Gorsey Brow – Simon Warren Cycling Climbs of the North West
- S/W Rating: 9/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Medium
- Length: 0.46 miles
- Avg. gradient: 12%
- Category: 4
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/19639240
Nestled discretely in the, um, underside of Broadbottom and beginning, somewhat appropriately under a railway arch is the climb of Gorsey Brow.
It doesn’t look so bad at the start – yes, it’s a bit steep, but nothing that any experienced Simon Warrener hasn’t dealt with in the past. And, so, being completely unfamiliar with it, I assumed the position of the ‘steady start’. This, it turns out, was a Good Idea, because it doesn’t cease to have gradient along its entire length. Yes, it relents a bit, but, then again, it also gets steeper too with pitches up into the high teens. Initially, though, it’s reasonably steady at a bit over 10% as you wind your way past the houses. If, however, you’ve had a mare clipping into the pedals (like Danny did), then you might struggle to get moving, but, fear not, a small amount of turnaround action and you’ll be good to go.
I have to admit that it came as a surprise to me just how unrelenting this ascent was and, as I was moving, I just had to keep it that way and keep turning the pedals. As I say, it wasn’t so bad past the houses, but, then, the climb bears right and it gets rather steeper for a short section. This is vicious and it’s that bit trickier because you’ve already got some fatigue from the early part of the ascent. Traffic can play its part too – as a cyclist you’re not travelling particularly quickly up here and so any vehicles really want to be past, but, unfortunately, there’s not a huge amount of visibility so you’re not necessarily granted a huge amount of room which can be … interesting … when you’re trying not to swerve across the road as the gradient aims for 20%. All was well on the day, but it wasn’t ideal…
The trees provide an interesting mix of shelter from the wind and rain as well as slipperiness from fallen leaves: I’d say you’re likely to have better traction if you can sit this one out, but, then, I would as that’s how I tend to climb anyway. That said, the road was damp and there was certainly potential to spin the back wheel if you put your weight forward on the bike… And it’s this section which gives the climb its severity1, but, for me at least, it didn’t last all that long and was very manageable indeed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s by no means an easy one, but if you’re used to riding this kind of area/Yorkshire/The Lakes, then you’ll make it up Gorsey Brow…
Once up this very steep pitch, you’re almost done and it’s mainly a matter of keeping the pedals turning as the top is in sight now. Well, sort of – the actually crest isn’t particularly well defined in a topographical sense. I kept riding to a point that was manifestly beyond it to make sure I’d covered it off for the video, but the segment turns out to actually end somewhere next to the couple of houses on the left.
Once at the top you can take a well earned breather and give yourself a big pat on the back!
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…
And makes it difficult to take a swig from your water bottle, should you need it! ↩
