- This topic has 77 replies, 70 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by molgrips.
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Hills you hate
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bigjimFull Member
Howden glen in the Pentlands, just keeps getting steeper and then when it starts to level out you can’t seem to go any faster. but I live in Denmark now and there’s no hills 🙂
tonFull Member10 bastards here, could go on forever.
kettlewell to cam head
starbotton to cam head
cray to kidstones
hawkswick cote to high cote moor
middlesmoor climb over in moor
marsden to wessenden head
holme moss south to north
cowgill up past dent station
arnecliffe to darnbrooke house
oxnop scar, north to south.cleaned all these prior to my body giving up.
tjagainFull MemberAll of them!
Particular hates are puke hill and red road in the pentlands and the climb from musselburgh up to the pencaitland railway
colournoiseFull Memberthestabiliser
Ooh-ooh got a good one, the last 500m of fireroad at the top of whinlatter north loop. Just finish already!I’ll l go with that one on my list too. One of the main reasons I prefer the south loop. Don’t mind the singletrack climbing on the north side, but once it opens up onto the fire road my heart sinks every time.
Chapel Gate.
Up the back of Jacob’s Ladder from Hayfield. Just hateful.But really, I live in the flatlands so any slight uphill gradient is more then unwelcome.
CheezpleezFull MemberAny hill when I’m struggling to keep up with the group. I can usually enjoy anything as long as I’m setting the pace.
Mister-PFree MemberOn my morning commute there’s one I detest. It’s not steep or long but it’s usually into the wind and as it’s a blind summit you always get a car stuck on your back wheel up it. I’m always very glad to get to the top of it.
jimster01Full MemberFoD most of them on the Wild Boar Chase, they seem there’s more up than down.
Malvern, the climb out of Mathon to West Malvern is daunting to say the least.
spekkieFree MemberLiving in the mountains means that pretty much every ride includes some climbing, but I like climbing so it’s not a problem.
When I do tend to find myself moaning is when I ride a new route for the first time and I’m not sure how long a climb goes on for. Typically, two thirds of the way up (so maybe 4km into a climb) I’ll go around a fire road hairpin, see another 300m stretch of climb and curse. For me it’s more about not knowing what pace to ride at on a new hill than anything.
We did a climb for the first time two weeks ago that went up 800m in 8km. That’s quite a long slog if you don’t like climbing but a lovely workout if you do 🙂
jam-boFull MemberI live on top of a hill, so the one back to my house that every ride or run finishes with…
roneFull MemberA small rubbish track on the way home. About 1/4 of a mile.
But I’ve done it thousands of times.
kerleyFree MemberI love climbing and have no hills I hate where I live. Admittedly I don’t live on the mountains but it is still very uppy/downy.
kayla1Free MemberOn NCR 1, heading south from Ryhope to Murton, there’s a stupid incline that just grinds the life out you. It’s probably only 1% or something but it goes on for a couple of km or so and it’s right near the end of a 50-odd km ride. There’s absolutely nothing in its favour 😆 I don’t mind a climb if it’s an actual proper incline and stuff but this one’s awful.
edit- and the climb/push up to Transmission at Hamsters. That one can GRTF as well. It’s the reason I only do one practice run at the races there and I won’t do the K-Line TT at all partly because of that climb.
jonm81Full Member9 Barrow Down in the Purbecks. Never ending climb from Corfe Castle or sodding steep from the Swanage end.
taxi25Free MemberCaerphilly mnt coming out of the town centre. Done it loads but it’s always a last hurdle on my way home, and to steep to just spin up with tired legs ☹☹
Ming the MercilessFree MemberThe climb up to Rushup edge from Edale. There was nearly a Rocky Mountain Element in the bogs at the top. Pedal, pedal, crunch/stop on side of rut, pedal, pedal, crunch/stop on side of rut and repeat. Nearly full on mantrum at the top.
senorjFull MemberI like climbing but I do hate going up Lattrigg from Brundlhome road.
I also have a love/hate relationship with Dash falls & Up to Whinlatter&beyond from Thornthwaite “garage”.
