So todays plan was to get some hill training in, ideally similar hills to those I shall have to tackle during the Fred Whitton. Based on that approach and following on from a chat with one of the guys on my last club ride I mapped out some hills which would cover what I wanted to achieve.
The route consisted of 6 climbs and 20ish miles in total with approx. 2,500 feet of climbing. All seemed fine and I loaded the bike into the car with the other bits and pieces I needed. Jumped into the car, stuck the GTCC podcast on and drove to the car park I would use as the base for the ride.
When I arrived, it seemed a little on the fresh side. My sister-in-law would say it was ‘Baltic’ but I thought to myself what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and there is no knowing what the conditions will be on May 7th 2023 so crack on and get the ride done.
First up was Culver hill, I was aware of it bot having ridden it but because a super fit and slightly crazy friend used it for his successful Everesting. It was a quick ride form the carpark and freewheel all the way down leaning on the brakes quite a bit. Note to oneself, when possible, upgrade to bike with disc brakes. Unsure of where to turn around I went down past the cattle grid and then turned at the bottom and set off up the hill. So for the numbers people out there, the climb is 1.11 miles (1.7 km) with an elevation gain of 531 ft (161m) and an average gradient of 9%. Also, to put things into context Strava has climb categories and this was a Cat 3. The categories start at 4 and go up to HC.
So, I have never ridden this climb before and I am only starting the training for FWC23, so my time was 11 minutes 37 seconds, to put that in context said friend managed it in 9 minutes 42 seconds at his fastest which I assume was during the Everesting event. So just a wee bit of room for improvement if I was to try and stick with him one day. As anyone who knows me that is not why I do this. My only competition is myself.
From there it was down the ‘W’ into Nailsworth and spin around and come back up. Now the W is a Cat 4, which I have ridden twice before. Most recently Christmas eve where I did not beat my previous attempt, and to rub salt in the wound today I was slower again. It just goes to show that having 27 miles in the legs does not make the climb worse. Possibly it could be that I had not warmed up enough before I hit the climbs. Need to monitor that and see if there is a trend developing or was it simply that the body was fatigued and next time it will be better.
So up over the top and down the other side to Brimscombe. And I had this great idea when planning that climb to make sure I had gone to the top of the next side of the valley. Which having not done a recce, or even looked at street view I would have not tried to ride up Thrupp Lane and then onto Bourne Lane. Especially following Bourne lane when it forks and the road to the left exceeds 20%.
The combination of that gradient, the leaves and little stream running down it and the general bad surface meant that on first pass I give it a miss. And had a quick look at the route on my phone, got my actual location wrong so tried to go to the next bit of the climb. When actually, this one was ride up to the top. Stop turn 180 and ride back exactly the way I had come. Instead, I rode along The other part of Bourne lane until I hit a main road. With a sense of déjà vu from the Malin to Mizen I turned and rode up the hill I had just enjoyed coming down. Got to the junction and my Garmin was saying turn right. So, I had a look and thought I can’t manage that bit as my rear wheel was spinning. So, I got off and started walking. Got past the rough section and saw a driveway with a big wall. At this point I had a lightbulb moment, I can’t remount the bike on the hill as it is too steep. But I could on the flat driveway beside the wall. Use the wall to support and push off then get going back up the hill. Well the best laid plans and all that, it did not work out that way. I pushed off and got clipped in and moving but was too close to the side and when I tied to turn up hill I pulled a wheelie. Well Peter Sagan does not have to worry about me showing him up any time soon. Instead of riding comfortably on my back wheel I lent over to my right the front wheel went down and I stopped and tipped over to my left. Frantically I tired to unclip my left foot to catch myself, this did not happen as fast as my arm hitting the ditch and I may have winced a little from the impact. A quick look around to see if anyone witnessed this, on confirming it was just me I then set off pushing on up the hill. Found a drive with a longer flat section and repeated the process and this time managed to get going again and rode the rest of the way up. Only then to have my Garmin say wrong way U-Turn. Which I was confused at, I had convinced myself that this hill was actually a loop to take me back towards the ‘W’.
At this point on the decent down the whole time on the front brake the rain started to spit. So I decided that being cold tired and my wrist aching a little bit I would ride back the way I had come and see what things were like when I got to the car. That was after I made the climb up Brimscombe hill to Minchinhampton common. Another Cat 4 climb of just under a mile in length and 468 ft of climbing and average gradient of 9.9%, the gradient has a few nasty little highs in places which just sap any energy out of your legs no matter how you are feeling. As the climb continued so did the hint of rain and upon getting to the top the clouds looked a bit dark and the wind chill brought the temperature down. So in light of how the last climb went I decided to go back to the car and call it a day.
Not the distance or climbing I was hoping for but still it is a start. Tomorrow is the start of my 12-week turbo plan so at least I can get that in and not affect my wrist. Hoping the wrist is just a bit of a bump and no actual damage.
Onwards and upwards. Thank you for reading.
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