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Limerick Hill Climb Challenge

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  • 20-08-2009 6:48pm
    #1
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭


    Basically the idea of this thread is to list & map the best hill climbs around Limerick and see who can climb them the fastest :) Hopefully it will give people more motivation to get out and improve and introduce them to some of the lesser known climbs around Limerick.Credit goes to Home:Ballyhoura for the idea and for mapping the first 4 climbs.If enough people are interested I'm sure one could be set up for Dublin in the same format.If anyone knows any other climbs feel free to add them.Anyway on with the climbs!

    The Step
    Distance: 2.7km
    Climbing: 278m
    This climb begins in the village of Silvermines in Tipperary.Once in the village take the first (only) road heading south into the hillside.This could be the toughest climb in Ireland!

    Best Times: :(


    Woodcock Hill From Cratloe
    Distance: 5.45km
    Climbing: 246m
    To get to the start go through Cratloe Village just off the N18 until you see the right turn signposted Cratloe Woods,the climb starts at this right turn,once you reach the crossroads on Gallows Hill go straight on to the highest point of Woodcock Hill,the climb ends at the highest point of the road just beyond the junction for the "Golf Balls".

    Best Times:
    1. Home:Ballyhoura 14:19
    2. Deleted User 19:16


    Woodcock Hill Back Road
    Distance: 5.59km
    Climbing: 246m
    To get to this climb follow the Old Cratloe road out of Limerick City,a mile or 2 outside the city you will see 2 right turns right after each other,taking either of these will lead to the start of the climb.Take the right turn at the top of Gallows Hill.This climb also ends at the highest point of Woodcock Hill.

    Best Times:
    1. Deleted User 22:45

    Woodcock Hill From Meelick
    Distance: 6.24km
    Climbing: 257m
    To reach this climb from Limerick head to the small village of Meelick,the climb begins just outside Meelick at Brendan's Cross,take the north road and climb for 4.5km then take the first left and again this climb ends at the highest point of Woodcock Hill

    Best Times: :(


    Gallows Hill 20%
    Distance: 1.07km
    Climbing: 132m
    Head out the Cratloe to Sixmilebridge road and take the right turn just before the railway bridge.Follow this road until you reach the first crossroads,the climb begins at the foot of the right turn here and ends at the highest point of the road a small bit before the crossroads.

    Best Times:
    1. Deleted User 7:47

    The Kilbane Pass
    Distance: 6.69km
    Climbing: 246m
    This climb begins in the village of Bridgetown between Limerick and Killaloe.The road opposite the creamery is where the climb starts,go left at the first T-junction and left at the next T-junction,the climb is quite gradual up until here,after this turn though the Kilbane Pass begins and the road hits 18-20% for a while,the climb ends at the highest point of the road just after you enter the forest.

    Best Times: :(


    Tountinna
    Distance: 6.9km
    Climbing: 405m
    This climb starts in the town of Ballina.Go north through the town of Ballina until you see the "Lough Derg Way" sign pointing right.The climb starts here,take the first right turn at the top of the first hill still following the "Lough Derg Way" signs.Keep going straight on until you see a STEEP tarmac road on your right.This is where the real climb starts,follow this road all the way to the aerial on the top of Tountinna.

    Best Times: :(


    Keeper Hill (MTB Climb)
    Distance: 8.57km
    Climbing: 495m
    This climb starts at the carpark for Keeper Hill.To get there from Newport follow the roads from the bottom left of the map.Once at the carpark cycle up the hill and take the first right turn following the red arrows all the way to the top of the mountain.The last 2km are very rough so a mountain bike is definitely needed! The climb ends at the cairn to the right of the mast at 694m

    Best Times:
    1. Deleted User 57:02


«1345

Comments

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    #2
    stevemcf
    Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭stevemcf


    Hi,
    Are these routes completely impossible for newbie(ish)?
    Cheers,
    Steve


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    #3
    Nietzschean
    Registered Users Posts: 7,314 ✭✭✭Nietzschean


    so one of the climbs is in limerick? seems a bit nuts to call it the limerick climb challange... Clare + honourable mentions seems more accurate ;)


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    #4
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Not at all Steve,the Woodcock Hill routes are perfect for starting out on,there are some short steep sections but nothing you won't be able to manage :) Try them out first and see how they go,it's a fantastic way to get fit.The other 5 are a fair bit steeper but with a bit of practice you should work your way up to them in no time.

