Hill Climbs

Hill Climb Agony (photo by Bernard Thompson)

At the top of Stennying Hill Climb - Brighton Mitre CC

Cyclists are a pretty idiosyncratic bunch. Shaving legs, pointy hats, one piece lycra suits. Even the humble commuter fighting through the urban sprawl and angry motorists has a certain uniqueness.

Of all the multifarious aspects of cycling, the one thing I love the most is cycling up hills - as fast as you can. I don’t know why. It’s like trying to explain why cyclists shave their legs. I just love racing up hills. I look forward to September and October all year, especially September when you can do as much interval training as the body will tolerate. (I will write about my interval training soon)

Here in the UK, we have a season devoted to the hill climb. A simple time trial racing up fearsome climbs. They are often short, between 1km and 2 miles, but they can be as steep as 25%. There’s something about challenging gravity which makes the hill climb special. The burning in your chest, the stinging in the legs, the feeling of helplessness as your back wheel slips on wet leaves at the steepest part of the climb, the sheer exhaustion and relief on reaching the summit.

Starting at the bottom of a hill climb can be pretty intimidating, there’s no chance to settle into a rhythm like in a 25 mile time trial. You know that to do well, you have to push your body to its absolute limits; they say, if you can walk at the end - you just haven’t tried hard enough.

Smiling at the Start. It actually masks the nervous tension before any hill climb. Note, no bar tape and single chain ring on the front. This is at Bristol South CC, Burington Combe hill climb. 2 miles long. PB 6.10

Pacing in a Hill Climb

Pacing a hill climb is not easy. The temptation is to sprint from the start, but, if you do that you will suffer immeasurably on the last part of the climb. You have to leave enough in the tank for the last 1-2 minutes where you can really push yourself over the edge.

• Go hard, but try to keep increasing your effort right to the end.
• Try to remain seated where you can; it is more efficient.

Psychology of Hill Climbs

In this kind of race,  you need to be able to push yourself really hard. It is easy, amidst the pain of racing, to back off a little bit. I find it helps to have a clear mind and avoid any negative thoughts before or during the race. You also need to have  the confidence and determination to push yourself really hard. It is not something to be done half-heartedly.

Sometimes on very steep climbs, you can actually feel like you’d  like to just get off the bike - especially if it is long and steep like Kirkstone pass or Park Rash.

Bad Experiences in Hill Climbs

I often did a two stage hill climb in Otley CC. Usually there was a 3 hour gap between Norwood edge in morning and East Chevin in afternoon. However, this year, they had reduced the gap to two hours. The problem is I had been eating cakes in the clubroom expecting to have another hour to digest. I later realised I was racing soon, with quite a few pieces of Victoria Sponge in the stomach. -  Racing up East Chevin in 4.08 was not the nicest of experiences!

Weight Weenies.

When it comes to hill climbs, weight becomes really important. Shaving 1kg off your bike, can make a few vital seconds. It can easily become obsessive as you seek for ways to reduce weight. I once got my geared hill climb bike down to 6kg, which I was pretty pleased with. But, that involved pretty drastic measures such as filling off the ends off brake blocks, cutting brake levers in half… (don’t try this at home)

Hill climb bike - weight 6.0kg

Different Types of Hills.

There are 2 main types of hill climbs;

• the short and very steep, e.g. the Rake in Lancashire, Streatley hill, the Cat and Bec hills climbs,
• longer shallower climbs like Cheddar Gorge, Cat & Fiddle, Burrington Combe.
• The short climbs tend to favour small, powerfully built riders. They require explosive bursts of speed. I tend to prefer the longer shallower climbs; it is not a sprint but a more measured time trial of 6-10 minutes.

Catford Hill Climb

Winning time will be about 1.55. Steepest gradient 25%. Catford hill climb is one of the world’s longest running bike races - old bike races

I have been doing hill climbs since 2004, in 2005 I entered my first national championship.

National Hill Climb Championship 2005 - The Rake

I finished 11th in my first hill climb championship on the Rake. A climb through centre of Ramsbottom, reaches 25% at the top. My time was 2.39. It was won by Ben Greenwood in 2.26.5. There was a big crowd which made it exciting.

National Hill Climb Championship 2006 - Devon

Jim Henderson. An old teammate from OUCC. He has won 5 Hill climb championships.

I finished 7th in a time of 5.13. It was won by James Dobbin.

National Hill Climb Championship 2007 - Cheddar Gorge

I finished 7th in a time of 7.14. It was won by James Dobbin.

2008 Hill Climb Championships in Matlock

coming end of October…

Classic Hill Climb Photos

coming soon…

Related

• Cycling in Yorkshire
• Cycling Kirkstone Pass