My 20 minute Cragg Vale hill climb challenge

[ColinJ]

When the wind has been favourable recently it has been too cold and/or too murky up there!

I am waiting for a warmer day to try again to go sub-30 minutes, and subsequently to start nibbling away at that new time.

Another current issue is a clicking noise from the transmission on the bike which has the power meter cranks on. It is doing my head in.

I suspect that the bike's cheapo BSA30 bottom bracket is giving way to salty grit attack already, despite only having been on the bike since December 19th!

Hopefully, it will be something easier and cheaper to fix though. I tightened up the chainring bolts after today's valley ride. They weren't horribly loose, but 4 out of the 5 didn't need gorilla strength to turn either... I will find out tomorrow if that has made any difference. (I suspect that it will not have.)

 

[ColinJ]

I am waiting for a warmer day to try again to go sub-30 minutes, and subsequently to start nibbling away at that new time.

Today was such a day, and there was a chance of a modest cross/tailwind so I incorporated the climb in today's ride, my only '50' for the 50-a-month challenge this month.

I got that slight push early on in the climb but then it felt like the wind was moving round from north-westerly, to westerly, and eventually to more of a typical south-westerly cross/headwind.

I wasn't sure whether it was the wind direction changing or just me getting fatigued as the climb went on but I checked the surface of the reservoir at the top and that confirmed it. When I got a horrid cross/headwind last time waves were breaking towards me. Today, it was ripples rolling in.

I think overall the wind probably didn't affect my time much today. Today's ride was obviously easier than the wind-ravaged previous one, but I didn't gain or lose much compared to a still day.

What DID drastically affect my time were 2 sets of roadworks with traffic lights, both of which I got stuck at for over a minute. The council are finally sorting out the crappy road surface up there. It will be a huge improvement for a couple of years after they finish, until the surface starts to break up again.

I controlled my effort better this time by keeping an eye on my heart rate. I tried to do it at 150 bpm and kept it pretty close to that. Last time I was close to my max at 160 bpm for the first half, and then started to blow on the second half.

Last attempt in the unfavourable wind took me 35 m 55 s and I averaged 204 W. This time, with less windy conditions, I took 32 m 22 s and averaged 207 W BUT... I spent pretty much 2 m 22 s stationary at the roadworks! I am confident that otherwise I would have sneaked in at 29 m xx s.

Still, no if onlys or except fors... My new time to beat is that 32 m 22 s. I will probably wait a few weeks for the roadworks to finish before trying again, so that will give me time to lose a little more weight, and try to get some decent training rides in. (My smart turbo trainer should arrive in the next week or so, and I aim to get stuck in on that when the weather is bad.)

 

[Jameshow]

Well done...

I must have a good soon. I might cheat and drive over to the base of the climb rather than riding over!🤣

 

[ColinJ]

Well done...

I must have a good soon. I might cheat and drive over to the base of the climb rather than riding over!🤣

Those roadworks are a pain though!

There was no question of sneaking through against the red lights. Half the width of the road was being resurfaced and the other half was filled with oncoming vehicles and also contractors' heavy plant moving around.

I am not really doing enough riding currently to boost my fitness, just enough to maintain it where it is. Things will naturally improve as we move into spring, as long as we actually get a proper spring this year!

 

[Jameshow]

Those roadworks are a pain though!

There was no question of sneaking through against the red lights. Half the width of the road was being resurfaced and the other half was filled with oncoming vehicles and also contractors' heavy plant moving around.

I am not really doing enough riding currently to boost my fitness, just enough to maintain it where it is. Things will naturally improve as we move into spring, as long as we actually get a proper spring this year!

I'm the same... Just maintaining fitness. Too much other stuff happening.

 

[ColinJ]

I suspect that the bike's cheapo BSA30 bottom bracket is giving way to salty grit attack already, despite only having been on the bike since December 19th!

Confirmed today - see fettling thread!

The weather was very favourable today so I brought my best bike out of hibernation before its usual spring equinox release date. Riding that bike with my little backpack saved 2.5-3.0 kg over the other bike with rack and pannier.

I took 32 m 22 s and averaged 207 W BUT... I spent pretty much 2 m 22 s stationary at the roadworks! I am confident that otherwise I would have sneaked in at 29 m xx s.

