Went out yesterday evening to take advantage of the breeze on my local tiny hill, Chebsey Bank. When I say tiny, I mean REALLY tiny: the Strava segment comprises probably around 25s of climbing and 25s of getting up to speed and sprinting along the flat to the rather arbitrary finishing point outside the village hall. I’ve ridden it more than 100 times, most of which have been on my wife’s bike, with my boys. But I’d given it beans in the past, always falling a bit short of the KOM of 47s.
In spite of having to ease off a touch as I rounded the opening left-hander, I was still able to carry a decent amount of speed onto the 10% slope, mash the big gear, and time my effort surge as I crested the climb, getting the best possible acceleration onto the flat finale. I don’t have live Strava segments on my Wahoo so I’d have to wait till I got home to find out if it was enough!
I rode a loop around the village which brought me back to the Bank. There were some teenagers in the road with a football this time, so I was a bit hesitant in my launch, and the previous effort had sapped my legs a bit. Even without needing to glance down at the power numbers, I could tell it wasn’t going to be great - it all hinged on that first effort.
47s! Not quite enough to go outright top (that’s motivation to go out again and improve!), but still a KOM. 710W average, including 837W average for 30s - I’ll take that. The second attempt was 49s, still a second faster than my previous fastest ascent. Admittedly, there was a decent tailwind, but I’m happiest about the power figures.
Reminds me of the rainy May in 2021 which caused me to buy my trainer.
