Carlton Bank is located in the Cleveland hills, north east England. It is on the north west edge of the North York Moors. From the top of Carlton Bank you get great views over the surrounding countryside.
View from Carlton Bank
It is used as a venue for a hill climb by Cleveland Wheelers and also the National hill climb championship in 1996.
It is relatively steady as you climb out of Teesdale, but once across the cattle grid in the middle of the climb, it becomes very steep – like most North York Moor climbs. It is a good 25% in places before you finally crest the climb on to Cringle Moor. There is a sheer drop down one side – which makes it a popular spot with hang-gliders.
I’m slowly working through the 100 greatest climbs. Today is Rowsley Bar a few miles south east of Bakewell in the Peak District. I have only ridden the top half of the climb because when I visited the road was closed! It is a great view from the top, but it is at the bottom where the climb is tough. There are many other climbs nearby, such as Beeley Moor.
“The new course started quite steadily, then went into some woods and around a couple of vicious hairpin bends, rumoured to be 1:4 at the apex. The half-way point marked the end of the hardest section and was followed by a long section of false flat, before a tricky sting in the tail where the road kicked up again for the final 400 metres or so. All was on a minor road which was closed to traffic.”
You have to be careful writing a cycling blog. A couple of weeks ago I was boasting about how – in 20 years of cycling – I have never had to get off the bike and walk up a steep hill. But, the curious hand of fate has meant that just a couple of weeks later, out of the blue, I’m forced to dismount on a climb I’ve never even heard of.
Forest of Dean looks beautiful but it hides some tricky climbs. Photo Anguskirk
The day before, I had a good ride up the Tumble and the nearby Symonds Yat. The next day, I was riding around the Forest of Dean. I didn’t have a map, so just followed my nose going whichever way I felt like going. The first climb of the day started off fairly innocuously – there was no gradient sign or anything to warn you of a difficult hill coming up. When I got round the first corner it was very steep and it took a big effort to get up. In the middle there was a little recovery, but I was turning a really low cadence even on this flattish section.
There was still no gradient sign, though rather ominously I saw a sign – ‘Drivers IGNORE YOUR SATNAV’ This was rather cryptic, which should have given a greater sense of foreboding. As I went around the corner, the road veered sharply upward. Like a good hill climber, I got on the hoods and started climbing as best I could. But, it soon became apparent I wasn’t going to make it. I was heaving the winter bike up the hill, but my speed was getting slower and slower; the cadence was at a point where I was worried whether I was going to be able to turn the pedals over. If I really wanted, I could have kept trying a little more, but I really didn’t have the stomach for it. I got off and walked up the last bit of the hill.
Like any good cyclist I had plenty of good excuses for getting off and walking. Not least, having a lowest gear of 39*23 which is far too high for winter training on steep hills. I didn’t really know what I’d let myself in for cycling blind around the Forest of Dean lanes. But, even if knew what was coming it wouldn’t have made any difference.
Early in the hill climb season, I did well in some Swindon R.C. short hill climbs. After doing well on a 1 minute and 2 minute climb, I was gaining confidence in my ability for short-distance hill climbs.
Dover’s hill – photo Cycling Weekly 1978
That week, I was training at Britwell Hill, near Watlington. I think the course record was about 2 and a half minutes.
Britwell hill
0.6 miles
Average gradient – 9%
85 metre of height gain
18% max
It makes a good climb for doing intervals (the only drawback is that the road is quite narrow, you don’t want to meet a lorry coming down mid-interval). The climb starts with a gentle gradient, and gets steeper and steeper as you get nearer the top. By the end of the climb it is 18%. It is dead straight – almost like a Ski jump and is a good place if you want to get a top max speed coming down
On this particular occasion there was a headwind, but I went full pelt right from the start. For the first minute I was averaging over 500 watts and flying up the hill. After a minute, the pain really kicked in. After 90 seconds, I was absolutely blown up and the climb just got steeper and steeper. It was torture to keep fighting up the steep climb, when you’re muscles are shot. It took over two minutes and a half. My recent pride at doing well in short hill climbs took a battering.
I was cycling into town yesterday to sell some books at Blackwells. I must have been carrying 15 kg in my panniers. Cycling felt very different. It was a real effort to accelerate away from the traffic lights! With an extra 15 kg, you start to notice inclines on the road, you had never noticed before.