Still, no if onlys or except fors... My new time to beat is that 32 m 22 s. I will probably wait a few weeks for the roadworks to finish before trying again

No roadworks delays today. It looks like the road repairs are pretty much completed though there is still a roller parked at the roadside so maybe there are one or two sections left to do?

There are now long stretches of pristine tarmac replacing broken chip-and-seal, which is handy when trying to set a decent time.

The wind conditions were benign - not much wind and what there was came from the east which didn't really affect me much. Confirmed by the reservoir surface at the top of the climb - gentle ripples heading away from the road to my right.

I felt that I was doing a much better ride today and my time at the bus layby confirmed it so I made a harder effort on the steeper ramp, before settling back down onto the moor.

That bike doesn't have a power meter but I was using my HRM. I had decided to average 150 bpm for the climb and did just that. Most of it was done at 149-151 but I hit 159 on the ramp.

So, last time (held up by 2 x roadworks): 32 m 22 s.

Today, with a clear run at it: 27 m 56 s.

I think I could sustain maybe another 1-3 bpm for the climb. I will aim for a 151 bpm average next time and see how I get on.

PS Obviously , I don't have power figures for today. I think I will buy a power meter pedal for that bike some time after paying my winter fuel bill.

 

[Jameshow]

Well done!

Obviously you secretly rode it to stop me from making an attempt on such a good day! 🤣🤔

My Cannondale bike is still in disgrace from the previous weekend disaster!!

I might just have to get my focus izalco pro up from Dorset to have a blast!
Either with Reynolds 30mm or with DA1380gm c24s🤔🤣

 

[Homers Double]

I just checked my Strava, the fastest I've done it is 27:16 back in 2014 when I was younger (obvs) and probably lighter.

Most recent attempt was 38:04 a few weeks ago, currently overweight and slow.

 

[ColinJ]

Most recent attempt was 38:04 a few weeks ago, currently overweight and slow.

It has been pretty windy recently and that usually doesn't help on the CV climb!

 

[Homers Double]

Neither does being old and shi7!

 

[ColinJ]

Neither does being old and shi7!

I am still trying, aged 69!***







*** VERY trying, according to some people!

 

[Sea of vapours]

Good luck to her!
(SNIP)
Craggies is good if you fancy a post Cragg Vale Climb lunch.

Done! Cragg Vale's TT course segment Little Old Lady QoM has succumbed to the determined attentions of my hill attack ferret: 19m13s, which is 2m8s less than the previous record for the 55-65 age group (she's 61). She's third for women over 35 too, and 12th of 1,893 for all women. Gosh !!! This is what 4.25 W/kg does. I wasn't wholly confident that she'd make it as her forte is really much steeper things. That's an excellent result :-) She came 10th on the slightly longer segment too. Remarkable.

Mandy thanks you for the suggestion @ColinJ. She'd never heard of Cragg Vale until I referred to this thread in January. We did indeed retire to Craggies for lunch after the ascent; also a good suggestion on your part.

 

[ColinJ]

Fantastic effort!

I was wondering the other day if you had both been over to have a go.

I will try and take some more time off my PB** soon but I have been feeling sub-par recently and am waiting to feel better. I had suspected hay fever but it now reminds me of the last mild dose of Covid that I had. It has been going on for about 2 weeks. It isn't stopping me riding but has reduced my already minimal oomph so there is no point in me trying for a lower time at the moment.



** I know that my PB decades ago was several minutes quicker but I don't have an exact figure, and think it was a very wind-assisted ride so I will go for bettering my current PB of 27 m 56 s.

 

[Sea of vapours]

Thanks Colin! She's very pleased, as you'd imagine.

I hope your whatever-it-is clears up and enables another attempt the next time a useful wind makes itself known. Aiming for your current PB does seem very much the right choice :-)

 

[ColinJ]

I wasn't wholly confident that she'd make it as her forte is really much steeper things.

It sounds like that tough Shore Rd climb from Cornholme would be ideal for her then!

Church Lane/Mytholm Steeps (Hebden Bridge) would be a similar challenge. The problem with that one though is that it is a narrow, twisty (very steep!) road which can cause problems with parked cars and traffic. Definitely pick a very quiet time to tackle it.