    Well spotted Nietzschean,I was hoping it would go unnoticed :p None of the climbs are in Limerick really,they're all in Clare or Tipp but most cyclists round here are from the city so I'll go with that name.Limerick is way too flat to have any good climbs :(


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    #5
    Jumpy
    Registered Users Posts: 7,606 ✭✭✭Jumpy


    None of them are impossible. Im a noob and I have done some.
    You are on for this by the way. :) Good to set goals :)


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    #6
    Nietzschean
    Registered Users Posts: 7,314 ✭✭✭Nietzschean


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Well spotted Nietzschean,I was hoping it would go unnoticed :p None of the climbs are in Limerick really,they're all in Clare or Tipp but most cyclists round here are from the city so I'll go with that name.Limerick is way too flat to have any good climbs :(
    Given how frequently limerick and dublin people think i'm from limerick, i'm afraid pointing it is pretty much a compulsion ;)


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    #7
    Amazotheamazing
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,048 ✭✭✭Amazotheamazing


    Great idea for a thread, I'm not a great cyclist but I can make it up Cratloe, so any beginners out there can give it a go.


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    #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Jumpy wrote:
    None of them are impossible. Im a noob and I have done some.
    You are on for this by the way. :) Good to set goals :)
    Excellent Jumpy,sorry to hear about the crash by the way,hopefully you'll have a speedy recovery :)
    Nietzschean wrote:
    Given how frequently limerick and dublin people think i'm from limerick, i'm afraid pointing it is pretty much a compulsion ;)
    Ah,no worries in all honesty Clare is actually a much nicer county for cycling but being from Limerick I have to try not to say that too often :p
    Amazotheamazing wrote:
    Great idea for a thread, I'm not a great cyclist but I can make it up Cratloe, so any beginners out there can give it a go.
    Good to hear Amazo,I'm not a great cyclist either but it's all about just getting out on the bike.

    Anyway I ended up trying the Woodcock Hill route from Cratloe today.I ended up doing a 19:16,nearly 5 minutes down on Home:Ballyhoura's 14:19 :o...At least it's a target!


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    #9
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    Right so, in the last five days I have been very active in hill climbing partly as a result of this thread so at least it's working for one person! Haha

    Twas only on Monday that I went up the Step climb in the Silvermines after reading about it on here, and the day after I set my new PB for Woodcock Hill from Cratloe (time as seen above already). Today I set out to do a few climbs in the one go just to get my bearings on them as I have never been up any of them until now (apart from the Step a couple of days ago), so as they were part of an 86km trip and all one after the other, its obviously not going to be my best times by a long shot. Especially when you consider I had a 28-30km/h SW wind blowing in my face on most of the climbs and I must say it really hurt me especially on the Step when I was already seriously suffering! Hehe.

    I'll go over them in the order I did them, so here it goes (see the top of Page 9 on the "Toughest Climb in Ireland Thread" to see where I found out about these, in the first two posts - thanks to MCOS for the Shalee and Jumpy aswel as mossym for the Chapel Hill climb in Birdhill:

    Chapel Hill (Birdhill)
    Distance: 270m
    Climbing: Only 33m
    This is more fun than anything else, just a quick lump in the ground more than a climb which you can take in one sharp effort out of the saddle. More like a sprint than anything else! Is starts about 30m after the junction with the Dublin road and finishes at the crest of the hill just after the entrance to the house on your right.

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 59 seconds (As with all my times for today, not actually that good!)


    The Step (Silvermines, Tipperary)
    Distance: 2.6km/2.7km
    Climbing: 280m
    This climb begins in the village of Silvermines in Tipperary.Once in the village take the first (only) road heading south into the hillside.This could be the toughest climb in Ireland!

