Medomsley Bank
- Wheelygood Rating: Medium
- Length: 1.56 miles
- Avg. gradient: 6%
- Category: 4
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/4206600
- Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1002553
Any hill which has a 15% sign on it has promise, at least that’s how I like to think of it. This one has a bunch of other features which have, over the years, given it something of a reputation of being an absolute killer.
It begins, innocuously enough, with a gentle pull into the forest and begins to lull you into a false sense of security. This continues for a while until you see The Sign and the real fun begins. The early stages are quite kind in that they ramp quite steadily into double-digit gradients which suck away your speed. Once you’ve passed the small road on the right, Cut Throat Lane (yes, really!), you’re committed to a little bit over a mile of constant, but changing, challenges.
The gradient is just the first: it just about hits the promised 15% and then abates, making you wonder what you did in life for things to be improving like this. And then you begin to turn the corner and the prevailing wind hits you. Normally – on the day the video was taken, the wind direction was a little bit fortuitous and we were sheltered for pretty much the entire climb, which is just as well, really, as 50mph gusts aren’t ideal!
No matter – onwards and, inevitably, upwards. The next ramp beckons with its promise of shelter. It makes good on that promise too, until you get to the ‘crest’ where you discover that the road is nicely lined up to funnel all of the wind straight into your face. Keep grinding and carry on!
The steep parts are now a distant memory and thoughts turn to the gradual erosion of your will to pedal as the road twists and turns in a seeming never-ending drag up towards the village which, by this point, you’re not sure even exists any more. But, just as all hope is fading, there’s a hint of a building and a streetlamp on the right. Or is it? Yes, yes, it is! Praise be!
Yeah.
Medomsley Bank is no respecter of convention and just because you’ve reached the village after which the climb was named, it doesn’t mean you’re at the top. Oh, no. There’s another ramp to help put the boot in just that little bit further. If you’ve paced things sensibly, it’s not a problem, but if you blew your doors on the steeper parts at the bottom, this is where you’ll pay the price. It’s no monster, but it’s just enough that you begin to Understand where the reputation came from.
Once up to this crest, the hill does drag on a bit further, but, essentially, you’ve made it up Medomsley Bank. Well done!
If there are any other road climbs you’d like me to take on, the more ridiculous the better, then please send me a message on my FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/wheelygoodcycling/ or email me on wheelygoodmail@gmail.com and let me know…
