Ebchester Bank

• Wheelygood Rating: Hard
• Length: 1.00 miles
• Avg. gradient: 8%
• Category: 4
• Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/778453
• Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1002553

Some climbs (Medomsley Bank, for example) build into things gradually. Some smack you round the chops like a feather coated barbell. Ebchester Bank is very much in the latter category – some very very good climbers really dislike it. Now, I’m not normally one for prognostication, because everyone has their own style, but I’d strongly suggest that you consider your gear choice before you actually turn onto the ascent. And, if you’re a clipless pedal user who wants to be clipped in, I’d have a good hard think about doing this ahead of time…

…because you go from 0% straight up to 12%. And it’ll stay there for a good few hundred metres. It feels OK to start with, though, since you’re fresh (from the fight?) You may need a hero before the top, but you’ll have to hold out until then.

And still it goes up as your cadence now begins to come down and it begins to sting a bit. Fortunately, it does ease off when you get into the trees, but that’s only there to lull you into a false sense of security before it really ramps up. No stopping at the pub for a drink, even though you’d probably like to. My guess is that you’re finding it ‘chewy’ about now so, in the spirit of encouragement, there’s only one more really bad bit to go now. Sorry.

After a (very) slight easing which pushes the idea of ‘false flat’ and ‘respite’ to the outer limits of the words, there’s a final testing ramp for you to tackle. Grit your teeth, put your head down and try to keep moving without swerving into the path of any other vehicles coming up the hill. This can be easier said than done as there are a few, er, interesting sections of road surface just nicely in the line of where you’d want to ride, obviously…

Once you’re up to the top of the ramp you can relax. Joke! It does ease off noticeably, but it’s still a bit of a pull up to the crossroads and, if you’re unlucky, you may find that the headwind makes up for the lack of gradient. On a decent day, though, you can drop back to tempo and haul your way up without anything by way of further trauma (apart from the burning sensation in your legs and lungs which, oddly, just won’t go away)…

There is a bit more beyond the crossroads, but it’s just another drag up to the next junction: if you’ve made it here, you’ll make it there and, other than more traffic, there’s not a lot to see when you get there.

But, once you do reach the top you can be secure in the knowledge that you’ve bested one of the nastiest climbs in the area. Chapeau!

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…

Ebchester Bank