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 12:11 (I was probably around 30seconds faster the last time, I just never clocked it! :()


    Shalee Climb (Silvermines, Tipperary)
    Distance: 3.00km
    Climbing: 153m
    This climb is actually quite easy, it begins at the junction of the R499 (linking Silvermines village with the Dublin Road) and the R500 and goes in the direction of Shalee Upper. It finishes exactly 3km at the crest of the hill (near house on right) just about 50-100m before the left hand turn to go to the Step.

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 09:13 (Not actually going for it! Basically just cycled up it at normal speed)

    Deleted User wrote: »
    Anyway I ended up trying the Woodcock Hill route from Cratloe today.I ended up doing a 19:16,nearly 5 minutes down on Home:Ballyhoura's 14:19 :o...At least it's a target!
    Hey man! Great thread you have set up here, well done. Don't feel bad about not beating someones time, we are all at different levels here and the idea is just to give yourself goals which you can then aim to achieve by training. I actually took 20mins to get up it a year ago when I first got into cycling on my cheap and heavy Carrera from Halfords, since then I've upgraded to much lighter things and trained a lot harder!

    I didn't know if you wanted me to copy and paste your whole original post or not, but I just stick with the same format and hopefully you can incorporate it somehow into the main list of times! Cheers (Oh, and I have my HR data but I decided that would be too much information so I left it out. If you want to go that personal, I can post it up for sure...no worries! Let me know what you think! Cheers)


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    #10
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    I meant to say lads, we really need to get the ball rolling on this thread so please try your best to get out there and time yourself up any climbs in this area! Don't worry if the climb isn't listed already, as long as it is in this region. And if you can't map the route or work out the gradient, just let us know and someone will do it for you but if you can, MapMyRide is a good place to start and this gradient calculator is very handy indeed


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    #11
    Jumpy
    Registered Users Posts: 7,606 ✭✭✭Jumpy


    I would have been up cratloe this weekend if I wasnt regrowing my skin.


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    #12
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    Alright, today I went to Cratloe and did it 3 different ways!
    This is what I did, in the order I did them:

    Woodcock Hill Back Road (Lower Section)
    Distance: 2.1km
    Climbing: 151m
    Average Gradient: 7.2%
    Maximum Gradient: 10%
    The same as this climb just the lower section of it, which has a steeper average gradient of 7.2% and a max of 10% in one or two places! I had initially thought this was what was posted up here but now it turns out I only really did half of it although I feel it is actually better than doing the whole thing which is kind of separated into two climbs anyway with a downhill in between as it is! Maybe you want to add it in as a sub section of the original climb, it's up to you! I really feel my huge effort has kind of gone to waste now...haha! :p

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 06:45


    Gallows Hill (Steep Kilometer from Sixmilebridge direction to Crossroads)
    Distance: 1.05km
    Climbing: 135m
    Average Gradient: 13%
    Maximum Gradient: 20%
    I can't believe I never knew about this climb until now, it is seriously tough going! Believe me, you may think 1.1kms is short but it when it has a 13% average gradient and hits 20% in two places it is far from easy! It is all really straight which is kind of discouraging, and the steepest bits really knocked the stuffing out of me (especially after the effort I had already put in on the other climb to get a good time) and I was seriously tempted to get off and walk! Haha. I can just imagine the speeds you could get coming down this if the road was closed, I'm sure a madman could hit close to 100km/h if he really tried :D

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 06:18


    Woodcock Hill from Meelick (LIT/Moyross side)
    Distance: 5.9km
    Climbing: 261m
    Average Gradient: 4.4%
    Maximum Gradient: 7%
    First time timing myself up this in two months (only my second time ever) and I knocked over a minute off my previous time (even though I had already put in hard efforts on the previous two climbs just before doing it). Easy enough I must say, very steady and a gradual average gradient of 4.4%.

