I need to get fit by May, as I’m doing the Bealach Beag. “How hard can it be?” I thought. Then I Memory Mapped it and compared the elevation profile to one of my normal road rides.

Normal ride:

Bealach:

Holy mother, what have I done?

Bearing in mind that I’m usually coughing up a lung at the top of the highest point on my usual ride, what can I do to make sure I don’t do a Tom Simpson in the Highlands?

you seem to have posted the same pic twice. thats what you done 😀

sneakily edited i see 🙄

No I haven’t (damn the lack f preview facility but hoorah for edits…)

you’ll be fine. you’re doing the distance, but the hill will hurt.

Training tips – just go out and ride your bike. The bealach beag aint difficult.

The bealach beag aint difficult.

That ****’ great peak in the middle suggests otherwise…

Simple. Reduce beer and cake intake. Ride lots. ride hard. You’ll be fine

I did the Bealach Mor last September. The bit before the Bealach-na-Ba is very easy and very fast. The climb is tough but easily doable, it’s the 2 mile straight before the hairpins that’s the hardest and there were quite a few fit looking riders walking and that was near the front of the field. The hairpins are easy – once you reach the first one you can relax as the hard bit is over. Not sure where the Bealach Beag goes after the climb but it’s probably pretty rolling.

Good luck and don’t fear the climb as it really isn’t that bad.

IHN – depends on your goal. Do you just wanna survive it, or do you want to fly it?

Gary_M – Bealach Beag goes Sheildaig – Kishorn – Bealach na Ba – Applecross – Sheildaig via the coast. The climb is a bit steep but mostly long – if you have a compact or triple I’d highly recommend you use them! The coast road is worse than the Bealach (apart from the last bit before the hairpins).

Basically get used to the time in the saddle (it’s only about 43 miles, albeit very hilly ones) then find lots of hills to ride up and down to get used to the climbing and descending. You won’t find anything like the big climb for obvious reasons but get your climbing nailed and the coast road will be much easier. I’m lucky living near the Bathgate Alps which have half a dozen or so 100-150m climbs I can make into a sort of jigsaw-piece shaped ride – if “Tewke” on your map is Tewkesbury then must be some scope to ride up and down the Malverns or west towards Ross and fit in some decent climbing? And if, like me, you’re carrying any excess weight then try to loose it. Makes a big difference to climbing and gives you more choice of groupetto heading north up the (relatively* flat) coast bit.

This is a “better” profile, from when I rode it last year using GPS/ Barometric altimeter data:

*relatively is indeed the key word here!

Ride more, the more time riding, the better prepared you’ll be.

Any chance of cycling to work? That’s a very convenient way to build fitness.

Otherwise have a look over on bikeradar as they have a section on fitness, couple of articles recently. But they can be summed up by riding more.

ow, I think the best training for that is to learn to say “fuckit” and stay in bed.

650m climb? Find the nearest big climb locally and do laps. Couple of sessions of that and you’ll be brimming with confidence and as a bonus mind-numbing boredom will no longer frighten you 🙂

How hard can it be?

Cheers chaps, I think you’re right in the ‘just ride more’ advice. I’ll have to string together some bigger climbs. And fit some smaller chainrings 🙂

It’s in the mind as much as the legs. Remember it’s not over at the foot of the Bealach.

As a wise fella once said: “When a pedal comes up, push it down again”

IHN – If you want a riding partner to ride up and down the Malverns from top to bottom a few times let me know

So whats the total ascent for Bealach then?

Dobo – 1800m

HOw many malverns is that?

hmm 1800m in 70km is about half the SDW total distance and ascent

IHN, just a simple loop, start at De la Bere, head into Woodmancote, climb Bushcombe lane, Decend cleeve to De la Bere and repeat, lots.

Or slightly less sadistically,

Start at Brockworth Cross Hands, ride up A46 through Painswick, decend into Stroud return via Slad valley decend Birdlip hill and repeat.

If you have a good base, you’ll be fine. Pretty much my only riding is 5.5 miles a day to work and back, but that (plus one longer ride a month) was enough training to do a fairly hilly road century, though it did nearly kill me the first time 🙂

or for a challenge,

http://bikely.bikeradar.com/maps/bike-path/Gospel-Pass156121

IHN, just a simple loop, start at De la Bere, head into Woodmancote, climb Bushcombe lane, Decend cleeve to De la Bere and repeat, lots.

You ****’ psychopath.

Start at Brockworth Cross Hands, ride up A46 through Painswick, decend into Stroud return via Slad valley decend Birdlip hill and repeat.

That was my plan. I get my heart fluttering on the climbs and my ringpiece fluttering on the drop down Birdlip hill 🙂

Barney – Four and a bit.

So when we doing it?

I’m hopefully going out for a gentle pace Road ride for about an hour sometime sunday if you want to join me.

Sunday? Love to, but I’ll be skiing 🙂

Grrr!!! I am very jealous!!!! Enjoy it!

We’ll have to sort it out for when you get back then.

You boys need a trip up north.

Barney – When he says skiing, he actually means sliding down a snowy hill on his arse