- This topic has 95 replies, 42 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by HindlePie.
-
100 Climbs – Offroad version
-
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years ago
lemonysam – that’s a great photo of Mastiles. Does look good.
whitestone – cheers for the info – I’ll have to revisit
D0NKFull MemberPosted 9 years agoThing with the “100 best road climbs” is, all you need are stronger legs and better functioning lungs. If you can’t ride no 87 now give it 2 or 3 weeks solid practice and you’ll get it sorted. You could spend years of your life practising jacobs ladder or skiddaw and still never get a clean run.
Garburn from Dubbs is a good shout as a climb since it was surfaced (and no doubt ruined a damn good descent – I never tried it myself) not too tech but a long long climb, lungbuster – worth a go, descent into kentmere is none to shabby too 🙂
Longsleddale to top of gatesgarth is another “not for mortals” but in sections is fairly climbable up till brownhowe bottom then it’s just silly steep – like the keppel cove zigzags
<edit> Did mastilles years ago, think I made it ninety odd percent of the way up, doubt I’d do aswell today, been meaning to go back for a rematch but lakes is easier to get to 😕
Fremmy edge seems tantalisingly doable aswell
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agohing with the “100 best road climbs” is, all you need are stronger legs and better functioning lungs. If you can’t ride no 87 now give it 2 or 3 weeks solid practice and you’ll get it sorted. You could spend years of your life practising jacobs ladder or skiddaw and still never get a clean run.
Yes, and one person’s idea of a good climb is another’s hell. Still – It’s not like I’m actually making a book or setting an actual 100 limit, so just fire away (as you have).
Re: Jacobs, I’ll probably post it properly later today, but I’ve only ever heard of one person cleaning it – Nick Craig. The bottom section is getting trickier. I’ve cleaned all but the last 10 yards a few times (several years ago). I’ve even tried to stop, rest and then do the last 10 yards and still can’t.molgripsFree MemberPosted 9 years agoDoesn’t matter if you don’t clean it – can still be a great experience.
lemonysamFree MemberPosted 9 years agoCan I nominate a slightly off beat one – which would definitely be a 1/10 difficulty rating but I think merits a place for its length (plus I haven’t thought of any good NE ones yet). Blaydon to Collier Law is nigh on 40km of continuous (and completely beautiful) climbing, albeit at less than a 1% gradient.
whitestoneFree MemberPosted 9 years agoAhh, Mastiles. It’s a ramp test – slowly gets steeper and steeper though never outrageously steep. Get the right line and it’s a decent surface, get it wrong and you are in to sections of loose rubble.
Another Dales one is Gilbert Lane which is the track leading from the top of Kidstones over to Semer water. Mostly straightforward, there’s one short technical section that will probably be unrideable uphill for most.
As with descents, the best climbs are those you feel you could always do slightly better on, whether that’s faster or to clean it.
lemonysamFree MemberPosted 9 years agoAhh, Mastiles. It’s a ramp test – slowly gets steeper and steeper though never outrageously steep. Get the right line and it’s a decent surface, get it wrong and you are in to sections of loose rubble.
Yup, it’s always surprisingly easy right up to the point where you have to put a foot down! I think I’ve only cleaned it twice out of probably a dozen goes. 😳
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agolemonysam – Blaydon to Collier Law sounds great. I can’t find Collier Law – can you find it on a map for me?
lemonysamFree MemberPosted 9 years agoIt’s the hill above Stanhope – at the top of Crawleyside (NZ016417). You can ride on the estate track virtually to the trig point as I remember.
jekkylFull MemberPosted 9 years agoOp, I think this is a great idea. You could do a book, I’m sure a few of us on here could help with the write up. At the very least you could do a webpage devoted to the topic. Also, have you considered emailing Mark. A regular section in the mag, a one or 2 page write up per issue would be would be worth considering. It’s certainly something I would read.
D0NKFull MemberPosted 9 years agoDoesn’t matter if you don’t clean it
chuckles, you’re funny
can still be a great experience.
but yes agreed
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agojekkyl – That sounds great. But really you’d/I’d have to ride it, take your/my own photos, etc before you could publish it. That’s fine for the ones local to me, and the 5 or so away rides I might do over a year, but it would be a proper undertaking to try and do 100.
Then there’s the fact that if I stop to take photos, I can’t clean it 😉I suppose one idea would be to do it ‘sponsored by strava’ and make some ‘official’ segments.