    Best Times: 1. Home:Ballyhoura: 16:38

    I saw another cyclist on the climb today, there are definitely other Limerick based lurkers on here who should really give this thread a shot and time themselves up anything! Right now it is kind of boring with just Inibaz and myself posting results...come on guys! ;)

    P.S. Inibaz, you are good at giving directions to the climbs alright. I have been trying to link to actual MapMyRide route pages in all my posts above as opposed to just screen shots (this way people can scroll around the map as they wish to get their bearings and figure out where the climbs are for themselves). I have also being taking the altitude figures (or elevation data if you prefer, probably more gramatically correct! :p) and inputting it into the 1728 gradient calculator to get average and sometimes max gradients! Hopefully I'll get around to doing this for all the climbs listed which should give people a rough idea of what to expect, I should probably put the results in the bold writing at the top of the climb description so it is easier to find and compare to others, rather than have to go searching for it in the paragraph below! Just an idea . Maybe climb directions would be good too (as best we can) so people can work out by the current days wind direction which climbs will have headwinds/tailwinds etc...anything to get people motivated to get out there and give it a go at timing themselves. Don't be shy guys...there's nothing to be shy about! It's not competitive at all...JUST A BIT OF FUN! :D


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    #13
    stevemcf
    Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭stevemcf


    Hey lads,

    Hope to try one of those routes next week. MapMyRide is really cool, first time seeing it. Put in some of my usual routes and the elevation on them tells me your routes are dantes balls!

    Steve


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    #14
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    stevemcf wrote: »
    Hey lads,

    Hope to try one of those routes next week. MapMyRide is really cool, first time seeing it. Put in some of my usual routes and the elevation on them tells me your routes are dantes balls!

    Steve

    Cheers man, I really appreciate it! Thanks for taking the time to read the thread and actually volunteering to participate by timing yourself. Don't worry too much about it, as we said before it's not competitive at all, basically all about the FUN and motivating ourselves to achieve the goals we set for ourselves!

    I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on, have you decided on which route you are going to do? Just let us know if you have any questions about anything or if you would like to do any other climbs that are not listed here. I'm sure you'll love the old hill climbing alright, at least I think it's great fun anyway! :D


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    #15
    martyc5674
    Registered Users Posts: 2,520 ✭✭✭martyc5674


    Great thread guys,
    Ill probably try the first route this week too sometime, maybe the weekend.
    https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/183126/87912.JPG
    Im living in limerick city(near maternity) so ill probably head out by moylish and do the climb and keep going to glenagross brennans cross and meelick.
    What kind of distance would that be??
    My fitness isnt great @ the mo and i think 50K would be my limit @ the mo :(
    Cheers,
    Marty


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    #16
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    martyc5674 wrote: »
    Great thread guys,
    Ill probably try the first route this week too sometime, maybe the weekend.
    https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/183126/87912.JPG
    Im living in limerick city(near maternity) so ill probably head out by moylish and do the climb and keep going to glenagross brennans cross and meelick.
    What kind of distance would that be??
    My fitness isnt great @ the mo and i think 50K would be my limit @ the mo :(
    Cheers,
    Marty

    I'm not 100% sure on the route you would be taking but it would probably be something similar to this. Around 23kms according to that, well under you 50km limit for the moment (although please bear in mind that 50km on the flat is a lot easier that 50km climbing in the hills). You would definitely be well able for this, just take it handy the first time so you don't blow when you are only half way up. It's just for fun so don't feel bad if your times aren't great the first time around, all they can do is improve from then on! I could be surprised and you could beat our times out the gate, but I'll have to wait and see. Really looking forward to hearing how you get on, cheers and good luck! ;)


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    #17
    martyc5674
    Registered Users Posts: 2,520 ✭✭✭martyc5674


    Yeah thats almost the route id be thinking of doing..except id continue out to cratloe cross (woodcross pub?) turn right and then turn right again so a little bit longer..maybe 30K or so...should be a nice spin for an intro to the hills!
    Will let ye know how i go..i have a garmin edge..not sure if u can use it on mapmyride but i can stick in a link from garmin connect so ye can critique me!!
    (my fitness is fecked cos im back on the fags!)
    Cheers,
    Marty.


