We arrived at the camp site which is right at the foot of km 0 of the Alpe d'Huez Saturday evening and unpacked. Almost as soon as we were settled in we (my son & I) were discussing what to next do the day. I had previously decided that something at the easier end of the scale would be sensible give that neither of us had climbed a col before - that is climbed continuously for more than a couple of miles. This meant that the Col d'Ornon was the sensible choice - a 5/10 in my little book (100 Greatest Climbs of the Tour de France) and "only" 11.1km long with 643m of ascent. It was also only a few km from the camp site So the next morning at just before 9.30 we set off. Here's the route:
The first thing to see is that we got quite excited and climbed the Alpe d'Huez as well - more of that later. What about the Col d'Ornon? Firstly we got to the bottom after only a couple of miles riding at most - and I was not warmed up. Turning off the Bourg d'Oisins road there was a brief respite of flat and then it raised up to about 8% - and it stayed pretty well there all the way to the top. As I was not warmed up I was in the small/small gear combination (34-30) almost immediately and my heart rate was way to high. My son started to ride away from me from the off and all I could do was sit there and aim to grind it out.
The scenery was breathtaking - at first we hugged the foot of a cliff to the right and the road literally dropped away sheer to the left. Gradually my heart rate eased a little but it remained high. When I passed a hand cyclist I knew I had it easy. A km or so after that cars started coming down hooting and waving hands - a sportive of some sort was descending and I needed to keep well over to the right as the riders raced down. The route ground upwards with almost no respite - a few places might have seen the gradient ease to 6-7% for a few meters but that was it.
Onwards and upwards it went and then some where near the top (I did not know where the top was but the distance travelled seemed right) the road changed from winding to almost ruler straight and at a constant gradient, interspersed by hairpins bends. The general direction was also seemingly into a head wind (head breeze?) which made it doubly hard. The gradient wasn't steep, it just remained relentless. Finally I could see an indication that I was approaching the top, and I ground it out for another km or so and met back up with my son. After a short pause we turned round and went back the way we had just spent 40-45 minutes or so ascending. I am not a confident descender - I am always worried about over doing it and coming off - either leaning too far and falling or going too fast and overshooting the bend - or hitting oncoming traffic. Whilst I am nowhere near as fast as my son after a few corners I was into the zone and building confidence. It was an exhilarating experience sweeping through the bends - and just like there's nothing in the UK to match climbing for 40 minutes by the same token there's nothing in the UK to match descending for 20 minutes. The only downside - sore triceps using the brakes for so long and being careful not to ride the brakes so as not to put too much heat into the tyres and rims. All too soon it was over and we were back on the valley road (escorted out on to it by a number of event marshals as well). We rode back to the camp site but had already decided to attempt the Alpe itself - we were warmed up and the first Col had not destroyed us! We passed the camp site entrance and then then "km 0" marker which is barely 50m from the camp site. The road swings left and then you are straight into the climb, and straight up to 10%, and that's where it stays for what seems like forever. Firstly you keep looking for the first corner - or is it the 21st. Finally it seems you get there and that's the first of the hairpins ticked off. Back you turn on yourself and after a very brief respite for the corner its back to 10%. I was in the 34-30 gear long before the 1st bend and it was a case of just grinding away. Bends 20 to 17 appear and disappear and it seems to easy very slightly. 16 Sees a turning off to the right and a cafe on the corner. The same routine follows - slog up to the bend revel in the drop in gradient and even shift up a gear, then drop back down as the gradient kicks back up. A few bends later and we're in the village of Huez itself. Even at about 10.30am the heat is really making itself felt. Ever onwards and upwards - ahead is a police woman (gendarme) directing what little traffic there is - we've joined back on the route of the earlier Sportive and they are holding non-sportive traffic up. I'm not held up and carrt on. At Bend 12 there's a photographer snapping away and passing me a card. I actually bought this later when we got home:
Soon I'm in single figures on the bend count and over half way. It's no easier but I think I have the measure of it. Still on and up and soon I am at 4 or is it 5? There's another junction but I ignore the sign. As I get closer I see the Sportive sign pointing to the "Sommet" and think that this must be the way - surely they're not going to get people to do a Sportive up the Alpe and not take them the classic route. I grind on below some chalets and realise at the next corner that there is no number - at that moment I realise I have gone the wrong way. I think about turning round but decide that I might as well carry on the way I am going. Finally reach the "top" - I've done it - but the wrong way - my first Cat 1 or possibly HC climb.
