as we passed her in the car as she rode home up yet another hill over towards Bacup.

Yet again the Garmin let me down.  The route that was provided was appallingly bad and despite the Garmin showing me my stats it refused to sync them across to the computer.  Which meant no map or detailed analysis.  I’ve upgraded to 3.3 software again – gulp!

Ride stats : 71.8 miles in 5hrs 58m @ 12mph average.  8900ft of climbing, 4998kcals of energy. Average HR of 137bpm

Climbing The Rake from @100Climbs – Some Thoughts on Climbing

I decided that my route this morning would take in The Rake, which I’ve written about before.  It’s in the 100 Greatest Climbs book and coupled with the rest of my ride up Grane Road is part of a shortish hilly loop I like to do from time to time.

1864ft ascent

The Rake is in Ramsbottom.  As you cross the main A676 onto Carr Street the road starts to rise.  You have maybe a hundred yards grace and then you are into a 19% gradient.  That’s relatively short and as the road dog-legs left at the Rose and Crown pub onto Tanners Street the gradient settles down to the mere teens giving you a bit of a breather!  It then flattens further still as Tanners Street gently arcs to the right.  These are narrow residential roads and are not in the greatest state of repair but so far I’ve been lucky and not met any cars on them.  At this point you’re probably thinking “is that it?” but then round the

 

apex of the arc you spot the sign.  The sign that says 25% on it!  And you realise you’re not done yet.  Turning slightly right you find yourself on Rawson’s Rake.  It’s steepness is a bit like one of those roads Wily Coyote paints on a cliff to trap the Roadrunner.  As well as that there are two things you notice.  One is how bad the surface is, which makes it even harder as you need to be aware of your line rather than just head down and grind.  The second is the fact there is a handrail for pedestrians!  The rake runs out into Chapel Lane and gradient drops down below 20% again.

As opposed to my heart-rate which carried on at quite high rate for some time!  The climb is over when you reach the junction with Helmshore Road, at which point a passing cyclist simply nodded at me and said “Well done!”

 

Mark’s cycling blog contained some great technical and scientific tips for hill climbing in this post here.  Here are some non-scientific tips that have helped me actually enjoy hills

1. Practice, practice, practice!  The only way to get better at hills is to ride them.  I hear lots of people say that they aren’t good at hills and they avoid them.  Find yourself a hilly circuit and do it regularly.  You will get better, and it will benefit all your riding.
2. It’s all in the mind.  Half the battle with hills is in your head if you ask me.  Mow Cop, for example, defeats lots of riders before they’ve even tried it.  They watch the video, listen to the stories and mentally they are beaten before they start.  Be mentally strong and think positive.  Your body will keep going for quite a while after your head is telling you to jack it.
3. Go at your own pace.  Don’t be suckered into racing people if you don’t want to.
4. Smoothly does it.  Gear changes, cadence, changing riding position – do them smoothly and as efficiently as possible.  Your aim is to lose as little energy as possible.
5. Use the terrain.  If there’s a down before an up then use the momentum – don’t bleed energy yourself by changing gear too early, but do it smoothly as your momentum starts to stall.
6. Cadence – try to keep a good cadence or you will hurt your knees.

Ride stats : 32 miles in 2hrs 4m @ 15.4mph average.  Total climb 1864ft, energy 1574kcals and average HR 136bpm.