Corby’s Crags – Simon Warren Cycling Climbs of the North East
- SW Rating: 5/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Medium
- Length: 1.15 miles
- Avg. gradient: 5%
- Category: 4
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/19602039
- Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1002553
[Editor’s note: the top of the Simon Warren climb segment is about 100m further on than the point at which the video ends. There isn’t really any further climbing to be done beyond the end of the film, but, if you feel shortchanged, then tell me and I’ll go back and redo the video. It’ll also be a bit less blurry around the edges!]
Your reward for the long, and grin inducing, descent from the A697 (or, even, the top of Cragpit Hill) is another climb before, finally, dropping down into Alnwick. It’s a climb I can’t quite get my head around at times – it doesn’t feel like it matches the stats (it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s over a mile long) and, for the most part, is pretty comfortable, but, somehow, always has me breathing hard by the top.
In a manner not dissimilar to Lyham Hill, this climb is preceded by a descent into a left hander and then you’re away. In contrast to Lyham Hill, though, the bend is benign, especially in the dry, and the gradient comes on much more gradually up to about 6%. This gives you a chance to get into a nice spin all the way to the small bridge where it flattens. You’ll be feeling great at this point and wondering what all the fuss was about.
Past the bridge, you’ll see the road bear immediately left. And up. Welcome to the amphitheatre of agony. There’s no gentle introduction here: it’s 0-12% in the blink of an eye, but it’ll take your legs a few seconds to register it and that’s when the fun begins. You’ve got a choice: either push on and hope for the best, or accept that it’s going to be tricky, back off and haul your way up. Last time I checked, I wasn’t Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Simon Yates or even Tom Dumoulin and so I took the second option, but if you’re in Sprightly Mode, then go for it … but don’t say you weren’t warned …
…about the second steep pitch. Having attempted to disseminate the climb in my head, which utilised my single threaded1 braincell to 100% capacity, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s this, extended, second ramp that does the damage. If you’ve put too much into the first part, you’ll be in a world of pain here, because it’s noticeably above 10% for most of it and the road surface is that special one which sucks the energy from your wheels. You can see the top – almost reach out and tough it yet, somehow, it doesn’t appear to be getting any closer. Patience, young Jedi. You will get there – one pedal stroke at a time…
Slowly, surely and against the best advice of your legs, you’ll gently winch yourself up past the laybys of curious sightseers, all of whom will be wondering what possessed you to try and ride up this piece of road. How little they know! Eventually, and to the credit of your toil, you will, finally, reach the false flat which marks the end of the very hard work and it’s a ‘mere’ drag now to the finish. You can breathe a sigh of relief and pedal rather more easily now.
Once past the small side road (where I stopped on the video), the road bears right and up to a slight crest which marks the highest point on this section of road and, technically, the top of the climb. There’s nothing challenging in this last section apart, possibly, from the battle against fatigue from the earlier sections, but, really, you know you’ll make it from here and can give yourself a small cheer for making it to the top. Very 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…
Hey, I’m a bloke – what did you expect? Multitasking? ↩