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agolemonysam – I’m intrigued by this one. So how much of that 40km is off-road? Looking at Bing – have I got the correct places (zoom out to see Newcastle)?
http://binged.it/1DWszR6lemonysamFree MemberPosted 9 years agoHmmm… Nope, it’s further north than that.
It’s virtually all off road on an old railway path which varies from tarmac to mud to gravel with a bit of scrappy path through Consett- it does have some small dips in it but nothing longer than say 50m which in context I still think of as a climb.
A child could ride all of it quite happily but by the time you’ve gone there and back you’ve done 80 km and made one of the odder looking strava rides you’ll ever see. Most people will know it as the long descent into Newcastle at the end of the C2C.
This is pretty much it: https://app.strava.com/segments/4227883?filter=overall
edit: (it was a bit of a silly suggestion to make the list more than just unridable 17% drags)
miketuallyFree MemberPosted 9 years agowhitestone – Member
Are we talking about climbs that you’ve a reasonable chance of climbing clean without prior knowledge or ones that you have to work at? (In climbing terms: on-sight vs redpoint)I’ll add:
Fremington Edge in Swaledale
Barden Moor from RylstoneHere’s a Strava link for the Fremington Edge climb: https://www.strava.com/segments/833800
1.8 km at an average gradient of 12%. Cleaning it would require getting lucky with the gate or having a friend go ahead to open it.
whitestoneFree MemberPosted 9 years agoI’ve done Fremington Edge once – first ride on new bike. Apart from the gate I got to about 100 metres from the top before running out of oomph 😳 It was just at the section where there’s curious ribbed bedrock that you ride over. The bike has 1×10 so I was getting used to that (my excuse anyway)
Be interesting to go back and have another go – the upper section looked a bit snowy on Saturday.
miketuallyFree MemberPosted 9 years agoI avoid riding straight up Fremington Edge, since going SS; I go round on the road to Hurst instead… 😳
richmtbFull MemberPosted 9 years agoMinch Moor – yes its trail centre but it’s 1300 feet and has a couple of techy bits. Has a cairn at the top and everything!
https://www.strava.com/segments/939027
Golspie Black
Not massive but some of it is really tricky, I didn’t clean it that’s for surehttps://www.strava.com/segments/959734
Glen Finglas
Not technical at all but a soul crushing grind up a never ending fireroad. Stunning views on a nice day though
https://www.strava.com/activities/50975204/segments/1217234743AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agorichmtb – Yes, done the first two of those – both pretty memorable for trail centre climbs.
I was trying to think of the best trail centre climbs I’ve done – those are probably them. (haven’t done the South Wales ones).chakapingFree MemberPosted 9 years agoThe 100 road climbs books are not just about the biggest or toughest – so it seems to be worth mentioning “fun” trail centre climbs.
Like the first singletrack climb on TNF trail at Grizedale.
Or Whites Level at Afan.
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agoLike the first singletrack climb on TNF trail at Grizedale.
I’ve only done it once (because the rest of it was a disappointment), but I really enjoyed this too.
chakapingFree MemberPosted 9 years agoWe use it as a means to access the bridleways, never done the full TNF trail myself.
I think someone was telling me it was used in reverse in an enduro race – and was really hard.
D0NKFull MemberPosted 9 years agoQuite like this one, much more sensible 1mile @ 10%, normally done as the first climb of the day, steep lungbuster tarmac start under trees but eases off to climb up and open out to some gorgeous views.
loughriggI think someone was telling me it was used in reverse in an enduro race – and was really hard.
Think SFB said the boggies have done it as a night ride
whitestoneFree MemberPosted 9 years agoWas going to suggest the TNF climb. Did it for the first time the other week (I rarely do trail centres), was in behind a mate who got to the switchbacks about halfway up and said “I can never get these right” and stopped! Since I was right in behind him I had to stop as well though I’m not sure I’d have got the second turn.
chakapingFree MemberPosted 9 years agoThat loughrigg climb sorts the men out from the boys alright!
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agoEmbarrassingly (and it’s something I’m going to put right this year), I’m ashamed to say the only riding I’ve done in the Lakes is Grizedale (classic 25m natural route and TNF).
So I’m really looking at these Lakes suggestions closely.fathomerFull MemberPosted 9 years agoI’ve only done on of those mentioned 🙁
However, I quite pleased that on Cutgate I’m 90th out of 1775, which is just over 6 minutes slower than the KOM.
