Rivelin Valley - first signs of real difficulty...

The day I went to the Rivelin Valley was hot, really hot. It was in the high twenties at the point I was going up the climbs, and what climbs these were. Most of these were firmly in the middle of the table I had come up with, but I suspect will feature closer to the top of the final list. They were all really steep, and all relatively long as well - and on a hot day that turned out to be a dangerous combination...

First, it was an easy ride out through the city centre and along the Penistone Road. A quick skip across my absolute least favourite road feature - tramlines - to get to the first of the five hills I had planned. Tramlines, for those lucky enough not to come across them while on two wheels, are a disaster waiting to happen. If your front wheel gets on one, or even worse in one, you are going down. It is like hitting a patch of ice, but ice that sits there waiting whatever the weather. Sheffield has a lot of trams, most of which are safely penned up in their own little separated routes, but quite often they come out and snake across or along the roads. They aren't too bad when you follow along them (assuming the planners left enough room between them and the edge of the road) or when you cross them at a right angle; but when you have to cross them at a shallow angle they are very dangerous indeed. I will always create a better angle to cross them at, and like the route on this day, that usually means having to move out into the main traffic lanes (to the annoyance of the car drivers) to get the right angle to cross safely.

Sheffield Hill #09

The first hill to climb was just before you get to the Rivelin Valley Road, and is called Dykes Road. At 280m long, it one of the longer climbs so far, and with an average gradient of 11.4% it shouldn't have been too difficult. However, the start is probably the steepest bit, which takes it out of your legs so I definitely found it a bit of a struggle.

My Heart Rate Monitor finally started working properly, so I included that chart - which clearly shows the impact that a longer climb has in terms of maintaining an effort. When your 'normal' heart rate is 70 to 80, then 174 bpm is pretty high!! I didn't know it at that point, but this was the easiest climb of the day.

Sheffield Hill #10

I had planned to go from here to Hagg Hill, which is one of those top contenders for the title of Sheffield's steepest hill, but when I double checked my route realised that this would take me down Walkley Road, so I decided to save Hagg Hill for later in the day and go back towards the main road to find the start of Walkley Road. I messed this one up, as I thought I had reached the top of the climb only to realise that I had stopped part way up! I was thinking "that wasn't so bad", which in hindsight was a sure sign that something had gone a bit wrong.

This is the summary screen of the second part, which was the longest and steepest bit.

The full length was 870m, with a total elevation of 78m. The average gradient was therefore just 9.0% - but this was the opposite of Twentywell Lane as it was a constant grind all the way up. Yes, there were some changes in the severity of the gradient, but certainly no point where you could recover. This was a tough climb for me, as once again my lack of stamina showed itself. Still, I plugged away and finally got to the top with an average speed of around 16km/h.

Sheffield Hill #11

Onwards to the Rivelin Valley proper. All of the final three rides were roads coming off the Rivelin Valley Road itself. The first two looked to be pretty much opposite each other, so that is where I headed. To get to #11, I had to find a road down from Walkley Road, which when I did was so steep I started to wonder why no-one had mentioned it in those discussion sites. It was called Cliff Road, so the signs were definitely there. I filed it away, thinking I might need to add another climb to the list.

Then I got to the bottom and found Hollins Lane rising up in front of me. It is an intimidating start - it must begin over 20% gradient before it disappears round a corner. Luckily, around that corner it eases off a little, before a last little kicker at the top.

As you can see, although 400m long, the elevation was 49m, meaning an average gradient of 12.3%. This was a very tough climb, especially as the sun was starting to reach the high twenties (by the afternoon the temperature reached 33 degrees, so I am really glad I went out early).

A quick shot back down to the bottom, then about 50 metres up the road I had come down before was a right turn into the next climb.

Sheffield Hill #12

That climb was Waller Road. It looked short but brutal, as you can see in this picture:

Looks can be deceiving, though. It was indeed brutal - but it was definitely not short. The "top" you can see in the picture isn't actually the top. It turns a corner, then loops back where I thought the top must be, but then there was another long steep stretch up to the top. I think the combination of the heat, the tiredness from three pretty tough climbs so far, and the way it played with my head made this really hard. When I looked up at that final stretch, it was the first time I seriously considered stopping and conceding victory to the hill. Somehow I didn't, and just tried to put the road out of my head and focus on keeping my feet moving round. Eventually, I made it to the top.

You can see from the speed chart below, I was really struggling over the last section.

By the time I got to the top I was wheezing and a little unsteady. The gradient was 14.2%, so the second steepest of the 12 hills I had ridden so far. My heart rate chart showed that I averaged 179bpm with a maximum of 188. That is probably a little too high. I found a patch of shade, drank lots of water and waited for my heart rate to calm down. 

During that time, I think my sensible side found its voice. Eventually I began to convince myself that continuing on to Hagg Hill (one of the Big Four!) was likely to be not just stupid but possibly dangerous. Waller Road had left me gasping and shaking, and with the heat steadily climbing higher, I thought it was time for a slow easy ride back home.

So, for the first time I didn't get up all the climbs I had planned. Still, I had said at the outset that the groupings were wishful thinking and that if necessary I would do them one at a time. Hagg Hill would have to be one of those. Hopefully, on a cooler day.

Still, at least I now knew why no-one had suggested Cliff Road as Sheffield's steepest hill - with Waller Road running alongside it, you would always remember this one rather than its close neighbour! I certainly won't forget it in a hurry...