Safe Speed Forums

Funny but have been on a good number of these roads over the years and would agree they are a good choice.


Wonder if our cycling forum members agree - and to the hoons - nice drives

Cw looked at consistency, average cadence and speed as well as heart beats and calories used! No wonder Victoria Beckham wants a mountain bike for Christmas

Arrgh! "Celebs" on bikes! NOoooooooo!

OK in reverse order:

9. Ditchling

- A23 South Downs into Brighton. Have ridden and driven this myself and not for the faint hearted rider or driver either :wink Tons of fun - but somehow .. um - I prefer to do it in the car

8. Harlech

40% gradient form the coast. Not ridden this but lookoing at the photo in tha magazine - looks like a challenging hill start for a driver and worse than rding up steps for a rider Of course to ride this means getting nicked for riding or driving the wrong way up a one way street. Much better then to go the right way DOWN it ... better not tell that daft cousin of mine ... (so-called tame one - Appletreewick The screams as she went down it were memorable!

7. Gold Hill - Shaftesbury, Dorset

and where they filmed the "eee by gum and by 'eck - when I were a a lad " Hovis advert! Cobbles add to al the fun of trying to control the bike apparently .... and CW informs us that "Hovis" is really short for "Hominis Vis" - "strength of man" and a bloke called Richard "Stoney" Smith created the wee small brown wheatgerm loaves in 1890. Blimey - these Smiths get everywhere! Not done this - bit know the advert!

6. Tumble (near \Abergavenny)

Have driven through the Brecon Beacons in the past and we know it well as we visit yet another relative who lives in this area. Some decent off-road riding around here - especially in the Brecons and Black Mountains. However CW rated it down on basis that the climb on the B4246 gets a bit busy in rush hour - and there is a certain 1950s maroon "stealth" Merc on there....

5. Porlock Hill. (A39 - Somerset)

Apparently fun spoiled by caravans! in the high season.
But this road towards Lynton is spectacular for views and the downhill (speak from experience is just whey -hey! both in car on on bikes!)

4. Garsdale Head

(Oh I know this one very well as not too far from where our Kriss lives! and on the Settle-Carlisle line!) CW recklon this is a tough ride in good weather and we wopuld agree as gradients are 25% and full of potholes

3. Chimney Bank

sign tells you to dismount! This is another close to home gradient which this family knows very well. It;s 20 miles west of Scarborourough and 10 miles norths of Kirbysidemoor on A170 North Yorks Moors 33% and CW reclkons your have tow of the most bends - it's where Chris Boardman cut his cycling teeth CW rekcon a great but not legendary ride. I beg to differ.... it's one short - true of a ride and if you want cornering pracitce in a car - this is one place to try it

2. Bwylkch y Groes (West Wales mountain pass leading to St David's)

Have neither ridden nor driven this one - but sounds interesting Vies and scenery reportedly stunning - and CW reports it to be a long ace hairpin despite the uphills of 40% being a long grind.


AND IN TOP SPOT?


WRYNOSE AND HARDKNOTT IN CUMBRIA!

Yes - done this one with MM! and you really have to work to retain cadence and speed on Hardkwnott liek the CW expert says!

Classic ride though - and not bad in a car either - Wildy is a little frisky on this

_________________
Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

So - what are your fave climbs and rides? Lot of other goodies which CW missed and surpised they did not mention Scotland....or Northern Ireland ....

_________________
Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

as you know, in order to find a real climb one needs to head across the ditch. There you'll find climbs where a whole combination of factors can turn them into a complete nightmare.
The col d'Aubisque is the hardest that I've attempted (not done Ventoux or Alpe d'Huez). On paper it just looks like any other 10 mile long, 6-8% climb in the Pyrenees. How wrong can someone be? Not sure if it was the altitude, the 30+C temperatures or what but this really was the climb from hell. Driving it the day after was certainly a lot more fun.

done cycling, driving & running (london to brighton!). intimidating but relatively short, steep sections but eases off regularly.



done on nobbly MTB in order to get to the top turn 90 degrees left to follow bridleway straight back down again



only driven



whatever happened to:
cat & fiddle
winnats pass
snake pass

Indeed! Though Cat & Fiddle can be over busy with traffic at times from a cyclist's point of view.

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If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

Other fave places .. well

Done the Tourmalet with a pal of ours! and been along the Col D'Izoard once (driving) - also the Alpes Maritimes from Briancon down to the Med. with the family.

Routes throught he Alpstein Massif and Toggenburg Valley up to Wildhaus and Alt St Johann are also wicked and not for the faith hearted, (My wife's "home" territory - beautiful scenery but hard work on a bike! )

Other faves - Dolomites - Fondo, Sarntal Alps around the Rittner Horn and then there's the Stilkers Joch NationaPark - route inot Swiszerland from her is truly and The route to Austria's Millstattersee from the Dolmites is memorable both on bike and in car

The ride around Lake Uri is not for the faint hearted cyclist either Much nicer and more relaxed in a car

Also ridden the trails in the Centovalli, Valis, Bernese Oberland and Ticino.

In Austria anywhere in the Voralrberg .. Stuben and Arlberg passes are well worth a look see and both decent car drive and bike
ride.

From student days ... studied in St Andrews ibn the lowlands but reckon the coast road from Inverness to Peterhead and Aberdeen is worthgy of a mention as being decent ride/drive - not to mention Caithness, Braemar and the A9 through Cairngorns...

I am sure Paul can join in with suggestions which would challenge enthusiastic drivers and cyclists alike

_________________
If you want to get to heaven - you have to raise a little hell!

Smilies are contagious
They are just like the flu
We use our smilies on YOU today
Now Good Causes are smiling too!

KEEP SMILING
It makes folk wonder just what you REALLY got up to last night!

Smily to penny.. penny to pound
safespeed prospers-smiles all round! !
But the real message? SMILE.. GO ON ! DO IT! and the world will smile with you!
Enjoy life! You only have the one bite at it.

Don't wish to be a nitpicker but the Bwlch y Groes they are talking about is a fearsome climb on the road from Dinas Mawddwy near Dolgellau to Bala (of Lake fame). It rises some 350m in altitude in about 2 km so the average is 1 in 6.

I assume the Garsdale Head they are talking about is what we know as the Coal Road from Garsdale Station over to Dent Station on the S&C railway?

The Chimney being Rosedale Chimney, I presume. I remember a Tour of Britain stage going up this and most of the Continental Pros had to get off as they hadn't brought low enough gears! I don't think I could manage this one as I had to get off halfway up Sneck Yate Bank the other week which is another long 1 in 4 climb in the North York Moors.

I've never tried to ride up the Wrynose or Hardknott passes in the Lakes (the latter is steeper). I certainly didn't enjoy it on a BMW 1150 GS as the thought of having to stop on those gradients on such a heavy bike didn't bear thinking about.

Gold Hill in Shaftesbury - I've walked up it and I wouldn't fancy it in the wet with those cobbles - also there are steps at the stop if I remember rightly so you can't ride all the way up.

The Tumble (from Govilon near Abergavenny to Blaenavon) doesn't merit any arrows on the OS map so is no steeper than 1 in 8 anywhere but it is a long climb.

I know Porlock Hill well (but not on a bike) as my wife's eldest sister lives in Minehead. The first part is the worst as this is where the steepest part and the hairpins are. Personally I prefer this type of hill as there is nothing worse than a drastic steepening of the gradient near the summit of a long hill!