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    #18
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    martyc5674 wrote: »
    Yeah thats almost the route id be thinking of doing..except id continue out to cratloe cross (woodcross pub?) turn right and then turn right again so a little bit longer..maybe 30K or so...should be a nice spin for an intro to the hills!
    Will let ye know how i go..i have a garmin edge..not sure if u can use it on mapmyride but i can stick in a link from garmin connect so ye can critique me!!
    (my fitness is fecked cos im back on the fags!)
    Cheers,
    Marty.

    No worries, I just saw that you had linked to the hill you were going to use (was that what the edit was for?). It doesn't really matter, just that your route would probably be more like this one and closer to 26.5kms in distance. That option is my favourite route up of all of them and I spend most of my time training up it. Sure get back to us when you have it done, have fun and good luck! :D


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    #19
    martyc5674
    Registered Users Posts: 2,520 ✭✭✭martyc5674


    Will do and thanks!(spot on the edit!!)..used to do lot up around cratloe on the mountain bike but the trails are all fecked now since boird coillte destroyed the place over the winter!!
    Marty.


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    #20
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    I think this thread is finally gaining momentum gradually. Fair play to ye guys for getting the ball rolling, hopefully others will follow in your footsteps! Cheers :D


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    #21
    MCOS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,051 ✭✭✭MCOS


    Grrr I'm a complete novice cyclist but with Kenmare Lost Sheep in sight I've been cycling more this month and after being out injured for a few weeks I have done Gallows, Keeper, Shalee and the Step in the last week.... if only I knew about this thread!

    Anyway did the Step for the first time last night followed by the Shalee. OMG the Step is cruel. To give an idea of effort. My HR hit 171 max at the top of Gallows (going the long way up), it also hit 171 at the top of Shalee. However it averaged 175 climbing the step last night and peaked at 183!! I was on the mtb and did the Step in 14'58" with a SW headwind for fun too. Ballyhoura how you got up that in 12mins is beyond me :eek: Its the toughest 15 mins of work I've done this year! Descending was fun though... 3 mins and that was being cautious as there were a couple of cars and walkers on the hill. The view of Keeper and the Silvermines from the top of the Step is just spectacular!

    The first half of Shalee didn't really feel like a climb after the Step!


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    #22
    MCOS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,051 ✭✭✭MCOS


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Keeper Hill (MTB Climb)
    Distance: 8.57km
    Climbing: 495m
    This climb starts at the carpark for Keeper Hill.To get there from Newport follow the roads from the bottom left of the map.Once at the carpark cycle up the hill and take the first right turn following the red arrows all the way to the top of the mountain.The last 2km are very rough so a mountain bike is definitely needed! The climb ends at the cairn to the right of the mast at 694m


    Best Times:
    1. Deleted User 57:02


    Hi Inibaz just curious why you don't mark this route as the whole 694m and time that? I mean, you have to climb about 200m up to the carpark alone! I guess if you park a car there it makes sense. You could always descend to the bottom and start from there. Last week I had my fist spin on a mtb and my mate suggested this feicin hill! We went from teh bottom to about 500m which I reckon is about 6.5k ish in distance. The last 2km to the top is pretty steep and gnarly... is it strictly experienced mtb'er territory?

    Also, is the 8.57 km the whole 694m? I've run from the carpark to the mast and its approx 7km so I'm assuming the whole 694m is approx 8.57km...


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    #23
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    MCOS wrote: »
    Grrr I'm a complete novice cyclist but with Kenmare Lost Sheep in sight I've been cycling more this month and after being out injured for a few weeks I have done Gallows, Keeper, Shalee and the Step in the last week.... if only I knew about this thread!

