How hilly is your ride

[mjr]

At 21meters it's hardly Mont Ventoux though,,,,

In a landscape of <10ft/mile, it's a giant!

 

[Beeny]

I took my 10 year old out for a Sunday morning spin around the Cornish lanes, 650ft in 8 miles. The first two miles were downhill, he liked that.

 

[HLaB]

Looking at GC, round here based on March and June around 200-300ft in 10 miles, AKA as flat.

I've excluded April and May which had a Flanders weekend (515 ft/ 10 miles), a week and a half in Mallorca (631ft /10 miles) (963ft /10 miles for the 312 alone) and a weekend in the Peak District (880ft /10 miles).

 

[ColinJ]

I mostly ride in the peak district so 6000 to 7000 ft climbing in 65 miles is a normal weekend ride out.
By I find it harder if I go east into the flat lands and finish up battling the constant westerly headwinds to get home.

I'm the same. Climbing tough hills is satisfying and there are great views and exciting descents to enjoy. Headwinds are a pain with no reward other than eventual fitness!

The downside of this sort of riding is that doing properly long rides is beyond me. I'm ok up to 60 miles (6000ft of climbing) but I couldn't enjoy 80 miles in the Peaks...just too hard. I did an 82 mile ride with 9,000ft of climbing in a sportive near here and the final 15 miles were not fun at all

That's because you like riding quickly - you could easily do those longer rides if you were prepared to slow down!

 

[Donger]

Only moved to Gloucester about a year ago, Quedgeley Tesco's is a 10 mile flat round trip for me so not far from you I guess ,
I've not made it to the Forest of Dean yet, my max comfortably is still only around 30 miles, so I could get there and back but I'd have to give any actual hill once I got there a miss....
Six months ago i struggled up those inclines you commonly meet on approaches to bridges over a railway line or motorway but those are now easier and I recently started tackling the hills in that Cotswold escarpment the one past the cheese rolling place at coopers hill I have managed a couple of times now (with eyes popping from the strain) I do use Strava though and it thinks that hill is a cat 4. I think strava doth overstate the case somewhat but hey ho. It's getting a bit easier the more weight I lose, and thanks to the folks here now have a 28 rear instead of 27, but there are still parts I get off and walk, some hill out of Stroud completely defeated me on Sunday.

For a few years the only way I ever went into Stroud was from the M5 J13 /Stonehouse direction. Once there, I was trapped like a spider in a bathtub and could only get back out the way I came! Doing regular repeats of any hills that I could actually climb, followed by joining a local cycling club has really helped me. I think I have now ridden every major route out of Stroud. You will find that once you can do that, it opens up all the best cycling country to you. Next time you struggle up past Coopers Hill, take a left at Cranham through Buckholt Woods signposted Birdlip. It is still mostly uphill all the way to the edge of Birdlip, but trust me, when you turn the bike around and glide back down through Buckholt Woods to Cranham, turn right on the main road then hang a left down Nut Hill (shortly after Prinknash Abbey) you will have entered cycling Nirvana. Everyone I have ever ridden down through Buckholt with has said it was well worth the climb - whichever way they had struggled up there.

p.s. Make sure you take the "Birdlip" turn and not the "Cranham" one, or you'll end up doing the "Cranham Wall" , which deserves it's name 100%. May see you around some time.

 

[Kajjal]

Heading south of where we live by road it is about 2750ft in 40 miles which is a good ride without being too much on a bad day.

An off road mountain biking route i do is 2700ft in 19 miles which can be hard work on steep loose tracks.

 

[Donger]

I divide my time between North London and Oxford (where my wife works). Both are reasonably flat with a few short sharp hills occasionally cropping up. I used to spend quite a lot of time in the Yorkshire Dales and there were some lovely hills. I had a 25 mile ride via Semer Water and Buttertubs which had three nice 1:4 hills.....always made me feel that I was about to have a coronary.

1:4 hills !!! Kudos. For anyone who has never tried one, this is what that looks like:

The white post marks the point where the Cotswold Way crosses the road near the top of my absolute nemesis, Haresfield Beacon (between Gloucester and Stroud). I have tried it at least ten times over the years, and that damned post (about 90% of the way up) is the furthest I have ever got without stopping. I just start kangarooing my front wheel every single time it comes into sight. And once I stop, I physically can't get back on the bike on that slope to start cycling again.

 

[ColinJ]

And once I stop, I physically can't get back on the bike on that slope to start cycling again.

On narrow, steep roads without side roads or farm tracks to emerge from, it IS very difficult. On wider roads, start off across the road and then turn up the hill once you have got going. The road in your photo looks wide enough to do that on.

