I only really learned how to assess a mountain climb after my first trip to the Pyrenees in 2009.
I arrived pretty green and not really sure what was ahead of me, but my friends and I soon got a crash course in the mountains and their vital details.
Paddy, a Cavan man who was then the owner of the Lantern Rouge cycling lodge in Saint Savin, took us out to his front garden and started pointing at the giant peaks that surrounded his beautiful home.
“The Tourmalet, 18km at 7.7 per cent, Luz Ardiden 15km at 6.9 per cent, Hautacam 16km at 7.4 per cent ….” he’d say before picking out another summit.
I didn’t know how to properly interpret these numbers until we were suffering on the climbs, but it was dive into the deep end of the high mountains.
Living in north Wicklow there’s no avoiding riding uphill. And even though the length of the climbs are modest compared to the French giants, they still offer a real challenge.
Since that trip to France I have a better understanding of how to evaluate the climbs around me – aided with a bike computer to tell me the gradients.
(The average gradient of a climb is given as a percentage of the altitude gained compared to the distanced travelled. i.e. 100m gained in height over 1000m in distance = 10 per cent)
I generally enjoy climbing, but there are some climbs I like more than others - and some I find no pleasure in at all. I was back in the hills this week, up around Roundwood and Glencree.
There must be a dozen ways to reach Roundwood by bike and by now I know my favourite and least favourite roads.
The Callow climb (3km at 5pc), starting just south of Newtown, is my favourite route to the highroads - and coincidentally the easiest - while the Altidore climb (1km at 12pc) is just pure torture.
I did both during the week and it reminded me why I actively avoid Altidore.
On the former you can ride in the saddle and even hold a conversation if you’re not trying to kill yourself; on the latter I’m standing on the pedals almost all the way up, usually zig-zagging near the top.
It’s not the hardest climb in the county but there’s zero respite and little fun to be had.
Everyone has their own take on the hardest climbs in their area, or in the country.
For me it’s a dead heat between Slieve Maan heading east (3.1km at 8.3pc) or the Kippure Mast climb (the final section is 3.2km at 6.8pc), which is usually into a prevailing wind.
Outside of Wicklow I remember having real trouble on the Ballaghbeama Gap one year, while in terms of highlights the Healy Pass from either side is hard to beat.
There’s something to enjoy about all of these, despite the self-inflicted pain and torture on the way up. I can’t say the same about Altidore, even if it’s a fraction the size of a Pyrenean peak.
Tell us what you think are the best, and hardest, climbs in the country - email icycle@independent.ie
This week - Km covered: 90km over two rides
Altitude gained: 1500m
Tweet of the week
We got a first look at the trailer for the Netflix Tour de France docu-series this week.
The two-minute teaser was shown at the Mobile World Congress, but Cyclingnews got a copy to share with the rest of us.
It doesn’t offer much insight into what lays ahead, other than cycling is hard, so we’ll have to hold tight until its expected release in June.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content
We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.
Treat of the week
It’s hard to pass through the village of Enniskerry without stepping off for a pitstop. And when the sun is out, sitting outside Ohso with one of their pastel de natas would almost make you feel like you’re on holidays in Portugal.
Ahead of next year’s Tour de France Grand Depart in Italy, a delegation from the Emilia-Romagna tourism board were in Ireland this week to get the message out about their region.
The Tour will spend two days in their region and will be a huge opportunity to promote the area.
They’ve got beautiful mountains road to climb, gravel to grind on and flat coastal roads to cruise on, but one of their great selling points is how bike-ready they are for cycling tourists.
They’ve over 40 cycling-friendly hotels in the region, all offering high standard bikes to rent - we’re talking shiny disk-brake road bikes, gravel bikes or electric.
With Ireland bidding to host the Grand Depart in 2026 or 2027, Irish tourism bodies are likely to be doing the same in reverse if that bid is successful.
Ireland is a great place to ride a bike, but we’re not so well equipped when it comes to facilities and equipment … not to mind the road surfaces.
The Lough Derg RNLI have announced that their ‘Lap of the Lake’ charity cycle is to return this year.
Riders can choose between a 120km route or a shorter 65km one - the longer route will see riders do a full loop of Lough Derg. It takes place on Saturday, May 6. See more information here
Follow
It’s no longer owned by a man from Cavan, but the Pyrenees Cycling Lodge - mentioned above - is still welcoming guests to their picture-postcard guesthouse, and it looks great in any season.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content
We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.
What I’ve learned this week
Like most cyclists, I always check the weather forecast before a ride, but when met.ie is telling me there’s 0 per cent chance of rain where I am, that’s not promising me it won’t rain where I’m going.
So I got caught out on Monday leaving the house in six degrees and on dry roads but when I hit Roundwood it was getting rained on and was three degrees colder.
At least this time of year I rarely go out without the shoe covers and a neck warmer - a must!
Serious cycling
The route for the 2023 Rás Tailteann was announced this week and will see the five-day event start in Navan and finish in Blackrock, Co Louth, with stage finishes in Birr, Ennis, Casltebar and Monaghan.
After the lean years of 2018-2021 when the race was absent from the calendar the Rás can’t be taken for granted, so fair play to Ger Campbell and the Cairde Rás Tailteann team for putting the financial jigsaw pieces together to put the iconic race on again.
If you’d like to highlight an event, your favourite place for a mid-ride pitstop or tell us about your bike rides email icycle@independent.ie
