Hill no 17 - 41 Pea Royd Lane

Before getting to our next hill, for some reason, I decided the most direct route was to drive in through Sheffield. Whilst never living in Sheffield myself, my friends Jon and Helen lived here and I was delighted that our "most direct route" (or the easiest route to follow on the map) went right down the Eccleshall Rd (a main student area in Sheffield). I was very pleased to see that "Champs" and "the Nursery Tavern" were still there (I once had a rather odd night out with Jon at Champs the same time as Sheffield Utd were having their xmas party there and saw some professional sportsmen in rather "interesting" states!). Think the huge M&S is probably a little OTT for students though!

The next climb was a little outside of Sheffield, near Stocksbridge and Simon talks about the climb taking you from "industrial valley to peaceful moorland" and that it is an incredibly accurate way of putting it. You start your climb right at the bottom of this industrial valley

With all these massive rusty steel girders surrounding you,  you hop on the bike and hope that your legs will have the same resilience

Before hiking yourself up the steep, steep hill. I liked this hill a lot - Simon gives it an 8/10 and it starts fairly steep, as you exit the small town

and then you take a sharp right and the road is all choppy and it ramps up:

and finally I have found a photo that shows exactly how steep these climbs are:

This was strangely enjoyable - nice to start in a town, finish in the countryside, have a real stiff challenge and get up it and ready for the rest of the day!

Garmin data here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85626191 Simon says 7 minutes and I was back on track with about 7 minutes.
Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGtCb4hC9fk
Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100hillsforgeorge/sets/72157626834470625/