    Anyway did the Step for the first time last night followed by the Shalee. OMG the Step is cruel. To give an idea of effort. My HR hit 171 max at the top of Gallows (going the long way up), it also hit 171 at the top of Shalee. However it averaged 175 climbing the step last night and peaked at 183!! I was on the mtb and did the Step in 14'58" with a SW headwind for fun too. Ballyhoura how you got up that in 12mins is beyond me :eek: Its the toughest 15 mins of work I've done this year! Descending was fun though... 3 mins and that was being cautious as there were a couple of cars and walkers on the hill. The view of Keeper and the Silvermines from the top of the Step is just spectacular!

    The first half of Shalee didn't really feel like a climb after the Step!

    Great to hear someone else's experiences of the Step, it bloody cruel isn't it! I don't know is it just me but it seems like there is always a headwind on the climb. That 12min11sec time I got was achieved by just managing to get up it, if you ask me, anyone who tries to go fast and get a good time near the bottom will blow up before the top. I paced myself well and still felt like getting off and walking at times. My average HR for the climb was 182BPM with a max of 189BPM (my max would be probably be higher than yours though, closer to 200). I honestly felt like having a heart attack at the top, either that or just falling over and getting sick!

    You are right when you say any other climb seems easy after the Step, and the only thing that remotely compares to it is this difficult section on a backroad of Gallows hill, averages 13% and hits 20% in two places! Please try and post up as many times as you can for the climbs listed here. Thanks for taking part, I really appreciate it! Cheers :D


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    #24
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Sorry for the lateness in updating this,I had to study for an exam that was on today.If I failed it I would'nt get through to the next year of college so hopefully it payed off.

    Anyway great times again Ballyhoura,6:18 up that climb is damn impressive.I'll try and sort out the first post now.I'll add a few of your suggestions.I'll try not to make it too cluttered.Including heart rates would probably be a bit too much! But I like the gradients idea and I see what you mean about giving an interactive map.

    It's good to see ye're giving it a go Steve and Marty,and no matter how slow you think you're going time yourself,there's no better feeling than watching your times improve and improve again.And by the way Marty you should have a look around Killaloe aswell.It'll be a few months before the Cratloe trails are repaired by the mountain bikers so Killaloe is the closest option for great trails now.

    Good to hear you're getting in on it aswell MCOS.As for Keeper Hill there's no good sattelite imagery of the area on google maps so I mapped out the route from the carpark to the mast looking at the OS maps and plotting it onto MapMyRide,according to that it's 8.57km,not 100% sure though...

    Anyway the plan was that people could park there if they want,it'd be great for night spins where it's completely off road and you don't have to worry about trafffic.Looking at the altitude on the road outside you're only dropping 30-40m by going 2km down the road so I thought timing yourself from the carpark would give a steeper more intense route.Anyway tell me what you think!

    As for the top bit it's much easier than it looks but you'd still want to know the basics about technical climbing.I still haven't climbed it clean yet,falling off twice is my best!But the difficult bits don't last that long so you could always just walk the bits you can't get past.It'll probably take a bit of practice but after a few goes you'll be flying up that part in no time!

    Ah it turns out I can't edit the post anymore! The only option now I guess is to put up a new post everytime we have a new time to put in!


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    #25
    ROK ON
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,831 ✭✭✭ROK ON


    MCOS wrote: »
    Grrr I'm a complete novice cyclist but with Kenmare Lost Sheep in sight I've been cycling more this month and after being out injured for a few weeks I have done Gallows, Keeper, Shalee and the Step in the last week.... if only I knew about this thread!

    I know very little about training for triathalons, but I do know the climbs around Limerick and Kenmare very well.

    I dont think that going up short steep climbs lie Woodcock hill, Gallows Hill is necessarily great training for the Lost Sheep. AFAIK there are two climbs in the lost sheep, a long drag coming into Laragh and then the Healey Pass, which is long (steep in parts), but wouldnt have the aggressive gradient of some of those short climb around Cratloe.

    Again, I dont know much about training techniques, but just thought I'd give my tuppence worth.