 

[Donger]

On narrow, steep roads without side roads or farm tracks to emerge from, it IS very difficult. On wider roads, start off across the road and then turn up the hill once you have got going. The road in your photo looks wide enough to do that on.

Thanks Colin, but might not be much use to me on this one. Last time I failed, it was because I was zig-zagging across the road (at a time when I honestly thought I was about to achieve something amazing) . Unfortunately if your front wheel goes up in the air just as you are turning into another zig-zag it's a case of "game over"!

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks Colin, but might not be much use to me on this one. Last time I failed, it was because I was zig-zagging across the road (at a time when I honestly thought I was about to achieve something amazing) . Unfortunately if your front wheel goes up in the air just as you are turning into another zig-zag it's a case of "game over"!

We have several of those climbs round here. There is one ('Mytholm Steeps') that I have a 50-50 record on using my road bike. I have managed it about 4 times and failed at least 4 times. I have done it successfully 3 or 4 times on my MTB which has lower gears and a heavy front end which is easier to keep on the road! I usually avoid it. 20% is about as steep as I know that I can get up. Beyond that is a bit more questionable. On dry days, when fit, on good road surfaces and riding a triple-equipped lightweight road bike, I have managed to climb 25-30% on rare occasions.

 

[sackville d]

MOST of my rides are Hilly. Note the capital 'H'!

View attachment 131149 View attachment 131150 View attachment 131151 View attachment 131152 View attachment 131153

And so on ...

And that profile is just @ColinJ going to Lidl on Halifax Rd!!

 

[Smithbat]

My commute to work has a climb of 234 feet, read it and weep people

 

[ColinJ]

And that profile is just @ColinJ going to Lidl on Halifax Rd!!

Ha ha ... I'm thinking of knocking together a cheapo singlespeed bike for my 'hilly' Lidl trips. I normally just walk but there are times when I want to nip down for just one or two items but can't be bothered. A bike not worth nicking and not to be mourned if nicked is what I want!

 

[EnPassant]

For a few years the only way I ever went into Stroud was from the M5 J13 /Stonehouse direction. Once there, I was trapped like a spider in a bathtub and could only get back out the way I came! Doing regular repeats of any hills that I could actually climb, followed by joining a local cycling club has really helped me. I think I have now ridden every major route out of Stroud. You will find that once you can do that, it opens up all the best cycling country to you. Next time you struggle up past Coopers Hill, take a left at Cranham through Buckholt Woods signposted Birdlip. It is still mostly uphill all the way to the edge of Birdlip, but trust me, when you turn the bike around and glide back down through Buckholt Woods to Cranham, turn right on the main road then hang a left down Nut Hill (shortly after Prinknash Abbey) you will have entered cycling Nirvana. Everyone I have ever ridden down through Buckholt with has said it was well worth the climb - whichever way they had struggled up there.

p.s. Make sure you take the "Birdlip" turn and not the "Cranham" one, or you'll end up doing the "Cranham Wall" , which deserves it's name 100%. May see you around some time.

Thanks for replying.
Ya, Stonehouse indeed, I use google maps with the clickies for cycling and terrain, it's clear from that that this is the only flat way in and out. I had initially intended to go in and out the same way, however having never previously been to Stroud my internal "it's better to do a circuit and see more than just go out and back" demon (for want of a better way of expressing it) kicked in and I wound up leaving via the Bisley road tempted by signs of a viewpoint (I never found it). Suffice to say I walked most of the hill out of town.

@ Spider in a bathtub. Just so.

P.S. Many thanks, I will try the route you have suggested and will definitely avoid the Cranham Wall for now, no need to warn me twice about a hill with that kind of reputation. I've been down Nut Hill once after bailing from the climb past Coopers, ya it was fun.
Actually I must have been in that area on my way back from Stroud also because I ended up in Birdlip, via The Camp (what an oddly named place...). By this point I was knackered to be honest, and foolishly followed the road signs to Gloucester, which being car orientated take you to the A417 and the consequent 10% downhill on a main road with one lane down and two up, which I have driven and swore I wouldn't do on a bike. Oh well, 43mph, flies in the teeth and the hint of something damp lower down....On reflection I should have taken more time and worked out that I should have used Ermine way...Ah well, as I said, I was knackered.

PPS and utterly off topic, which cycling club? I've thought about joining one, but have steered clear as I don't think I'm quick enough and frankly I'm not sure I'd fit in really. I'm not a racer or even what I think is sportive/audax type, still investigating exactly what those are tbh.

 

[tommaguzzi]

Last night's pub social ride had 2647ft of climbing in 20 miles

https://www.strava.com/activities/603654761