The great thing about cycling is that there is a discipline for everyone. Be it off-road, time-trialling, road racing, audax, sportive, the track or hill climbing. I have had a go at all of these but I’m best at hill climbing. I expect its possible to train for any of the above but the fact that I’m pretty whippet like gives me a head start when going up.
Redhill CC – Leith Hill
As part of the Club end of season Hill climb I managed to get to the top of Leith Hill in what was a personal best. This was enough to regain the club trophy I won in 2005. Leith Hill is an interesting climb with a variety of gradients and long drag to the finish. I don’t think I really had a ‘plan’ but familiarity with the climb obviously helps. I’ve competed on it a few times and ridden up it frequently during weekend rides. The time of 4’21’’ was an improvement on last year. And that is how I must measure myself…was I faster than last year? It certainly hurt more than last year. I was clutching a bottle of bubbly and feeling like I could have given Charly Gaul a run for his money…
BEC CC – White Lane
…and then the following weekend arrived to administer a healthy dose of perspective. The BEC takes place on White Lane which runs alongside Titsey Hill. It is not a long climb. Starting relatively gently it gradually tilts up before taking a rather severe increase in incline about three quarters of the way up and then tapering off to the finish…a line which always appears to be just a little bit further away than you’d like. That’s a rise of 81metres over 0.7kms.
The word is that the BEC is the richest HC in the country (per yard ridden) which goes someway to attracting a large field (97 this year). However the greater attraction must be the superb organisation and the atmosphere on the hill generated by a substantial crowd. Their cries of Up! Up! Up! really are a huge encouragement.
The weather this year was ideal being dry bright and relatively warm (a contrast with last year when the hill was more like a river than a road). Having set myself a good rhythm I got to the point where the hill kicks up in good time (for me)…at this point it really gets harder. In my head I heard the commentator shouting “Just who’s that coming up? Because that looks like Roche! That looks like Stephen Roche! Its Stephen Roche! (in a Phil Ligget kind of way)…although what he was saying in reality was “and hear comes Chamberlain…he looks like he’s over-geared…yes he is!…he’s over-geared and beginning to struggle!”…and so I was. What’s the point of dragging 20 gears up to the top of the hill if you’re not prepared to use them? The clock stopped at 2’12’50 (compared with 2’23’00 last year). So an improvement. I felt no sense of panic sweep through the other riders though. I came away somewhat disappointed having set myself a target of 2’10’. What if I’d flicked up a gear and kept the cadence up rather than grinding that ridiculous ratio? Surely if I had I’d have hit my target. I’ve a reasonably light bike, I’m reasonably light myself, and pretty fit…so what went wrong? Well I’d overlooked the importance of having the common sense to put all these factors together and make them work. I suspect the really quick riders are not only light, fit and riding nice bikes they also probably know how to make all of that work for them. Selecting the right gear/s is also an advantage…so 2’10 remains a target.
I’ll long remember Dan Fleeman coming up the steepest part of the hill going like a steam train. He finished in 1’43. That would be 30 secs faster. A country mile on a hill so short. I was 37th of 86 finishers…so there were 36 people ahead of me. But I always like to feel the glass is half full. So I’ll take that as being 49 riders behind me. However as I’ve said its not what the others do…its all about your own time. I’m happy, in my first year as a Vet, with what I have achieved at the BEC (although people do keep mentioning Gary Dodd for some reason).
If you have never been to the BEC (and don’t fancy taking part) why not spend a few hours next October watching the event. The atmosphere is fantastic and it is just as engaging whether you a watching the ‘elites’ battle it out for the prizes or those like myself fighting a personal battle against the clock, and gravity.
National HC Championship – Cheddar Gorge
I’m quite often lacking a plan when it comes to the season. This year when it came to the hills, though I was slightly better organised. I got three entries in over consecutive weekends. Redhill CC, BEC CC and finally the Nationals at Cheddar Gorge. Last weekend I pitted myself against 150 riders from around the country who are all good at going up hill, some of whom demonstrated this fact to me on White Lane. However Cheddar Gorge is something completely different. It’s a two mile climb, steep for the first half mile and then a long drag to the finish. It rises 240mtrs in 3.7kms. I did not know how to approach this since I’d never ridden up the Gorge before. I went down to Somerset a few days in advance to give me some time to get familiar with the hill and work out some kind of plan. This has been a hard one to plan for in fact. There are not many two mile climbs in this part of town, so whilst holidaying in The Lakes earlier this year I rode up Kirkstone Pass a few times (from the North). The profile is not that similar, being steady at the start and getting steeper at the top (a kind of Cheddar in reverse) but it gave me some idea of the duration of the climb for the nationals.
I was eligible in three categories
- Best overall (the championship)
- Fastest to the first time check (the top of the steep bit)
- Fastest in the 40-44 year old category.
Since I had not seen the hill, expectations of what I might achieve in any category were meaningless but I went along hoping I could make it into the top half.
We (the family) arrived in Cheddar on the Wednesday. On Thursday I took a ride up the Gorge looping around through a village east of Cheddar and then back up the climb. Friday I went up once and extended the ride to about 15 miles. Saturday I decided not to touch a bike. I woke early on Sunday after a slightly restless night to a windy, wet morning. After signing on (at what was a brilliantly organised event) I waited at the HQ for a short while before warming up on a turbo. The start was about a half-mile ride from the HQ. I arrived about two minutes before my start time.
My ‘plan’ was not to go too hard over the first, steep, half-mile and then get into a good rhythm (one I could sustain) for the remainder of the climb. I stuck to this plan. There were good crowds on the lower half of the slope and plenty of encouragement. The marshals on the hill referred to me by name as I went past. I realise, of course, they had a start sheet with them, but it was a nice touch none the less. At the finish I glanced down at my computer…
…the results:
- Overall…81st of 140 finishers
- To the first time check…68th of 140
- In the 40-44yr old category …12th of 26
So I did not quite make it into the top half, and however I say 81st to myself it still sounds like a long way down…and I feel I could have pushed a harder gear in the last 1.5miles (did someone say under geared?). But this is all hindsight and conjecture. Overall the last three weeks have been a great experience and strangely enjoyable. Thanks to everyone who shouted encouragement at me, even if I did not know you. It all helped. In particular thanks to Tina, Connie and Maisie for their support, especially at the Nationals.
…and now I suppose I have to start thinking about next season…