And there’s a short, steep ,flinty bump in Whitwell ,Herts that always makes me blush.Pz_SteveFull MemberPaul Hill, up out of Newlyn. About 1/3rd of the way in when I ride to work. About 99% of the reason I don’t ride to work often.
I manage it every time, but I think that makes it worse. If I knew I’d have to get off and push then that’d be fine in a way, but no – I know I can do it and I know I’ll want to throw up at the top. It’s just the wrong combination of gradient and length for my puny climbing (and the steepest bit is near the end, which doesn’t help).
You can’t even enjoy it on the way home, as the parking and the traffic mean it’s usually about 20mph tops, unless you have very good brakes / grippy tyres.
thisisnotaspoonFree MemberThere’s one in the chilterns somewhere north of reading that we go up semi regularly, it’s a b******.
A nice flat run in which seems to leave me at the front being the resident fatty. Then there’s a few turns and still not much gradient, then it’s a dead straight ramp to the top, and it’s utterly horrible, with no real features it just seems to go on and on. In reality it’s probably 3 minutes, but it’s a horrible soul crushing 3 minutes.
northernsoulFull Member+1 for Fremington Edge. Two current ones are Wolsinghsm to Doctors Gate and Crawleyside Bank – wouldn’t say I hate them but they are about 20 miles into most rides. With Crawleyside though, at least there’s a decent cafe at the top!
mattbeeFull MemberLocally it’s the hill back into QECP from Halls Hill/Kiln Lane.
Not the steepest but I only really ever ride it to get back into the park after a longer ride so I’ve either done a heap of miles on the South Downs or been playing in Head Down (but not on my bike obviously as those trails are ‘event only’… ) so the tank is usually empty.
There’s a loose bit in the middle that I hate the most as it’s polished pebbly gravel on top of chalk with minimal grip provision so it needs to be ‘ridden’ not just plodded up.
I’ve been known to divert through Finchdean and Chalton, extending the ride by about 4 miles, just because it avoids that hillGHillFull MemberThe climb from the banks of Ladybower (Peak District) to Derwent Edge. The paved part just gets steeper and steeper, then throws in some slippery steps at the top just to make you spin out. Once you’re past the buildings it gets very techy. Then there’s a few hundred meters left to go.
At least the views are nice.
BadlyWiredDogFull MemberThe climb from the banks of Ladybower (Peak District) to Derwent Edge. The paved part just gets steeper and steeper, then throws in some slippery steps at the top just to make you spin out. Once you’re past the buildings it gets very techy. Then there’s a few hundred meters left to go.
That’s an awesome climb 🙂 There’s a proper horrid one around there, the endless globby double-track that leads up from the track round the edge of the reservoir to the woody thing that cuts over to Hope Brink, erm, this – http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=417452&Y=386549&A=Y&Z=120 – I think. Maybe…
It’s just a soulless slog with no technical interest, views or owt else. I don’t hate it per se, but I tend not to ride it. The other climb that ends in the same spot is better, at least there’s some thought involved.
whitestoneFree MemberGenerally I’ve no problem with climbing, on or off-road. Like @ton I’ve entered that 50 climbs challenge. Last year I did the Strava monthly climbing challenge, pretty easy to do most months, October’s was done in four rides. Not sure whether to do it this year but I’m 6 metres short of this month’s target – a ride to the bottom of the garden and back would get those!
@martinhutch – I know what you mean about that little rise between Embsay and Skipton. Another local one is the road between Gargrave and Broughton – again always near the end of a ride for me and is one of those uncomfortable angles where you can’t quite match gear and cadence. I always find it harder than the next much bigger climb to get home.Of the big Dales road climbs the one out of Arncliffe over to Malham Tarn is a brute (sic). But the one I really hate isn’t really a single climb, it’s the ride up Coverdale to get to the top of Park Rash.
Never managed to clean Fremington Edge, got closest early last year when I got to about 50m from the top of the steep stuff.
rocketmanFree MemberI live on top of a hill, so the one back to my house that every ride or run finishes with
^^ this
0.9 mi with a 0.2 mi kick at the end. Strava times vary wildly. I got off and pushed once when there was too much snow
daernFree MemberAny hill when I’m struggling to keep up with the group. I can usually enjoy anything as long as I’m setting the pace.