Unfortunately, other than the Peaks and the Long Mynd (there must be one there surely), I’ve not done loads of natural riding.
Trail centre wise, the TNF climb from memory was really good, but I also like the Cwmcarn opening climb, all doable but pretty tricky.
thisisnotaspoonFree MemberPosted 9 years agoGot to agree with the sentiment that unlike road climbs which are mostly doble by anyone fit (it’s just a matter of fitness and suffering Vs speed), MTB climbs are far more subjective.
A roadie who’d never ridden off road could go up 95% of Skiddaw even if it is 20% higher than the Belach na Bar road, but hate it becasue of the rocky bit mid way. Likewise an avid MTB’er would love the challenge of those bits, but hate the other 95% of mostly featureless but very steap climbing.
AndrewJFree MemberPosted 9 years agoAlex, that route up the Brinore Tramroad is correct until it gets to the junction to Dyffryn Crawnon. I would normally keep on heading up to the top then head right across Bryniau Gleision and descend to Dolygaer and Pontsticill Reservoir.
https://app.strava.com/activities/27514970
Strava segment
trevron73Free MemberPosted 9 years agoMastiles was my first proper off roading back in 1988, before then we messed around in woodlands and moors above Kildwick. Mastiles rules it is still a great ride from kilnsey to malham out and back finishing with an awesome desent
kcalFull MemberPosted 9 years agoHave managed the Dregorn ascent in Peatlands. Once. I thought I was going to die at the top!!
Mastiles Lane – tick. The photo – from the bottom – even made it into the Singletrack wallpaper section 🙂
peepingtomFree MemberPosted 9 years agohttps://www.strava.com/segments/2171932 . Way harder then Fremington edge or Mastilles lane . Half a dozen beasts around Buckden as well .
whitestoneFree MemberPosted 9 years ago@peepingtom Did that years ago, seem to remember a bit of pushing up steep grass near the top.
Yeah, one or two round Buckden 😀
peepingtomFree MemberPosted 9 years agohttps://www.strava.com/segments/8884125 Buckden Pike anti clockwise , possibly the Dales hardest ?
mtbmattFree MemberPosted 9 years agoCadair Idris worth adding. 820m elevation difference.
https://www.strava.com/segments/2105083martinhutchFull MemberPosted 9 years agoCertainly Buckden Rake is is a decent little climb, steep in places. So Buckden Rake, the steep bit of Kidstones on the road, then Gilbert Lane….
Ingleborough from the Ingleton side? That’s quite an effort.
How about the Calf from Sedbergh? Cleanable but tough and long…
Or Cam High Road from Bainbridge. Straight as an arrow, long as hell but nowhere particularly desperate.
AlexSimonFull MemberPosted 9 years agoLooks good mtbmatt. Don’t really know why I haven’t done that.
christhetallFree MemberPosted 9 years agoAgree that Porter Clough (aka the bastard) is a Sheffield rite of passageLink – it’s not as rocky as it used to be, but just as steep.
I like to think of it as the first part of a three part exam
Part 2 is Jumble Lane on Houndkirk – rocky, but not too steep or two long
Once you’ve mastered that go for Lenny Henry Hill. Again the bottom half isn’t as technical as it once was, thanks to SCCC, but it serves it’s purpose to wear you out before the rocky section. And just when you think you’re almost there, the gate not far away, the lungs bursting, there’s a couple of nasty rocks to catch you out.
whitestoneFree MemberPosted 9 years agoI was chatting to someone about the Ingleborough BW last night – one of those silly ones really, the last two hundred metres would be challenging to say the least whether on bike or horseback.
Cam High road: I’ve been down it but not up. Seem to remember some rather loose sections which might be interesting in ascent.
The Calf: The hard bit of that is getting on to Calders – I pushed for about 200 metres from about halfway up the left slanting path round the bend and about 50 metres more. Loose and with a few water bars thrown in for good measure.
Climbing to the summit of Winder from the high point of Howgill Lane is definitely doable if it’s been dry for a while.
hairyscaryFull MemberPosted 9 years agoAlexSimon – Member
Hairscary – are these photos of the same climb you mean – looks beautiful!
http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4368That’s the one.
Has it all, just doable to the bridge, a hike-a-bike after that, then back on the bike to the hut, with stunning scenery all around.
The topic ‘100 Climbs – Offroad version’ is closed to new replies.