When the hill climb seasons starts and I get out my racing wheels, you really notice the difference when you swap a training wheel (1.3kg) for a lightweight wheel and tub (0.5kg) There is a noticeable difference.
In the 2010 national hill climb championship I was 0.9 seconds behind finishing on the podium. This was an unfortunate experience as it has always justified to myself spending a lot of money on saving weight….
This is a look at how much time and effort we can save by losing weight from either ourselves or our bike. We all know that saving weight helps us to get up hills, but how much will we save, if we can shave off 1 kg from our bike (or lose 10 kg off our tummy) ?
As a very rough rule of thumb, I was told by hill climb experts that on an ascent of 100 meters, saving 1 kg would give you an extra 2 seconds.
Analytic cycling have this program to calculate approx time saved from losing weight.
This seems about right from my own unscientific tests with different weights on the bike.
By, the way, in 2005 on the Rake, Ben Greenwood beat Jim Henderson by 0.3 seconds. In other words the winning margin was 0.3 seconds or 170 grams.
However, it depends which way you look at it. If you are a leisure rider. Is it worth spending an extra £2,000 to save 1.7 seconds on a climb like the Rake? If it takes you 4.40, does it matter if it takes you 4.42?
Fleet Moss is a long exposed climb between Buckden and Hawes. At it’s peak it climbs to just over 600 metres in altitude, with a maximum gradient of 20% (from Hawes).
Fleet Moss looking north in direction of Hawes. Photo by Ben Freeman.
When I first got into cycling, Fleet Moss felt like an insurmountable barrier. I frequently cycled to the foot of Fleet Moss, but to go over the top would mean turning a 60 mile ride into a 90 mile ride. It meant leaving the security of the Wharfedale valley and climbing up this beast of a hill. I remember when I first went over Fleet Moss, with Otley CC, it was an epic 100 mile ride, and a big achievement to make it ‘over the top’.
Fleet moss from Hubberholme (from the south) is slightly easier than from the north side. The gradient isn’t too steep – 17% at its maximum. However, it is long and persistently hard and is preceded by a long drag from Hubberholme. From Hubberholme to the top of Fleet Moss is 12 km, with total elevation gain of 400 metres. (net gain 240m to 602 metres). Those 12 km are at an average of 3%, but with some downhill thrown into the mix.
The Cow and Calf climb starts in Ilkley and goes up to Ilkley Moor. There is a great view of Wharfedale from the top. The 1.2 mile climb averages 8%, but there is a steep section of 17% near top.
Cow and Calf, Ilkley
I’ve ridden it many times and it was on the Cow and Calf that I saw my first live professional bike race – the now defunct Leeds Classic. I was really impressed how quickly they cycled up the Cow and Calf.
The 2015 Tour of Yorkshire is going to be going up the Cow and Calf on stage 3, it comes fairly close to the stage finish in Leeds. The route later goes up East Chevin, which used to be a venue for the Otley CC hill climb, until too much traffic caused it to be moved. The route is also going through my home village of Menston, so it’s a pretty good stage to go and watch.
Greenhow hill is one of my personal favourites. I’ve ridden it many times as it is quite close to my parents house in Menston. Nidderdale is also a beautiful part of the world and there are plenty of hills in this area. The only downside of Greenhow hill is that it is a fairly main B road with traffic from Pateley Bridge towards Grassington and Skipton. However, it is not too busy and won’t spoil your climb.
York’s hill is the venue of the one of the world’s oldest cycle races – Catford CC hill climb in Kent, S.E. England. The full climb is 0.8 miles, climbing 353ft / 108m . But, it is the last half a miles of the climb which is the really interesting part. It is one of the steepest climbs in the south of England. The climb starts off innocuously enough, but as you near the top, the road gets steeper, until you hit the really tough 20-25% section at the end. York’s hill makes a great event for the Catford CC hill climb. The steep section is usually thronged with spectators who take great delight in watching the suffering of the competitors.
Honister pass is a fairly inaccessible climb in the north West Lake District. To get there invariably involves cycling up many other Lake District hills, but it is worth the effort as it a great climb, with equally superb views. It is a great climb from both directions.
Starting in Keswick you will travel south down the East coast of Derwent water towards Borrowdale. Just before the village of Seatoller, you take a right turn on the B2589.
There is a 2 mile gentle introduction to the climb as you go up the valley at a very gentle gradient. However, as the road bends round to the right you leave the valley and start the climb proper.
