Inspired by the Surrey Sportif Thread and my boredom at work I thought I’d set a bit of a challenge. The excellent point was made on that thread that in spite of the larger hills away from the SE, you can actually plot a really tough, really good route with a shed load of climbing virtually anywhere – thus the challenge.

The Challenge
Plot or otherwise show off the hilliest, toughest 161 km/100 mile route that you can in your local riding area within these few rules. Bonus bragging rights if you’ve actually ridden it and lose points if it looks like a rubbish ride. Also bonus kudos for managing to come up with something epic in a desperately unlikely part of the country – what’s the climby-est route in Norfolk?

Hopefully we can come up with some great rides. Feel free to post any ridiculously tough road rides that don’t qualify for whatever reason too.

Rules
1.) Route must be at most 161 km/100 miles long – arbitrary limit to allow comparison, if that’s insufficient for you to show off your full climbing prowess then feel free to post longer ones to illustrate – no just posting the L-E-L route or something though.
2.) Route must start and finish in the same place and that place should be a town/village/carpark local to you – not an undistinguished point in a road in the middle of nowhere that lets you scrape in an extra few metres climbing. Proper routes please.
3.) Route must be all on ridable, public tarmac roads – or whatever your local authority passes as tarmac – and sensible/safe riding. Just because you could get a road bike up Cross Fell doesn’t make it a road ride and no long spells on nasty roads.
4.) No lapping/repeating hills. You can cover each stretch of road once in each direction if needs be but no hill sprints!
5.) No out-and-backs/dead ends, doing a U-turn at the top of a hill is a bit rubbish.

My entry

https://app.strava.com/routes/2034905
Distance: 161km (100 miles)
Ascent: 3,752m (12,309ft)

I’ve ridden all these roads but not this exact loop – the closest I’ve done is 3455m in 152km, it’s basically the same but with more faffing around near the start and no run over from Stanhope into Teesdale. It’s a great ride I’d recommend wholeheartedly.

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Killer when you’re gasping for a pasty

Kikler when you’re gasping for a pasty

The perils of being in the sticks, I reckon I could be ant one of four greggs by the time you’d changed into your lycras!

It’s at points like this that ‘hilly’ here is merely ‘slightly lumpy’ elsewhere.

That said, 140km and 1200m of climbing on Sunday felt like I’d done an alpine stage of the Tour because of the wind.

Kudos for being out on Sunday – we went to the pub for lunch!

It’s at points like this that ‘hilly’ here is merely ‘slightly lumpy’ elsewhere.

That’s the point though, you can make a route with a phenomenal amount of climbing without ever going near a big hill. Even in the big hills there’s an inherent limit to how much climbing you can do in a given distance based on how steep the roads are and how quickly you can get from one to the next.

Kudos for being out on Sunday – we went to the pub for lunch!

Snap!

Braemar an back

Deeside loop

Pinched from Strava ^^

That second one’s interesting – only two big climbs and they make up <1000m of climbing and the total’s over 3000!

I live at the start of this in Collado Villalba:

It was the end of the penultimate stage of La Vuelta a couple of years ago. TBH the last 3kms are a bit crap, it’s rough concrete and not much fun to ride on, and once you’ve reached the top you have to turn round and do those boneshaking 3kms again to get back to the asphalt.

This route is more fun, 115km and 2400m climbing: https://www.strava.com/activities/208339844

You could combine it with the aforementioned 3km if you really felt like it. The only reason I’d do it would be for HC bragging rights!

You could go three times around the Ronde van Chinley route which would be around 156km of riding with a reasonable 4,500m of climbing. It doesn’t go over any particularly big hills, but it doesn’t do much that’s flat either…

Edit: no it doesn’t meet your strict rules, but you could easily add a load more of the same.

I live at the start of this in Collado Villalba:

Christ, that looks heinous.

Put this together on Strava a few weeks ago, intend to ride it June in preperation for the ACycling The Monster. Lots of 20%+ climbs to break the spirit, some absolutely stunning riding in the area though.

https://www.strava.com/routes/1559558

160km and 4000m climbing in Mid-Wales

That second one’s interesting – only two big climbs and they make up <1000m of climbing and the total’s over 3000!

The second one is a proper lumpy bastard. There is no flat on it throughout its entire length.

Christ, that looks heinous.

Yup, that’s a pretty representative photo. Above the tree line, exposed, and with the sun beating down. I went up it to tick it off the list, I wouldn’t do it again. Although I’ve run up it a couple of times since then, there are some great trails that start at the top.

Talking of sportives, the chiltern 100 is 2700m over 110 miles, pretty sure it wouldn’t take much to increase the elevation gain & shorten the distance, not bad for us southern softies.

pretty sure it wouldn’t take much to increase the elevation gain & shorten the distance

I thought that for my loop but it was surprisingly difficult…

Yup, that’s a pretty representative photo. Above the tree line, exposed, and with the sun beating down.

My neck’s getting sunburnt just thinking about it.

I thought that for my loop but it was surprisingly difficult

fortunately I was trying to plot out a route last night & realised what a tedious waste of time this would be, otherwise I might have bitten.

Put this together on Strava a few weeks ago, intend to ride it June in preperation for the ACycling The Monster. Lots of 20%+ climbs to break the spirit, some absolutely stunning riding in the area though.

That looks hideously awesome – I rather suspected south wales would be hard to beat.