But I have no idea where my son is. So I meander around the "top" until I find a steady stream of people and guess that this is where I should be. Just then I see my son. Despite calling he's obviously decided to go back and he's off. There was no way I was going to catch him and I didn't bother to try. I set off down the mountain. I was very nervous for the 1st hairpin but then I am away - just let yourself gather speed until before the bend - break hard enough to get round, accelerate away and then roll to the next bend - 30+mph - then down to 12-15mph and back up to 30mph and so on. All the pain of the ascent is gone - gravity is pushing me down and onwards effortlessly. I can now enjoy the pain faces of al those ascending - that was me not 30 minutes ago. By about bend 15 I can feel the brakes getting less effective. I was more cautious from then on pulsing the brakes to avoid too much heat. And then the descent from 21 to km 0 I let it go and got up to 44mph - more than fast enough for me. Swing right at the bottom and then left to the campsite and I was done. Wheels were almost too hot to touch though! That was it - my first Col and the Alpe d'Huez. However it was unfinished business as I went the wrong way and did not reach the TdF official finish line - another time perhaps
Last Sunday I rode with Noel again for the first time for a long time. However Noel's been too busy working overtime so is seriously low on miles, speed and bike fitness. So I decided on the Saturday that I'd ride with Noel to Clent/Belbroughton and then strike out into unknown (to me) territory towards Church Stretton with the aim of climbing the Long Mynd and be able to tick off Greatest Climbs #39.
The distance to Church Stretton meant it would be a one way trip and some negotiation was required to get my wife to drive over and meet me at the end. This was all sorted and a meeting time and point at one of the pubs was sorted. I rode over to Noel's for 8am and we set off for Clent. Noel suggested a different route to Clent than I had planned - but is much better then striking off through some of the SW suburbs of Birmingham. This added about 15 minutes to reaching the foot of St Kenelms Pass in Holy Cross. I'd planned to ride up and then down St Kenelms Pass again but the additional time and distance meant that I decided to split from Noel there. It was great to ride with Noel again, and made a change to drop the pace a little and have a chat. The route profile (planned in the Strava Route Builder tool) suggested a total ascent of over 5000ft so I was trying to keep my heart rate down (to an average of ~145bpm) to cover all the distance and climbing especially with the Ling Mynd at the very end of 65 miles. From Holy Cross I headed off towards Kinver using some of the roads I'd ridden a month or so before on the Tour of the Black Country through Broome, Churchill and Kinver. I rode down Kinver high street the opposite way this time. From Kinver the villages became a lot more sparse and it really was very remote at times. The next place I rode through was Bridgnorth. This was the only real mistake I made - I was heading to the town centre then had planned a left turn to the NW - unfortunately this turned out to be a fast 2 lane bypass road - I decided to be cautious and stopped so I could cross over to the path on the other side - the traffice was too fast to be safe. At the top of the hill was a roundabout and I turned left and was straight back on quiet country roads. There was not a lot of options in the route I'd planned as there were no crossings of the river until Bridgnorth. The route continued and the terrain was very "rolling". Monkton was approached down a 20% descent on a very poor and broken road surface - very dangerous. There were also 2 tough "mini" climbs (Strava Cat 4) both signed on the road at 18%. These were sapping and I rode them conservatively to keep energy for The Ling Mynd. However I did get a 4th best time for 2015 for one of them - so still none to shabby!
I used my 34-30 gear combination for all these. I have wanted to keep the 30 as a bail out gear and use the 28 as the lowest normal gear, but on climbs over 12-15% I find I have been using it more than I expected. Its takes a lot of strain off my knees and my heart rate is slightly lower than when using the 28, although progress is correspondingly slower. I continued towards Church Stretton making reasonable progress although I was starting to feel quite tired and at one point almost decided not to even make the attempt. However having ridden 65 tough miles just to get there I decided I would go for it. There was a good long descent into Church Stretton, but once over the A49 its barely ¼ mile to the bottom of the climb. There was a short drag past some houses and then straight ahead it rose at what looked like a vertical climb to a gate. The gate and cattle grid marked the start "proper" and the gradient steepened very quickly to around 16-20%. There was no where for me to go except straight into the 34-30 gear and grind up. It was very hard but I felt in control (just!). Heart rate was mid 170s which is about my maximum. There was a flurry of cars behind me but that gave me space and I pulled in where I could into the passing places and to be fair they gave me room. The climb continued relentlessly - never below ~12% and rising again to 16-18% - but the steepest area seemed to have been passed. I slowed slightly as I climbed and my heart rate dropped to high 160s but I think this reflected how tired I was.
The view was spectacular - on my right the land just dropped away and on my left it rose above. About half way up the land opened up a bit and the gradient eased further but it was still very hard. I pressed on to what I knew was the summit - or at least the end of the Strava segment as I knew it finished before the first right turn from the road. I had planned to follow this road and do a loop but I was pushed for time so turned round and rode back down the way I had come. The steepness of the road and the unevenness of the surface made it an interesting descent - there was a lot of back wheel bouncing and I was nervous to say the least.
However all was well and rode into the village centre and after a short delay met my wife - the Cosford Air show caused traffic issues and delayed her 20 minutes or so. I put the bike in the car and we had lunch in the Bucks Head Hotel. They served a pleasant Sunday lunch at a reasonable price. After lunch we then drove back up the Long Mynd and I took a few photos from the top:
And then a few more just above halfway - where its greener and the scale of the valleys can be seen better:
The stats were: Distance: 70.2 miles Time: 4hrs 44mins 41 seconds Height Gain: 6296 feet Average Speed: 14.9mph And my data up the climb was here https://www.strava.com/segments/6681340: Length: 1.9 mile Height Gain: 931 feet Average Gradient: 9% My Time: 18min 11 sec My position: 377 of 1306
Much earlier this year my son spotted the Tour of the Black Country Sportive, starting from Wolverhampton on Sunday 10 May. It certainly looked interesting so I signed us both up.