This. Good example yesterday when I was flogging my arse off in a headwind trying to keep up with a road group heading North towards Burnsall. Nothing insanely hard, but the pace was brisk and I was knackered. The end of the climb couldn’t come quick enough!
Once we turned and headed South again, my legs came back in, I moved to the front and the rest of the climbs whistled by, with some other poor bastard having to wheeze “half off!” on the back instead of me 🙂
kayla1Free MemberI live on top of a hill, so the one back to my house that every ride or run finishes with…
So do we but the hill we have to climb up is ok for some reason, dunno why. I think I’d rather live at the top of a hill than the bottom though because every ride starts pointing down. If we had to climb a hill at the start of every ride I think I’d take up knitting instead…
richmtbFull MemberThe bottom of the climb up Minch Moor on the Inners XC route.
The steepest bit of the whole route is straight out of the car park. It’s a total bastard way to start a climb
BlackflagFree MemberRoman Lakes nr Marple. The climb to the pub from Strines station. Its OK but gets steeper as you go with a rocky step up right at the top which i can only clean when its bone dry. Every other time my wheel spins out with 2m to go and i curse very loudly!
greavoFull MemberThe Coal Road up to Scout Moor wind farm. It’s very unpleasant in the wind.
cookeaaFull MemberI’ve got Streatley hill in my neck of the woods and that’s a bit of a bugger, there are other routes up onto the ridgeway but it’s the most direct…
The main problem with it is it’s straight up ~18% for the steepest bit in the middle and just drags on a bit, plus there’s always some fitter whatnot that comes dancing past you…
If I want to test myself I’ll work Whitchurch and then Streatley hills into the first few miles of a ride, and then see how much I’ve actually got left in the tank…
I suppose I don’t actually “hate” any hills but I’m more concious of how challenging some can be and how much they fatigue me reducing the stamina I have left for the rest of a ride…
weeksyFull MemberI’ve got Streatley hill in my neck of the woods and that’s a bit of a bugger, there are other routes up onto the ridgeway but it’s the most direct…
The main problem with it is it’s straight up ~18% for the steepest bit in the middle and just drags on a bit, plus there’s always some fitter whatnot that comes dancing past you…
If I want to test myself I’ll work Whitchurch and then Streatley hills into the first few miles of a ride, and then see how much I’ve actually got left in the tank…
I suppose I don’t actually “hate” any hills but I’m more concious of how challenging some can be and how much they fatigue me reducing the stamina I have left for the rest of a ride…
The thing with Streatley hill is that it doesn’t train/prepare you for anything really other than Streatley hill…. Other hills you can pick a gear and spin, or grind it out, you can accelleerate or crusie…. Streatley is just a grind and a bloody hard one… No finesse, no tactics or technique, just a grind…
I’ll take the gravel one past the golf course any day of the week.
tonFull MemberI rode Cragg vale on sunday, in gale force winds, hitting me at about 10 past the hour.
was not too bad really.
I then rode Mytholm steeps, the hill that saxonrider crashed on. what a complete bastard.
I would buy a ebike if that was on my commute home……….. ;o)cobrakaiFull MemberThe climb up to HMS mercury East bound on the SDW. Lots of flint,pebbles and step up roots.
I would say the last bit up to the top of old winch hill but I just push up now.
big_scot_nannyFull MemberAnother ‘top of hill’ living person here, every ride finishes with a 150m vertical climb over about 1.5km of varying gradients. Its horrible!
whitestoneFree MemberYeah, sort of down a hill that you need to climb first to get to us. I nipped down to the village a short while ago – 7km with 210m of climbing for the return trip.
molgripsFree MemberI think I’d rather live at the top of a hill than the bottom though because every ride starts pointing down.
I grew up at the top of a fairly small hill and every winter morning on the way to college was awful – freewheeling into an icy wind before you’ve warmed up.
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