Your Favourite Hill Climb of 2019

[derrick]

Rocacorba in Gerona was the hardest one this year, The road was a bit rough lots of rocks and bits of trees on the road because of the storm the night before. Coming back down was on the brakes most of the way down. Never new what was round the next bend, But the veiw from the top was amazing.

 

[Slioch]

(1) Bealach Udal, Isle of Skye .... climbing up and over towards the Kylerhea to Glenelg Ferry:

WARNING - GEEK ALERT. Glenelg is the only palendromic place-name in Scotland (i.e. reads the same backwards as forwards).

 

[Donger]

WARNING - GEEK ALERT. Glenelg is the only palendromic place-name in Scotland (i.e. reads the same backwards as forwards).

Further Geek alert ...... it also has a sign stating that it is twinned with Glenelg on Mars!

 

[HLaB]

I've not done anything substantial this year but my favourite would have been the Muir after my 2nd or 3rd chemo cycle and going up it in a pb

 

[bianchi1]

A climb in the Picos de Europa up from Cain de valderon to Posada.

https://www.strava.com/segments/9161336

Some crazy steep bits but the pain is worth it to experience the beauty of the area.

 

[ChrisPAmbulance]

Weston Bank, Stafford - always a tremendous feeling as you get over the top!

 

[Pale Rider]

Not done much this year for various reasons, so I will have to reach for the archives.

One of my favourite climbs was on a @ColinJ ride which took in Cragg Vale.

His ludicrously cycling fit friend Carrie got fed up of being held back by us lot and blasted off into the distance.

I turned up the electrons on the ebike and attempted to give chase.

Carrie shot past a roadie like he was standing still, and I was soon up beside him.

He said something slightly snippy about Carrie before glancing down at my motor and scowling.

I explained I was with her and eased off into the distance.

I don't know what annoyed that roadie the most, being passed by a woman or being passed by a bloke on an ebike.

 

[ColinJ]

Not done much this year for various reasons, so I will have to reach for the archives.

One of my favourite climbs was on a @ColinJ ride which took in Cragg Vale.

His ludicrously cycling fit friend Carrie got fed up of being held back by us lot and blasted off into the distance.

I turned up the electrons on the ebike and attempted to give chase.

Carrie shot past a roadie like he was standing still, and I was soon up beside him.

He said something slightly snippy about Carrie before glancing down at my motor and scowling.

I explained I was with her and eased off into the distance.

I don't know what annoyed that roadie the most, being passed by a woman or being passed by a bloke on an ebike.

Ha ha - yes, she does tend to do that. It isn't a problem on the Cragg Vale climb because we normally go all the way to the top and she will be waiting at the ice cream van at the summit. The problem comes when there is a turn halfway up a big hill. She goes into auto-pilot and rides to the top. Nobody can catch her before she misses the turn! (Telling her beforehand often doesn't work because her mind is elsewhere when climbing.)

 

[BrumJim]

Have to mention Coast-to-Coast again, and Hardnott Pass, which was closed for this event:

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Exactly what the title says, no matter whether competitive or leisurely.

Links and photos encouraged.

Mine is the "Shibden Wall", nr Halifax.

https://cyclinguphill.com/100-climbs/shibden-wall/

With a mate, we reckoned it would be an imperial century there and back - it was 99 miles in the end.

Probably the longest cobbled climb I've ever done, and the ride also featured Holme Moss before and Cragg Vale after. A grand day out.
View attachment 496055

Have ridden 'the Wall' (or Lee Lane, to use its real name) a few times
I've even come down it, which is almost worse!
Never easy

Back in the early 90s, it even forced the legend that is Sean Kelly onto the pavement for an easier ride, in a Tour of Britain!!!


If you liked that, try Trooper Lane
I've run up it (well... partway, on the Stainland Lions 'Bluebell Trail 10')
That appantly gains the height of Blackpool Tower in 1/2 mile!!
It's tough!!
http://thehelloftheworth.blogspot.com/p/2-trooper-lane.html

 

[ColinJ]

If you liked that, try Trooper Lane
I've run up it (well... partway, on the Stainland Lions 'Bluebell Trail 10')
That appantly gains the height of Blackpool Tower in 1/2 mile!!
It's tough!!
http://thehelloftheworth.blogspot.com/p/2-trooper-lane.html

Refugees from the long-deceased Cycling Plus forum may remember me starting a thread about "Macho climbing gears" which caused a lot of arguments? I had read about a rider doing hill repeats on Trooper Lane on something stupidly hard like a 39/23 gear and complaining about it killing his legs!

(This is where I get random fixed gear riders posting that they have no problem riding up it in a 70 inch gear!)

 

[Twilkes]

Crow Road from Lennoxtown over to Fintry, it's the first time in a long time that I've sought out a proper climb and went up it fairly steadily on a hybrid, so looking forward to some bigger climbs on a road bike next year.

 

[PaulSB]

For 2019 it would be Birdy Brow, one of our local climbs and a UK top 100. On a good day in the summer I found myself chasing one of our good climbers. I didn't catch him but was putting a few yards in to him.

A few weeks later one of my cycling buddies who has the KOM for our age group on Birdy said to me "You put in an incredible time on Birdy, you're 4th in our age group." As he is overall one of the strongest, possibly the best, climbers in our club I felt very complimented.

At 70 he moves out of my age group in a couple of months. I'm not competitive and only chase my own times. I reckon I have a chance of my first ever KOM.

I'll either need someone to chase or one of the younger guys to ride alongside, not drafting, me.

 

[ColinJ]

For 2019 it would be Birdy Brow, one of our local climbs and a UK top 100. On a good day in the summer I found myself chasing one of our good climbers. I didn't catch him but was putting a few yards in to him.

A few weeks later one of my cycling buddies who has the KOM for our age group on Birdy said to me "You put in an incredible time on Birdy, you're 4th in our age group." As he is overall one of the strongest, possibly the best, climbers in our club I felt very complimented.

At 70 he moves out of my age group in a couple of months. I'm not competitive and only chase my own times. I reckon I have a chance of my first ever KOM.

I'll either need someone to chase or one of the younger guys to ride alongside, not drafting, me.

It took me 20 years to finally get round to tackling Birdy Brow. It is fairly tough, but not as tough as I expected it to be, given its reputation. I thought that nearby Whalley Nab was a harder climb. Mind you, I am only going up those climbs at just over walking pace - they definitely would be hard to race up!

 

[roubaixtuesday]

For 2019 it would be Birdy Brow, one of our local climbs and a UK top 100. On a good day in the summer I found myself chasing one of our good climbers. I didn't catch him but was putting a few yards in to him.

A few weeks later one of my cycling buddies who has the KOM for our age group on Birdy said to me "You put in an incredible time on Birdy, you're 4th in our age group." As he is overall one of the strongest, possibly the best, climbers in our club I felt very complimented.

At 70 he moves out of my age group in a couple of months. I'm not competitive and only chase my own times. I reckon I have a chance of my first ever KOM.

I'll either need someone to chase or one of the younger guys to ride alongside, not drafting, me.

You inspired me to look up Birdy Brow. We did the nearby Trough of Bowland on our tandem this year, which is a great climb but pretty tough. How does Birdy Brow compare?