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The worst road climb I've ever done is the road up past the golf club at The Long Mynd in Church Stretton Shropshire. Feels like it's going on forever and I remember it being steep enough to feel like you could wheelie at any time if you lean back too far. That was on my mountain bike that was mostly used for riding DH too (so fat tyres and slack geometry), just horrible! Worth it for the descents that follow though and the off road climb back up through the valley was quite fun and loose! God I miss mountain biking, haven't done a ride like that for ages and loved that Long Mynd route.
@SUNBATHER - I would try some kind of penetrating lube (!) squirted in from the BB and left upside down overnight.
I am missing proper big days on the mountain bike currently. Can't wait to get back to 1000+m days.
Took me an hour to get up in granny gear mode ( a decent club cyclist will do it in around 30-35 min. Bradley Wiggins is rumoured to have done it in 22 min ) but it's one of the most fulfilling/ distressing things I've ever done in my life.
We had a near 30 mile cycle back to the hotel afterwards as well. Yaaay
I said never again but I'll probably have another go. I'd like to do it with a bit of training under my belt to see if I can manage it a bit quicker but same here, I'm not a climber.
A technique that does work is to use sodium hydroxide - it will dissolve an aluminium seatpost completely over several days. This is not advisable with an aluminium frame obviously! I suspect the chemistry is the same though, with a cheap steel seatpost (usually it’s an aluminium seatpost stuck in a steel frame). A release agent like PlusGas or a plumber’s freezing spray, followed by brute force is the best bet. I once tried taking the saddle off and jamming the top of the seatpost into a drain cover as a makeshift vice but it didn’t work.
Using a hacksaw blade to cut the post into narrow sections is risky, especially in an aluminium frame. A friend of mine almost cut through the frame tube of his 1980’s Vitus trying this.
I'm not prepared to hacksaw it myself. I've contacted a local shop to see if they can have a look at it and maybe make some suggestions.
Ride straight into a rainstorm 4 mile out!
Freezing, piss wet through and couldn't see a thing. I looked like an extra from Aquaman so I cut it short.
Aaaarse
I remember flying down the descent with two Spanish lads, weaving in and out of the cars and coaches. If you've done it you may remember there's one bit where there's a rock overhang quite low on the left hand side, well one of these Spanish guys decides to overtake a coach at that point, I hung back as I knew what was coming, he saw the overhang just in time, ducked, and next thing I know his cap came flying back towards me. This was pre helmet days, if he had been wearing a helmet I shudder to think what would have happened as he wouldn't have made it under the overhang.
The climb back up was regarded as a race, and I thought I was a decent climber until a guy called Chris Young put the hammer down and made us all look stupid. Chris was an international cyclo cross rider and IIRC won the Three Peaks three times so in hindsight I don't feel too bad.
BTW is that funny cafe still there at the top of Soller? We used to have a race up there too, but before they built the tunnel.
I'd be lying if I said I remembered much of the descent
The only bit I really remember is going through the rock formation that looks like a tunnel ( although it's open at the top if I remember ) about a mile or so from the bottom and then just after that there was a rock jutting out which was a bit of a heartstopper. If that's what you mean I can imagine that would smart if you hit it!
I was hanging out of my arse, blubbing like a toddler during the ascent so I wasn't really paying attention to anything but the road about 6 feet in front of me.
We did the Monastery climb and bimbled down to Alcudia and back the first day, Puerto Pollensa to Sa Calobra and back on day 2 and Formentor lighthouse day 3.
We were meant to go out together the next day but we went on the piss after Formentor and met Steve Parrish and his wife in a bar and got absolutely caned with them. He's a bit of a raconteur is Steve!
I stayed in bed and my mate went off on his own next day but I don't think he went over to Soller.
It's a stunning place to cycle and we're planning on going back there next year if this shit show clears up.
Not sure which monastery climb you mean - there's a lot of them! It's so long since I was there but would it be at Lluc? I seem to recall a big climb with a lot of woodland which was absolutely lethal in the wet. As you know in Majorca it's not recommended to go into the mountains when it rains, and one year we had a rider ending up in hospital with several breaks by not heeding this advice. Some of the roads are slippery even when it's dry, I remember seeing one guy slide off going uphill...
Owing to a medical condition I can't fly anymore and I do miss those trips. Apart from anything else it was a treat to ride on smooth roads..
It was the Ermita de la Victoria actually.
My mate had been before and he said it was the site of a monastery but maybe he got his wires crossed. It's got a fantastic viewpoint and there was a lovely cafė there.
We went mid March and it was already in the 70's. Can't imagine doing those sort of climbs in summer!
Feeling kind of broken now, as had a bit of hellish week at work and was feeling a bit rubbish before I even left the house yesterday, but it was worth getting out for a decent spin up the hills with a mate.
I purchased a s/h Trek 1000 - which isn't the latest, flashiest, lightest of bikes, however I've really bonded with it and it's to me it's the best bike in the world.
I really enjoy going out after work for a couple of hours, riding around the new forest and the coast. I'm certainly not setting any distance or speed records but it does wonders for my head and is much healthier than sitting on the sofa.
When I go for a cycle with the family i don't use the road bike, until last week I had a seriously ancient and beaten up Raleigh mountain bike. Then I saw this Trek 4500 advertised locally so picked it up.