100 Great Cycling Climbs

[Daveyraveygravey]

Maracus said:

The attitude of vehicle drivers is one of the biggest pluses for me.

That is generally true, although I have had some terrible close passes in Italy.

[flight147z]

I've accidentally started collecting these again...

Two more completed today - #52 Greenhow Hill and #53 Norwood Edge. As I was in the area I also did #146 Nought Bank Road and two other climbs from the Yorkshire book - Cow and Calf and Harwith Bank (a tough one!)

Went over to Great Dun Fell again last weekend. Fantastic climb. Whilst I was there I also did #77 Hartside which is an odd climb for the UK in that it is long with a perfectly consistent 5% gradient all the way up, similar in style (if not length) to the climbs on the continent

Up to 30/100 for the original 100 now. I am not sure if at this point I am tempted to try to do them all

[Centurion07]

I cannot climb for st!!

Well, it certainly feels like I can't climb.

I've recently signed up for Strava having had the bug bite (new £850 first road bike-hard!) and despite being in the top 1% on a few segments they're shorter efforts, mostly flat or even downhill sprints. The climbs or even just long inclines see me barely scratching the top 15%. Maybe my expectations are just too high?

I'm reasonably fit at 46, weigh a smidge over 80kg, but anything over a slight incline and it feels like I'm about to cough my lungs up and just topple over sideways I'm going that slow! I'd like to put more effort in but if I get out of the saddle on a climb for more than a couple of seconds it just ramps up those issues by a factor of ten!

What gives?

[flight147z]

Centurion07 said:

I cannot climb for st!!

Well, it certainly feels like I can't climb.

I've recently signed up for Strava having had the bug bite (new £850 first road bike-hard!) and despite being in the top 1% on a few segments they're shorter efforts, mostly flat or even downhill sprints. The climbs or even just long inclines see me barely scratching the top 15%. Maybe my expectations are just too high?

I'm reasonably fit at 46, weigh a smidge over 80kg, but anything over a slight incline and it feels like I'm about to cough my lungs up and just topple over sideways I'm going that slow! I'd like to put more effort in but if I get out of the saddle on a climb for more than a couple of seconds it just ramps up those issues by a factor of ten!

What gives?

Tips from me (I'm not an expert!)

• Make sure you are running the right gearing for "you". I've used 34*25, 34*28 and 36*32 at the bottom end and I've found that I work well with a really low low end. I would definitely recommend a cassette with either a 30 or 32 as the largest cog. It means you can stay seated on some really steep hills which just isn't possible (for me) with a 25 or 28. If you have an 11 speed drivetrain then the gaps aren't too big even with a 32 (and if you use a 36 at the front like I do then you don't lose the high gears either)

• Weight makes a massive difference. I was 80-82kg for years, went on a pretty extreme diet last year and lost ~9kg in a short amount of time and the difference it made was ridiculous. Effectively it's like losing the weight of an entire bike and two full water bottles! I'm not suggesting anyone else does this but it did highlight to me how much difference weight makes when going uphill (there is some good science on this HERE)

• A lot of it comes down to practice. Most of my rides are targeted at categorised climbs (I'm not sure why I got into climbing in the first place though!) The more practice you can get the better you will get without really trying to change anything. If you can do semi-regular rides with around 100ft of climbing per mile you should start to see results pretty quickly.

Climbing is hard. I don't think it matters how good you get it's always difficult. If you look at the top end of the leaderboards on climbs on Strava for the most part (for the long, difficult climbs at least) the best performers are usually lightweights. I'm comfortable with the fact that I'll never be on that level (both though a lack of potential and having the "wrong" body type)

[Centurion07]

Should mention I'm running 50/34 and an 11-speed 11-32 and remain seated on every "climb" in my area (climb is in inverted commas as they're maybe 3/4mins long at no more than 12% at their steepest points. Told you I was bad! )

[wobert]

I’ve ordered the book purely to see how many I’ve done.

