Tag Archives: Hillclimbing

Bannister Hill, 9.30″

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22°C, clearing. Perfect.
MapMyRide! Distance: 39.40mi, time: 02:21:42, pace: 3:36min/mi, speed: 16.6mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/327169155
Yesterday- broke my best time up Bannister Hill, today, broke it again. The strategy today was to keep up the pace after pud summit to High Moor which is the end of the Mapmyride climb. All this was done on the 42×16 Fixed Gear.
A fixed would make an excellent hill-climb bike for those end-of-season hill races. That is when you have carefully chosen the gear for if specific climb. This ride needs a gear that is not too low to take advantage of some false flats where you can build up speed.
Overall, the conditions were perfect and my fitness- much improved.
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I have only just found how to take a screen-capture from this phone; so here, at last is a hill profile.

Alstonefield ride.

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30°C, no wind, no clouds.
Sunday ride~ tracked with MapMyRide! Distance: 84.73mi, time: 05:42:34, pace: 4:03min/mi, speed: 14.84mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/321195601
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I rode up with the Burton club, view were heading to the Peak District for some hill climbs. They were quick and seem a disciplined bunch. I only got nervous on stretches with deep pot-holes.
Anyway, I turned off and made my own way to the Peaks with a cafe stop at Ilam.

From there, the route took me further north to Alstonefield and Milldale. There is a back route into Milldale by a road marked as impassible. Impassible roads are a bad idea, they are impassible. It was narrow and dipped down into the gorge at 1:7. I slid back, gripped the drops for a better grasp of the brake lever and took it slowly. My eyes darted from one side to another looking for places to crash should a brake cable break.
They held.

Out of Milldale there is a daunting hill to the east which worked out well. there were more steep hills which I took with renewed confidence and I arrived home feeling reasonably fresh. I credit the extra water I drank for feeling good even after eighty miles.