We're on holiday this week staying in the Lake District. It's a chance to try to knock off a few more of the climbs in the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs book. We're actually staying by the side of Thirlmere, but this is quite central to a number of the climbs. I plotted off a couple of routes using Garmin Connect before we left but as aware from the maps that some of the roads plotted were potentially quite busy and not cycling friendly.
Of the 2 routes, 1 included Wrynose and Hardnott via Ambleside and another a loop starting from Keswick including Whinlatter. On the way up we drove up the A519 from Ambleside and this experience suggested that it would definitely be better to avoid cycling on this road. So on the first day (Sunday) I decided that I'd try the Wrynose and Hardnott route but to change it and start from Ambleside rather than Thirlmere, although I did not edit the Garmin route. The first problem was that Garmin connect doesn't know about One-way systems so I had a double trip around Ambleside before managing to get out towards the planned route. However I then kept getting the Garmin deciding I was off route, directing me to the right, but when taking the turning was then off route again. This was even after stopping the route and restarting it. I even took a short incorrect diversion up a 25% climb!
Eventually I consulted for the nth time the map I printed off from the Garmin Connect site (although in reality it was too small to see the required details) and followed what I thought ought to be the route. Fortunately I shortly caught another cyclist and confirmed that not only was I on the right road but that in a short time if I turned right I'd see signs, and sure enough there was a sign for Wrynose (thanks to that cyclist) for help. After a short but steep descent and over a bridge there was a warning sign ("30% !!") for a left turn. I paused for a moment and took of my gilet and arm warmers, had a drink and set off into the unknown. It started really quite steep from the junction but then eased off and turned into a rolling ride for several miles.
Gradually some height was gained, the trees thinned out and the surrounding view became more and more barren. Then I reached a cattle grid and a fork in the road. The left fork was signed for Wrynose (and I think Hardnott) and so I took that turn. A few hundred meters further on there was a farm house/guest house and then the road definitely turned upwards. I was in 2nd gear (34-26) at this time already but it did not take very long before I had changed into 1st (34-28) and realised how hard this climb was going to be. The Garmin was showing over 10-12% all the time and beeping away with a High Heart rate alarm (I have set it to 168bpm). This was to be a constant soundtrack for the next 20 minutes or so.
The short 10% stretches were starting to become the periods where it felt like a rest. I rode along and the rode curved gently to the right with a sign warning of 25%. As I rounded the the corner I could see the road climbing up really steeply with a bridge ahead. At this point the gradient was more like 15-16% as a minimum and it was really hurting. My Heart Rate was now about 180bpm - I have never had it this high anywhere at home. I tried standing up to use some different muscles but just could not sustain any more than a few meters.
Passing over the bridge was another short respite but already it turned up again, and at this point it became really steep. A couple of cars passed me but luckily the road had widened at that point and they gave me a lot of room. The Garmin was suggesting 17% but given that by now my HR was 189, the cadence was about 30rpm and the speed only just over 3mph it was clearly a lot steeper. It was at this point that I was beginning to wonder if I would actually be able to get to the top without stopping. I felt that I ought to be close to the top and dug really really deep just to keep going forwards. Fortunately I was right and it started to ease off (anything less than 20% feels like is flat!) and rode up to the top. It looked like there was a false summit so I rode on further and over the top just far enough that I started to go down again.
My original plan for this route was to drop over the back of Wrynose cycle the 3-4 miles and climb up the back of Hardnott, descend it and return back in reverse (Wrynose and Hardnott are on the same road but the climbs are in opposite directions, so to do them both means climbing and descending each one from both sides).
The climb I had just completed was about 1000ft of ascent and the with the riding there over riding to the bottom of the pass meant I was already at 200ft/mile, so to do the planned route would have meant over another 3000ft of climbing just to get back to where I was at that point. Given that I had dug really deep to do the Wrynose climb meant I re-evaluated the planned route and turned around to ride back to Ambleside. I also decided that a better strategy for the week would be to take my bike with us each day and do the various climbs one at a time before or after the more sedate touristy bits we had also planned to do. Further, given that whilst Wrynose is very hard, Hardnott is meant to be even harder, so Hardnott should be a ride in its own right and just to get up would be a massive achievement.
Whilst the climb up was a challenge, the descent was was also very tough. The reasonable surface going up slowly became very uneven and rough going down - bouncing over the bumps became the norm and the back wheel was constantly locking up. I was quite nervous about the descent and was keen to keep the speed down as there was no where to run-off to. Riding the brakes was making my hands ache and I had to move from the hoods to the drops to get the leverage more easily. I also cycled the brakes between front and rear to try to stop too much heat going into the rims and tyres. Once back by the farmhouse the ride was a pleasant ride back to Ambleside.
Statistics for the ride:
Distance: 18.6 miles
Ride Time: 1hr 34mins
Height Gained: 2464ft
Average Speed: 11.9mph
Link to Strava Ride: http://www.strava.com/activities/159384847
When I uploaded the ride to Strava I was very pleased. On the 2 segments that mattered I placed quite well
"Wrynose Pass Full Cat 2 Climb", 3.8 miles, 1053ft, 5% average - my time 27:04, placing 139 of 815 (just outside the top 15%)
"OFFICIAL 100Climbs No 85 Wrynose Pass", 1.6miles, 915ft, 11% average - my time 15:56, placing 172 of 1222 (just about the top 15%)
Here are some photos (sorry about quality, batteries in the camera were flat so had to use my iPhone3):
 |
| At the top looking East just at the very steep part |
 |
| About 2/3 way up (although looking down) at the bridge |
 |
| At the top again looking down (east) |
No comments:
Post a Comment