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    #26
    martyc5674
    Registered Users Posts: 2,520 ✭✭✭martyc5674


    Deleted User wrote: »

    As for the top bit it's much easier than it looks but you'd still want to know the basics about technical climbing.I still haven't climbed it clean yet,falling off twice is my best!But the difficult bits don't last that long so you could always just walk the bits you can't get past.It'll probably take a bit of practice but after a few goes you'll be flying up that part in no time!

    Ah it turns out I can't edit the post anymore! The only option now I guess is to put up a new post everytime we have a new time to put in!


    Inibaz...which climb are you referring to here??
    Cheers,
    Marty.


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    #27
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Ok I saved the format this time so hopefully it'll be a bit easier to update next time!I'll try and get the average gradients for all of them aswell and update it again.

    The Step
    Distance: 2.6km
    Climbing: 280m

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura 12:11
    2. MCOS 14:58


    Woodcock Hill From Cratloe
    Distance: 5.45km
    Climbing: 246m

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura 14:19
    2. Inibaz 19:16


    Woodcock Hill Back Road
    Distance: 5.59km
    Climbing: 246m

    Best Times:

    1. Inibaz 22:45



    Lower section of Woodcock Hill Back Road
    Distance: 2.1km
    Climbing: 151m
    Average Gradient: 7.2%
    Maximum Gradient: 10%

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura 06:45



    Woodcock Hill From Meelick
    Distance: 5.9km
    Climbing: 261m
    Average Gradient: 4.4%
    Maximum Gradient: 7%

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura: 16:38


    Gallows Hill 20%
    Distance: 1.05km
    Climbing: 135m
    Average Gradient: 13%
    Maximum Gradient: 20%

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura: 06:18
    2. Inibaz 07:47


    The Kilbane Pass
    Distance: 6.69km
    Climbing: 246m

    Best Times: :(


    Tountinna
    Distance: 6.9km
    Climbing: 405m

    Best Times: :(


    Keeper Hill (MTB Climb)
    Distance: 8.57km
    Climbing: 495m

    Best Times:

    1. Inibaz 57:02


    Shalee Climb (Silvermines, Tipperary)
    Distance: 3.00km
    Climbing: 153m

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura: 09:13


    Chapel Hill (Birdhill)
    Distance: 270m
    Climbing: 33m

    Best Times:

    1. Home:Ballyhoura: 59 seconds


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    #28
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    martyc5674 wrote: »
    Inibaz...which climb are you referring to here??
    Cheers,
    Marty.

    Keeper Hill,it's just outside Newport in Tipperary,about 25km from Limerick.It's a fantastic descent from the top :)


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    #29
    MCOS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,051 ✭✭✭MCOS


    ROK ON wrote: »
    I know very little about training for triathalons, but I do know the climbs around Limerick and Kenmare very well.

    I dont think that going up short steep climbs lie Woodcock hill, Gallows Hill is necessarily great training for the Lost Sheep. AFAIK there are two climbs in the lost sheep, a long drag coming into Laragh and then the Healey Pass, which is long (steep in parts), but wouldnt have the aggressive gradient of some of those short climb around Cratloe.

    Again, I dont know much about training techniques, but just thought I'd give my tuppence worth.

    Thanks ROK ON. The only one I've done in Cratloe is the long way up Woodcock from Cratloe and thats the guts of 5.5km with a 4.4% gradient or thereabouts so its probably the closest simulation to either of the 2 Climbs in Kenmare. I agree that 1-3k aggressive climbs may not be a good simulation but they sure do hurt and aid the ole mental toughness I might need on the day. Sure I'll come back on this once I've done the Kenmare ones and speak straight ;)
    Deleted User wrote: »
    Keeper Hill,it's just outside Newport in Tipperary,about 25km from Limerick.It's a fantastic descent from the top :)

    Inibaz, the Mast is def 7km from the carpark according to the hillrunning guys which probably makes it a 7-8% gradient. Sounds about right as the Step was a tougher though shorter climb. I've run up there twice and running up there again tomorrow night. It was actually a bit of work from the bottom to the carpark on the mtb too. I'll have to give the last 170m to the top a go next time. How on earth did you get started again after falling off? The worry of not being able to get going again if I stopped was the thing that kept me going on the Step.

