Climb in focus

SOUTH LANE (HOLMFIRTH)

This is a climb that i have only found recently even tho i ride around the Holmfirth area all the time. It was out on a ride with Freddie from Race Scene when i first went up it and i have to say that after a few hours of a hilly ride this hill took it out of me.

The climb starts very steep at about 20% and this just saps the legs right away. It is a single lane road so you do have to keep your eyes open for cars coming down if you are starting to weave a bit. The climb lasts for about 0.7km before it starts to flatten off and this is were i would say the climb ends. It doesn't drop below 10% all the way up so it is a leg stinger all the way and if it's wet then wheel spin can be a problem.

 To find the climb then you need to be at the main crossroads in Holmfirth town centre with the junction of Station Road and Dunford Road and you need to take Dunford Road but as soon as you are on it then the first left turning is South Lane. I hope you enjoy the climb.

Last Of The Summer Wine

A few photo's from my rather hilly ride around the pleasent hills of Holmfirth

CLIMB OF THE WEEK

As of next week i will be documenting a climb every week that i take in on my training rides. I hope to bring you some of the more famous climbs in the area and also some unknown gems. The climb can be any length and any gradient but has to have that little something that makes it special. So i hope you all enjoy reading over the coming weeks and find some climbs that you have forgotten about or never knew were even on your doorstep.

2011 GOALS

Well it's been over a month since my last post due to Internet problems. I have only just started training after the festive 500 due to catching another cold so it is early days.

I have only two modest goals this year as i am focusing only on hill climbs. My 1st is to retain the Huddersfield Star Wheelers Club Hill climb trophy and then to finish in the top 50 at the national hill climb championship at the end of October. They are only modest goals but that's my aim so fingers crossed that i hit my peak in the month of October.

The first 8 weeks of training will consist of 3 endurance rides, 2 strength session's on the bike and a shorter fast paced endurance session. I will let you know how i am going after the first 8 weeks.

RAPHA FESTIVE 500 REFLECTION

Well christmas is over and so is the festive 500. I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to get some long rides in over the christmas period and i think the main objective of the 500 is just to try and get you out on the bike at a time when it can be difficult due to the other things going on at this time of year and the demands on your time. One thing that i did take from my rides due to writing the blog and trying to get some half decent pictures was what scenery is out there that you can admire when out on the bike. I have a tendency to just go out to train and focus on the road ahead rather than taking a bit of time to look around and see what else is out there.

So one thing i will be taking from my rides from the festive 500 is every now and again just go out for a ride to enjoy it rather than have a specific training goal attached to every ride and get some pictures to document the different things that you see.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope you all have a great night and next week i am going to post about my thoughts on the Rapha Festive 500 and my plans for the coming year.

HAVE A GOOD ONE

DAY 7 & THE 181km challenge

After deciding yesterday to give it a go and ride twice here is how my day panned out.

RIDE 1
I set my alarm for 6.05am so as i could get up have something to eat and drive over to Gomersal to set out on my first ride at 7.30am. I finally dragged myself out of bed at 6.25am. Glass of water, 2slice of toast with peanut butter on and a cup of tea i was on my way. Got to Gomersal and was ready to start my ride at 7.50am so already running 20min late. I am not a morning person. I had planned to ride from Gomersal into Huddersfield then on into Shelley then Clayton West up to West Bretton then on in to Barnsley and my favorite bike shop Race Scene so as i could have a quick cup of tea and get a rear light for my bike. The ride was again foggy for most of the ride and it did feel a little dicey when i set off, as it was still dark riding with no rear light. I managed to get to Race Scene in 2hr and 6mins with a total distance of 48.1km. I checked the computer before i went in as i know that when i take the bike into the shop through those magnetic things that shops have to stop people taking any thing without paying my computer goes a little crazy.
Ride Figures up to Race Scene
Average Speed 22.1km/h
Distance 48.1km
I didn't get any other info and as it always does the polar monitor went crazy on entering the shop. So Richard and the boys made me feel welcome and made me a brew without even asking. Now that is service for you. I Tex ed my girlfriend good morning to which she replied where are u? I'm waiting for you. Even tho i had told her i wouldn't be back until 12. So i got my light and supplies for my night ride and got ready to set off. The boys didn't think much to my very mucky Borghini and as always Freddie gave it a quick once over and said the wheels would be lucky to see the week out as the bearings had gone. I said you are right but the were shot back in October so they would have to see me into Jan before i got another set off training wheels. And off i went.
As i needed to get back a little quicker than the 2hr 6mins it had taken me to get there due to the other half my route back would be different and hopefully quicker.
So from Barnsley i rode back up to West Bretton but this time over to Flockton then through Grange Moor into Upper Hopton then down to Mirfield then Cleckheaton then Gomersal. I did give it some stick on the way back and was a little worried this would hurt my night ride but the girlfriend was calling.
My figures for the ride Home
Average Heart Rate 158bpm Max 183bpm
Kcal 1315
Distance 36.7km
Average Speed 24.9km/h

So total distance on the morning ride was 84.8km so only 97 to do which i thought wasn't to bad and could be done. And the legs felt OK and the girlfriend was happy that i was back before 12 so bonus. 
RIDE 2 (Night Ride)
After an afternoon shopping for things for my new house i was raring to go. We even made it back so i could get off before 5. The girlfriend said i was mad and why didn't i just say i had done it. How would know. I said me for starters and it's just not right. She started saying i have lied before and didn't have a problem about it so what different now. I said this is a physical and mental challenge and to lie would be just wrong so she went off shaking her head.
So with my new rear light i set of at 4.50pm for a ride that was to get me the remaining kilometres i needed. I was going to just stick with main roads which were well lit as i only had my Knogg front frog light which doesn't exactly light up the way.
I hadn't planned a route as i was just going to go with the flow. 20min's into my ride then i felt something bump on my back tyre and 2min's later the tyre was flat just as i hit the traffic lights at copper bridge. after 20 Min's of messing about i was ready to go again but the rear wheel was spinning like an egg. As visibility wasn't to good i made my way back home with what felt like the rear tyre rolling over a stone all the time.
Back in the light i could see that when i spun the rear wheel it was not spinning true but more egg shaped. As my mechanical skills are none existent on the bike this put payed to my Rapha 500 challenge.
Night Ride Figures
Average Heart Rate 140bpm Max 176bpm
Kcal 581
Distance 16km
Average Speed 18.3km/h
Ride Time 52mins 27sec

So as this was my last day then i haven't been able to complete the 500km and freddie you were wrong the wheel didn't even see the day out.

So Total Km's today 100.8

Total for the festive 500 420km