However my son then dropped out as he had a conflict with Final Exams so I was left to ride on my own. Someone else that I know was also riding it - Martin Lewis so we sort of met up at the start.
I dithered a bit about what bike/tyres/wheels to use given the off-road sections but in the end I took my Scott and the only concession I made was to drop the tyre pressures a bit. I wasn't the only one to have made a similar decision - there were a lot of high end road bikes on the ride. It was a relatively early start although for me the journey to Wolverhampton (specifically Aldersley Stadium) was relatively short and the M6 was clear. Unfortunately there was some sort of administrative cock-up and the sports centre was not opened in time for the sign on. Asa result there was a generally disorganised melee while the sign on took place outside. I was withing the first couple of 100 or so but the queue for later people was quite long. After getting my number I found Martin, got ready (car out of boot, all cycling clothes on etc) and we rode to the start. There was phased start of groups of 20-30 but we cannot have waited for more than a few minutes to get going. The weather was OK - warm enough although a little overcast and a light breeze - so the pace was high and I took (as I always seem to now) some time to warm up. Suddenly we were on the first gravel section. It was not what I expected - it seemed like riding on ice. It was both very bumpy and over the main surface was a lot of small gravel. It was on this that it felt like you had no control. I started dropping back from Martin quite quickly as he seemed a lot more confidant on the surface. I realised that the objective was to keep riding as fast and steadily as possible and avoid sudden steering inputs. It was at this stage that I started not to look forward to the remaining 19-20 sections of off road riding that were coming up! Once off the section I pressed on and caught Martin back up. A number of other sections of varying length kept coming and going of various levels of unpleasantness. Several were rutted enough that it was easy to get caught in the rut (literally) and whilst the other side of the track might have looked better it was almost impossible to cross from side to side of the track. It was also very tiring both physically and mentally. Each section I dropped back behind Martin and like a gentlemen he slowed a little at the end to let me catch up. This to- and fro-ing continued up to the 1st feed stop which was in a pub in Belbroughton. A reasonable selection of sugary (aka unhealthy) snacks were available, as were drinks and toilet facilities. I started my Garmin Virb at this point as I intended to capture the remaining sections up to the finish. After Belbroughton it was a relatively short ride to start the apparently infamous "Waltonberg Climb". Martin had pulled a minute or so away from me by this point. The climb appeared almost from no-where and started straight up with a steep gradient with a very bad surface. The surface was mostly bricks (cobbles might be a stretch too far) with some good bits and some not so good. However the poor surface combined with the steep gradient made it very hard from the outset. The track veered to the right and got steeper but was pretty straight from that point on so it at least gave a chance to try and pick the route and swap sides for the best part of the track. Some areas of the track were very slightly damp and it was possible even for me to get wheel spin whilst still seated. All I can say was that I ground up as steadily as I could and that I was very grateful for having fitted the 12-30T cassette rather than my more standard 11-28 - I know that I would not have made it with the 28. Also as I got nearer the top there were a number of people walking who had had to give up and they were drifting across the track - I almost ran in to the back off one of them. There was also a very focusing moment when I needed to avoid an obstacle and at such a low speed I nearly came off - I just managed to keep upright and going forward - and from that point the gradient started to ease. I'd got the the top - just - and was very pleased. Here's the video from my Garmin Virb:
Here's a photo from one of the course photographers at about 2/3rd of the way up:
Having achieved the "difficult" part it was going to be mainly downhill from there. The first descent was down St Kenelms Pass and as a result we lost almost all the height we gained from the ascent from Belbroughton. More off-road sections came and went, and I captured these on my Garmin again:
Each section was different and all were hard work although I was starting to feel a little more confidant. I rode straight past the 2nd feed stop as I felt fine and pressed on the to end. The final few hundred meters or so were riding 1/2 a lap of the Velodrome which was interesting - I was doing about 20mph (nothing special) and started near the top of the bank - but was clearly not going fast enough - I was riding fully vertically on the left hand bank - so I felt like I should have been leaning to the left but was actually leaning to the right (relative to the track surface) - I allowed myself to drift back down to the bottom of the track. I crossed the finish line - but rode round another lap for the experience.
Having finished I rode to the finish area - got my "goody item" (a water bottle) but declined the piece of coal and the glass of champagne. I met back with Martin (who was about 10 minutes ahead of me in the end, bought a coffee and had a chat, then packed up and left.
Summary - a good ride - very different, and challenging for different reasons. The 60 mile nominal distance wasn't particularly challenging in itself, but the off-road sections and the velodrome made it a good event. Would I do it again - perhaps once more. Here's my Strava data: Tour of the Black Country
Total distance - 56.2 miles Height Gain - 3850ft Average Speed - 15.9mph I was reasonably happy with the average speed - I lost most of it on the off-road sections