If we’re talking sportives, here’s Le Terrier in Lancashire. A measured 3,835m in 165.6km. That was a big day out, and not a single traffic light on the entire route!

Not local to me, but local to where I used to live, so I’m counting it.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/323885398

Some good ones on here… sort of local ish

http://www.cyclethedales.org.uk/cycling-events

Tour of the Peak Sportive was last year’s biggie.

113 miles 3,700m ish of climbing.

I now live in mid Wales, so just starting to explore. I have a 22km lunchtime hour ride that hits 530m of climbing 🙂

Will be looking for a tough 100 miler for the summer. Shouldn’t be too hard round here!

160km and 4000m climbing in Mid-Wales

I’ve done lots of bits of that route (or fairly similar), particularly the western end which is just out of my door. Never all in one go mind. Lots and lots of brutal little pigs of climbs. Up, down, up, down till you’re sick of the sight of hills. Beautiful scenery and virtually traffic free roads on the plus side.

I’ve done lots of bits of that route (or fairly similar), particularly the western end which is just out of my door. Never all in one go mind. Lots and lots of brutal little pigs of climbs. Up, down, up, down till you’re sick of the sight of hills. Beautiful scenery and virtually traffic free roads on the plus side.

Love riding around there myself, sadly as living away only get a few weeks of th year when I head back and visit. But definitely have to be in the “mood” to get up some of the climbs 🙂 Favourite bit is the road around Llyn Brianne, on a sunny day you could be anywhere in the world.

It’s an interesting subject. I’d post a ride, but it wouldn’t be too far off what’s been posted in the first post as I live just off that route, in Lanchester.

When I ride from my parent’s house in the Lakes there’s scope for some pretty hard hills, I once did an out and back over Whinlatter, Newlands and Honister, which was pretty tough, but actually it’s hillier over here as you’re not forced to stay in the valley bottoms where it’s flat.

I can head out West and into the Pennines and there’s a pretty long continuous climb, but I can get more altitude in by staying within a few miles of the village and going up and down a lot. There’s one section I often tack onto the end of a ride that is basically dropping in and out of 4 small valleys, so 4 x 200ft climbs one after the other and over maybe 5 miles. It’s those sorts of routes that quickly get the climbing up, not the big climbs that tend not to be as steep.

I reckon Dartmoor might be able to win this challenge though, none of it’s flat and all the climbs are very steep!

Favourite bit is the road around Llyn Brianne, on a sunny day you could be anywhere in the world.

Llyn Brianne to Tregaron is a ride in itself. Start off in a Tirolean valley and end up on a Scottish moor.
Edit: By the way, I once lost £10 betting on a trotting horse called Teifi Terror. Any connection?

I’ve also done bits and pieces of that Welsh route from Tregaron and Lampeter, always wanted to do a killer loop. Plenty of big hills, but lots of beautiful and quiet riding to be had on that route…

I reckon Dartmoor might be able to win this challenge though, none of it’s flat and all the climbs are very steep!

this was quite hard…

https://app.strava.com/activities/174762727

@paulrockcliffe

The route I mentioned in that thread (1100m in 31Km) is several short(ish) climbs, probably the biggest is 200 metres but it’s just relentless, no sooner have you dropped off one descent then you are starting the next climb.

On something like the Fred Whitton I think you’d have quite a bit of climbing away from the big named climbs. I’ve done the Etape du Dales and there isn’t that much rolling climbing along the valley floors so probably most of the climbing on that route is on the major climbs – all eight of them!

As for Dartmoor, what about Lynmouth on the north coast of Exmoor? You could get a hell of a lot of climbing in and out of there!

Teifiterror – That looks awesome! I want to do it.

Century from Fort William. Okay, there is a wee bit of doubling up on the run out the shores of Locheil on the A830, but not a load of roads round here, okay?!

Did this last week.

https://app.strava.com/routes/1482398

Extra points for cobbles?

I’ve done most of this, though not in one go, and there’s not much flat involved: http://www.strava.com/routes/55772

Edit: Only 81km but 2625m ascent – over 32m/km.

Saltburn-> (via Lingdale and the A171) Whitby->Scarbrough->Pickering-> Whitby -> (Va A174/High Street, A171 to Guisbrough then Skelton) Saltburn.

The single toughest ride I’ve done. Made all the worse by the fact the climbs are long slow drags and the decents are all straight down (Blue bank, Brik Brow, etc) so your average speed is fecked by the fact you’re always either climbing or on the brakes!

I’ve done most of this, though not in one go, and there’s not much flat involved: http://www.strava.com/routes/55772

Cripes, there’s some steep bits in that.

Cripes, there’s some steep bits in that.

Welcome to Yorkshire 😀

Doesn’t fit the criteria, as it’s over 100 miles – but it’s the shortest circuit that we have locally!
https://www.strava.com/routes/2042668

http://www.drumlanrigchallenge.btik.com/Theroutes

Only 81km but 2625m ascent – over 32m/km.

That’s pretty tough. In the Peak I reckon on 1 mile of climbing per 50 miles without going looking for climbs. If you set out to make a lumpy route you could get more climbing in but it might get a bit contrived.

Well I’ve redesigned mine to make it less daft looking but roughly the same stats:
https://app.strava.com/routes/2042430

Teifiterror – That looks awesome! I want to do it.

The roads are there and waiting 😉 I take no responsibility for the inability to walk for a few days afterwards however

No definitely not affiliated to a trotting race though rusty