I’ve recently dropped in weight, from 102 kgs to 88 kgs.

As others have said climbing is never easy, but with the weight loss I’m noticing I’m a bit faster up hills than I used to be.

I live about 10 miles from the Bwlch Penbarras in north Wales.

I’ve been up the eastern side a number of times and then descended.

I’m thinking now is the time to try it from the west.

Regarding European climbs, I did the Col de Joux Planes in 2016, pretty tortuous, but an enjoyable day out considering it’s 1000m up in one go.

I’d love to have another go to see how I’ve progressed..

Edited by wobert on Saturday 27th June 21:53

[flight147z]

Centurion07 said:

Should mention I'm running 50/34 and an 11-speed 11-32 and remain seated on every "climb" in my area (climb is in inverted commas as they're maybe 3/4mins long at no more than 12% at their steepest points. Told you I was bad! )

You've got the right gearing, I think the ideal way to climb is a mix of standing and sitting. On the really tough bits you should find standing more efficient because it is easier to put more power through the pedals. Staying seated is definitely quicker generally but on the steep stuff most people aren't strong enough

EVERYONE finds climbing hard, it's normal. Most people find anything uphill a challenge so "proper" hills will be difficult even if you are an experienced cyclist

I think practice is all you need. Keep at it and you will get quicker (even if it doesn't ever get any easier (RULE 10))

[flight147z]

wobert said:

I’ve ordered the book purely to see how many I’ve done.

I’ve recently dropped in weight, from 102 kgs to 88 kgs.

As others have said climbing is never easy, but with the weight loss I’m noticing I’m a bit faster up hills than I used to be.

I live about 10 miles from the Bwlch Penbarras in north Wales.

I’ve been up the eastern side a number of times and then descended.

I’m thinking now is the time to try it from the west.

Regarding European climbs, I did the Col de Joux Planes in 2016, pretty tortuous, but an enjoyable day out considering it’s 1000m up in one go.

I’d love to have another go to see how I’ve progressed..

Edited by wobert on Saturday 27th June 21:53

The regional books are worth a look if you don't want to spend your weekends driving round the UK, there is a list of them HERE towards the bottom of the page. I've got the Midlands book and the Yorkshire book

Some properly hard climbs are in those books that didn't make it into the "main" national books

[Centurion07]

flight147z said:

You've got the right gearing, I think the ideal way to climb is a mix of standing and sitting. On the really tough bits you should find standing more efficient because it is easier to put more power through the pedals. Staying seated is definitely quicker generally but on the steep stuff most people aren't strong enough

EVERYONE finds climbing hard, it's normal. Most people find anything uphill a challenge so "proper" hills will be difficult even if you are an experienced cyclist

I think practice is all you need. Keep at it and you will get quicker (even if it doesn't ever get any easier (RULE 10))

That's the thing; standing up just maxes out my breathing. It does feel like it's lung capacity that's the issue more than outright leg strength or lactate threshold (although that's not great).

[flight147z]

Centurion07 said:

That's the thing; standing up just maxes out my breathing. It does feel like it's lung capacity that's the issue more than outright leg strength or lactate threshold (although that's not great).

I find that quite often standing does a lot of "damage" to the legs without realising it. If you can sit and spin for the most part then it seems to take a while for the legs to wear down. Standing seems to wear them down more quickly but I often don't realise at the time!

Honestly I think everyone feels the way you are describing, unless deliberately taking it easy. I don't think that feeling ever really goes away. Every steep hill I go up I feel like I'm on the edge. Do you have a heart rate monitor? That's a good (cheap) way to measure how hard you are working

[Gazzab]

I have to stand up on the steep climbs. My steel framed 3 gear SA is impossible otherwise.

[Centurion07]

Had a little go at standing on some climbs this morning.

Not quite as bad as I'd thought.

Problem is I'm pedalling such an easy gear so that I can stay seated as soon as I stand up I'm spinning out so sit straight back down again!

