The Drum-Up

This climb comes courtesy of Simon Warren on twitter.

Where are the photos, the route map and the elevation, I hear you ask? Well, Simon has published a book covering 100 climbs in the UK, and The Lecht is featured, so you’ll just have to buy it to find out. His website gives info on where to find the book covering the 100 greatest climbs in the UK.

Below is a snapshot of the climb (his twitter background)- the ‘easy bit’ as he calls it. The Lecht is known as one of Scotland’s five ski stations. Of the others, the Nevis Range has a cable car and Glencoe takes skiers up the hill on rickety old chairlifts, so there are no climbs of note there. The Glenshee area also uses chairlifts that take you up the left and right sides of the road, which would be great as part of a ride from Dundee to Aberdeen for example (click the link for a very rough ‘draft’ route).

Cairngorm however is the only other ski station road that has a ‘proper’ climb. It’s the finish to Hands On Events’ Cairngorm Classic sportive, held in early June.

The Law features as a hill climb prologue of the Dundee Stage Race, run by Dundee Thistle Road Club. Dundee’s skyline is dominated by the Law, and standing 175m above sea level it provides a focal point for the start of the stage race. The Law is no stranger to top flight racing – it hosted the prologue for the Kellogs Tour in the late 80′s.

From the start in Law Crescent, the first part of the route is rolling as it circles the base of the Law with a fast downhill section along Kinghorne Road. The turn into Law Road is sharp and kicks up immediately, holding a steady 1 in 9 for a few hundred metres before the gradient eases. As the road circles north, and then east towards the top, the gradient steepens again until the final bend, where a view of Dundee is visible laid out below.

Taking the yellow jersey in 2009 was Steve McIntosh of Granite City with a time of 4 mins 4 secs. However Rob Wilkins of Stirling Bike Club went on to to establish a lead in stage 2 in the afternoon, which he defended the next day to win the race. The road has been resurfaced for 2010, and the 4 minute barrier is expected to be broken.

In 1989, the Law was the prologue to the Kellog’s Tour of Britain, with riders such as Laurent Jalabert, Martin Earley, Phil Anderson, Sean Kelly and Robert Millar.

Thanks to David Martin for inspiration on this one.

This post was sent to me by Ali McGill of the Deeside Thistle Cycling Club in Aberdeen. He’s also MD of Freelance World, who provides accounting services in Aberdeen and sponsors the Deeside Thistle.

Most cyclists in Scotland will have heard of the Cairn o’ Mount and think that’s the main climb in Aberdeenshire [actually I hadn't! another one to add to the list– ed]. And whilst it is the LONGEST climb, it can’t claim to be the toughest. That accolade goes to The Suie, but you probably haven’t heard of it!

And that’s no surprise, ‘cos it’s tucked away in northern Aberdeenshire, just outside the village of Kennethmont a handful of miles beyond Insch.

From Kennethmont take a left for the village of Clatt – even this road is tough, it’s just a slog up the exposed road where you’ll be buffeted by sidewinds on all but the best of days.

The Suie teases you with a gentle downhill ride out of Clatt, and within a mile you’re at the base of the climb. None of your poncy Euro-climbs here, the Suie eschews those sexy and photogenic hairpins for a quintessentially Scottish approach. It’s half a mile straight up at about 7% before you get to the right hand “hairpin” where it gets steeper for the next half mile to the top.

It’s less Alpe D’Huez and more “Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough”. When we rode up there in the club reliability last month, we hit the foot of the climb all together, feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and our average 20+mph for the 46 miles so far. Then the Suie bared its’ teeth.

It was carnage. Bodies everywhere. I could hear the support car behind me as I ground the granny gear painfully and slowly round and round. Someone behind me was yapping away – how the hell could he do that when I was dying on this brute of a climb. I looked round and he was holding onto the bloody car! That’s the way to climb the Suie.

The first time I rode up her, back in 2007, I had to stop half way up. After a gel and a drink I realised that stopping had been a very bad idea – From a standing start I just couldn’t make the bike go up, it was too bloody steep. I had to ride down, turn, and then slowly, very slowly, grind my way back up.

Nothing prepares you for the Suie. Those hairpin climbs allow for some respite, but the Suie just punches you in the face and says “come on then”! Your legs will scream and the sense of satisfaction when you reach the summit is immense.

Then it’s a 3 mile ride town to the village of Tullynessle and it’s pretty much straight down. No frills here, this is Scottish cycling summed up in one mighty hill.

Many thanks to Ali for the above post. Apparently the Kellog’s Tour of Britain once rode over it, but I have been unable to find any information on that.

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The Bealach-na-ba, or the Pass of the Cattle in Gaelic is located in the Applecross peninsula in Wester Ross. It climbs 626metres (2053feet) from sea level in 10km (6 miles). Wikipedia lists it as the second-greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK, while sportive organisers Hands On Events say it is the UK’s biggest road climb.

Picture by Anthony Robson, who writes the Citycycling magazine. Used with permission– thanks!

The climb starts at the Tornapress junction on the A896. The initial slopes are not too extreme, but after the road turns into the steep glacial valley beneath Sgurr a’ Chaorachain, the gradients increase. A long straightish section of road hugging the side of the valley will really sting the legs but here riders must pace themselves, because after it veers right slightly into the upper corrie you will experience gradients up to 20%. Towards the end of the valley the road is engineered in a similar way to Alpine passes, with tight hairpin bends.

The first cyclosportive event was run in the summer of 2006 by Hands On Events, after an idea by local cycling legend Clifford Davidson. There are now two rides- The Bealach Mor, which retains the original route of 90 miles and the Bealach Beag, a shorter distance of 43 miles. I did the 2009 Bealach Beag and did a report- one of my first posts on this blog.