Hill no 40 – 80 Honister Pass

Honister Pass starts from a picturesque little car park where the dog splashed around in a stream as ducks eyed him suspiciously. You pull out, past the farm and through a delightful little copse. All very nice, but it soon turns “ugly”!

A little downhill lulls you into a false sense of security with a beautiful view of the valley.

Sure enough with a stream to your left and the slopes forming a fantastic back drop to the ride, the climb had me in raptures over the scenery.

For the rest of the climb, I was largely seeing stars. The climb just ramped up and got steeper and harder all the way up. It really is a climb that keeps on pushing at you and getting harder and harder the further you go up it which is NOT very nice!

I can’t remember much about the top – but I do remember thinking that the Honister Pass sign was a bit “easyjet” in its bright orangeness AND being bloody tired when I got there!

I was also suffering from the front wheel lifting in the air if I sat down and so I had to stand and really grind my way over the top.

It "only" gets a 9, but at that time of the day, with the other rides in your legs, it seemed like a harder climb!

I knew the climb ended by some slate gates and it being the last climb of the day, me having very tired legs and, well, having run out of excuses, I was searching for them a long way from the top. Done though – but done in as well!

There is a sportive ride called the Fred Whitton that amongst its 100 miles takes in a lot of these climbs. Now that will be a beast of a sportive - especially if the weather is nasty!

Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwskbjT_D_c&feature=related
Garmin here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90464195
Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100hillsforgeorge/sets/72157627052449312/