Mark and Nairo Go Hill Climbing (In
Suffolk) (LGD -414 Days)
Saturday 25 March, 53 Miles
Click here for Route Flyby
Two texts and a phone call were all it took
for us to arrange a rendezvous at the Maglia Rosso just outside of Bury St
Edmunds. The Maglia Rosso is a rather fine establishment. It used to be a nice
village pub – The Metcalf Arms – which sadly succumbed to harsh economic realities
and a roof fire, before it closed in 2012. Barry and Matt Denny, both keen
cyclists, bought the property and in April 2014 opened it as a cycle shop and café.
Since then it has gone from strength to strength and has become a destination
of choice for cyclists all over East Anglia – the club jersey’s hanging in the café
give some clues where riders have come from.
So we decided to start and finish our ride
here. The ‘we’ today was me (obviously) and Daren (Nairo) Morgan who is gradually
emerging from his winter hibernation i.e. turbo trainer + Tacx. Resisting the
temptation to linger we were soon riding away. Daren, as he usually does, set
off at a fast pace. I had hoped that the small rise out of Hawstead might check
is speed a tad but I was out of luck. I was still riding on my Tannus winter
tyres which are a lot slower. Eventually Daren realised this and eased up, but
not without passing comment: “Spring’s
almost here, Mark. Those Tannus tyres should be hanging up in your garage now.”
Yes, Daren!”
Anyway, enough of this blether. I had
planned the route to take in two of Suffolk’s ‘notable’ climbs (the only two?).
Together with a brisk wind which seemed to be in our faces throughout the ride I
expected this to give our legs a good workout. We made steady progress gradually
heading to our first climbing challenge – Watson’s Hill which is at Semer
between Bildeston and Hadleigh. Watson’s Hill is the only climb in Suffolk to
feature in Simon Warren’s Greatest Cycling Climbs (Volume 2). The stats are:
length 560 metres, height gain 32 metres, maximum gradient 11% approx. Warren’s
target time is given as 3 minutes which must surely be a misprint.
Nairo collects his KoM Points |
Anyway with no messing about we turned off the
main road and were soon onto the climb. The plan was to get to the top and stop
for a photo to record the occasion. Daren’s alter ego Nairo quickly appeared
and he was off and climbing. I followed at a more sedate Tannus pace. Reaching
the top Nairo stopped to wait for me (he didn’t have to stand about for long)
and we propped our Bianchi’s up against the gradient sign to take the required
photos and selfies. I subsequently discovered that my time today for the ascent
was 16:15 (equivalent to 1.4 mph). Was Warren’s 3 minutes that far adrift? Yes.
The King of the Mountains time is 1:08. My 16:15 can only mean that I must have
stopped for those photos before reaching the official finish. But no matter, I
was only 2 seconds down on Nairo who did it in 16:13!
Having now reaches the dizzy heights of
south Suffolk we followed a lumpy route west to Long Melford. Rarely was the
road flat – it undulated across the folds of the countryside. We made the most
of the wind – it wasn’t in our faces for a change – and with the sun threatening
to break through the riding was really enjoyable. Reaching Long Melford, Daren mentioned
that Nairo would quite like to refuel before tackling the final uphill leg which
would also be straight into the wind. So after a can of pop and a choccy
biscuit we set off again for the final ten miles.
I must have lingered too long because I
found it quite hard to get back up to Tannus cruising speed. Daren/Nairo had
shot off up the road, despite claiming he was struggling, and I was soon well
off the back. A downhill stretch before the turn to Glemsford helped me to
close the gap slightly but ahead of me I could see my riding ‘companion’ setting
a good pace.
That arrowhead usually means 'steep' |
We regrouped before turning north onto the
road to Glemsford. This isn’t steep but is quite long and with today’s headwind
it was a case of finding a low gear and grinding my way up to the top. From
Glemsford it was a largely gentle uphill pull to Hartest and the second of the
day’s objectives – Hartest Hill. This is a cyclists favourite in these parts
and I often wonder why it hasn’t made Warren’s book (it must rank above Watson’s
Hill). The main stats are: length: 322 metres, height gain 37 metres, maximum
gradient 17%. The record currently stands at 51 seconds; I made it in 2:11 and
Nairo clocked in at 2:01.
The other claim to fame that Hartest Hill
has is that I’m fairly certain it’s the only road in Suffolk with one of those
Ordnance Survey chevrons marked on the map! But readers, do prove me wrong. Go
on, I dare you!!
Having completed the hill climbing we
meandered our way the final few miles back to Hawstead and the Maglia Rosso. We
celebrated our achievements with coffee and yummy cake, sitting outside in the
sunshine. And guess what? Tomorrow is the first day of spring so the Tannus
tyres will be hung. Bring it on!!
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