Hill Climbs

Both White Lane and Yorks Hill were actually better this morning than they've been in recent memory. While I was out there this morning both had teams of volunteers sweeping the roads, cutting back branches, and scraping off moss. Both are thoroughly wet, and there's no way either will dry out before tomorrow's hillclimbs.

I did an all-out effort on White Lane (it was my club's hillclimb on that road today) and had no wheelspin, but I did have my tyre pressures down low. There's 1 spot of diesel/oil spilled on the right hand side of the road on the final right-hand turn before the end to be careful of.

Then I did 2 recce laps on Yorks Hill, neither were even close to all-out. On the 2 steepest section I would definitely have got wheelspin had I been out of the saddle, even running low pressure with decent tyres. But in the saddle on the steepest bits and trying to keep my pedal stroke steady and consistent, no wheelspin for me.

I'd recommend trying to get there early tomorrow to ride at least 1 recce run before you go up each hill. Line choice, and where to be in or out of the saddle is going to be critical for doing a fast time.

Most hills I'd generally get out of the saddle where it's steepest, and then back in the saddle when the gradient eases off. However, for both these climbs tomorrow I think I'll be doing the opposite - in the saddle where it's steep to maintain traction. Then out of the saddle when it's less steep to try to regain some speed.

In other exciting news, one of the organisers of the Bec CC hillclimb told me that the guy who owns Titsey Brewery walked down this morning and offered to donate a keg of beer. So apparently there'll be a half pint at the end for every rider. Should be some good motivation ;-)