Need a bit more practice methinks.

[gangzoom]

Given the absence of real hills in Leicester, had to turn to doing laps on the longest sustained climb near me.....If we do end up with a local COVID lockdown I can at least try to improve on my time over the next few weeks

[lufbramatt]

Climbing is all down to power to weight. And the heavier you are the more power you need. So it’s mainly just down to getting fitter and losing weight. There’s a reason the grand tours are won and lost in the mountains ;-)

[wobert]

The book I ordered arrived today.

Of the climbs in N Wales that are in the book, I’ve done:

86 - The Shelf
87 - Moel Arthur
89 - The Road to Hell.

89 I did as part of the Gran Fondo Conwy in 2015, the first proper long ride I’d ever done (103.4 miles).

TRTH was relentless, Denbigh High St is known for its gradient but this was nothing compared to what lay ahead.

Stupidly, I thought that when I got to Llyn Brenig, (at the top of TRTH), that the climbing was over.

How wrong I was.

I ended the ride with 10k ft of climbing done.

[flight147z]

Another 3 completed yesterday for me, up to 33 in total now, I've really stepped up with this this year!

I drove out to the North York Moors and completed a route which took in White Horse Bank, Boltby Bank and Rosedale Chimney. I also did Blakey Bank which is in the second book. Rosedale Chimney is supposed to be the (joint?) steepest road in England with a short part of it having a gradient of 33%.

Boltby Bank was really tough and I think it's underrated in the book. Towards the top it is extremely steep and reall hard to keep the pedals turning.

Blakey bank was probably the highlight, a long climb over the ridge from the West heading towards Rosedale Abbey so if you are in the area it's worth doing both

I'm in the Lake District in a couple of weeks so should be able to get a few more done whilst I am out there

[ShortShift811]

This is a great thread revival and brilliant to see loads of my local Yorkshire climbs. I’ve ticked off all of the ones in reasonable riding distance from Leeds and did Wynatts Pass and the Cat & Fiddle last weekend. Not trying to do them all, just enjoy climbing and take them as they come.

The 100 Climbs app is available for £6 and integrates with Strava so you can check them off if you want to.

[frisbee]

I did a long ride the other day and towards the end there was a diversion...

Up this:

https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/saintbury/

I've done it before, it's in the 100 greatest climbs in the South West.

Its actually one of the nicest ways up onto the Cotswolds. Not super steep, not too busy, nice surroundings.

This is the one I need to work on:

https://cyclinguphill.com/cleeve-hill-bushcombe-la...

I'm spoiled for good climbs where I live.

[flight147z]

ShortShift811 said:

This is a great thread revival and brilliant to see loads of my local Yorkshire climbs. I’ve ticked off all of the ones in reasonable riding distance from Leeds and did Wynatts Pass and the Cat & Fiddle last weekend. Not trying to do them all, just enjoy climbing and take them as they come.

The 100 Climbs app is available for £6 and integrates with Strava so you can check them off if you want to.

Have you done Trooper Lane? It's in that area but not in the main book, it's in the Yorkshire book. Definitely should have made it into the main book in my opinion, it's one of the toughest climbs I have ever done (and I made it easy for myself by doing it right at the start of my ride!)

Good video on it here

[flight147z]

frisbee said:

I did a long ride the other day and towards the end there was a diversion...

Up this:

https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/saintbury/

I've done it before, it's in the 100 greatest climbs in the South West.

Its actually one of the nicest ways up onto the Cotswolds. Not super steep, not too busy, nice surroundings.

This is the one I need to work on:

https://cyclinguphill.com/cleeve-hill-bushcombe-la...

I'm spoiled for good climbs where I live.

This is a part of the country I haven't had a chance to get to yet, most of my cycling is done in the North when I travel away from home

Bushcome lane looks like a really good one though. Sometimes I head down to the Cotswolds with work so perhaps when things are more normal I will get a chance to go there at the same time