OP
OP
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I was thinking about what Will does last night and I wondered if anybody would be interested in a little CycleChat handicap hilly time trial on the Cragg Vale climb to Blackstone Edge?
(Before anybody points it out - yes, I know that there is an official time trial up that climb every October! I plan to have a go at it when I'm fit enough to do the climb in about 20 minutes.)
This is my idea... We do a warm-up ride which brings us round to Mytholmroyd then set off up through Cragg Vale and time ourselves up the climb. Each of us should make a reasonable effort (say 80% of maximum) so we can work out the handicaps for the race - no cheating and holding back to give yourself a lower handicap!
The race would take place later on the same ride when we would come back round to tackle the climb a second time. We would assemble at the foot of the climb and set off in reverse order of ability with suitable gaps between riders. The faster riders have to try and catch the slower riders, the slower riders have to try and stay away. If we get the handicaps right then everybody would arrive at the top together feeling pretty short of breath!
In a way, it's like what we normally do on my CC rides but the fast riders will wait at the bottom of the climb rather than at the top!
The Cragg Vale climb isn't steep (apart from one little section in the middle where it ramps up for a few hundred metres) so you don't have to be a climbing god to get up it and it's fine for fixed-wheel riders. It's the longest continuous uphill road in England though so it is a good challenge. There are often cross-headwinds at the top to make the going tough. On a still day, I reckon our times would range from just under 20 minutes to perhaps just over 30. Headwinds can easily add 5+ minutes to those times.
If you think it's a stupid idea, I'll quietly drop it!
If you think it's interesting, I'll copy this post into a new thread.
(Before anybody points it out - yes, I know that there is an official time trial up that climb every October! I plan to have a go at it when I'm fit enough to do the climb in about 20 minutes.)
This is my idea... We do a warm-up ride which brings us round to Mytholmroyd then set off up through Cragg Vale and time ourselves up the climb. Each of us should make a reasonable effort (say 80% of maximum) so we can work out the handicaps for the race - no cheating and holding back to give yourself a lower handicap!
The race would take place later on the same ride when we would come back round to tackle the climb a second time. We would assemble at the foot of the climb and set off in reverse order of ability with suitable gaps between riders. The faster riders have to try and catch the slower riders, the slower riders have to try and stay away. If we get the handicaps right then everybody would arrive at the top together feeling pretty short of breath!
In a way, it's like what we normally do on my CC rides but the fast riders will wait at the bottom of the climb rather than at the top!
The Cragg Vale climb isn't steep (apart from one little section in the middle where it ramps up for a few hundred metres) so you don't have to be a climbing god to get up it and it's fine for fixed-wheel riders. It's the longest continuous uphill road in England though so it is a good challenge. There are often cross-headwinds at the top to make the going tough. On a still day, I reckon our times would range from just under 20 minutes to perhaps just over 30. Headwinds can easily add 5+ minutes to those times.
If you think it's a stupid idea, I'll quietly drop it!
If you think it's interesting, I'll copy this post into a new thread.