    Quick question, on a normal road would a road bike be much faster than a mtb climbing...? If not Home:Ballyhouras is a beast!!!


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    #30
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    MCOS wrote: »
    Inibaz, the Mast is def 7km from the carpark according to the hillrunning guys which probably makes it a 7-8% gradient. Sounds about right as the Step was a tougher though shorter climb. I've run up there twice and running up there again tomorrow night. It was actually a bit of work from the bottom to the carpark on the mtb too. I'll have to give the last 170m to the top a go next time. How on earth did you get started again after falling off? The worry of not being able to get going again if I stopped was the thing that kept me going on the Step.

    Quick question, on a normal road would a road bike be much faster than a mtb climbing...? If not Home:Ballyhouras is a beast!!!

    Ah it's definitely 7km so,as I said it was just major guesswork,I didn't think I'd be that far off though! The last section isn't too steep so I found it easy enough to get going again especially when I had easier gears available to me on the mtb.The Step now would be a different story!

    And yeah I'm fairly sure a road bike would be a bit faster.Not much...but a bit.I've always brought my mtb up Woodcock Hill but the last time I brought my hybrid and felt I was going faster,the downside is you're lowest gear will probably relate to about 1-4/5 on the mountain bike! This would make The Step and the Gallows Hill climb an absolute nightmare!


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    #31
    Home:Ballyhoura
    Registered Users Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭Home:Ballyhoura


    Deleted User wrote: »
    Ah it's definitely 7km so,as I said it was just major guesswork,I didn't think I'd be that far off though! The last section isn't too steep so I found it easy enough to get going again especially when I had easier gears available to me on the mtb.The Step now would be a different story!

    And yeah I'm fairly sure a road bike would be a bit faster.Not much...but a bit.I've always brought my mtb up Woodcock Hill but the last time I brought my hybrid and felt I was going faster,the downside is you're lowest gear will probably relate to about 1-4/5 on the mountain bike! This would make The Step and the Gallows Hill climb an absolute nightmare!

    Yeah! Talk to me about it, you'd think straight away that a road bike would be quicker because it's lighter, less resistance etc but when I saw myself seriously struggling to grind a 39/25 up the Step and Gallows 20% backroad I was seriously considering getting off because of it! I don't know but maybe a hybrid/mtb would be quicker in this sense for getting a decent cadence and rhythm up and going unless you would rather power what seems like such a huge gear up the hill.

    As a note about getting going again, I went over the top of the Step one day and decided to turn around and go back down the other side I had come up. Let me tell you, the 16% gradient really tests your speed at getting clipped in and starting to put the power to gain some momentum. I must say it took a few attempts before I successfully got it, twas quite a funny sight I must admit!:rolleyes:

    Has anyone ever done the Step from the other side to the Silvermines village (2.7km 11% average) route? Coming down it is fairly sketchy alright, this shows it to be an average of close to 13% for 1.6km and hits a max of around 20%! Might give it a go someday I'm out that direction someday...would probably have a tailwind seeing as the other direction always seems to have a headwind! Hehe :p

    EDIT: I meant to say that today I took my old heavy Trek with 2.3kg Bontrager SSR wheels (9.5kg total) out for it's first spin since I got my new bike which has 1.6kg Mavic Ksyrium Elites (7.6kg total) just because the other one was in the shop for repair! With nearly 2kg in the difference, a lot of that originating from the wheels which makes a huge difference, I was just dying to find out how much a difference my €2k worth of a bike upgrade would really make. It turns out I did a 15min 02sec time up my usual Cratloe-Woodcock route (current PB of 14min19sec) with very similar winds (in both speed and direction) to when I set my PB. I think the 43sec gap is huge because I was really going for it. I just wish I had my HR monitor on to see the stats (no mount on the bike atm) and how it would compare to last time! Next time I'll just leave it in my back pocket to find out.


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