Bale Hill – Simon Warren Cycling Climbs of the North East
- S/W Rating: 6/10
- Wheelygood Rating: Medium
- Length: 1.53 miles
- Avg. gradient: 7%
- Category: 3
- Strava Segment: https://www.strava.com/segments/19594001
Is someone having a laugh? This would be a roughly typical comment coming from a rider as they make their way, somewhat wearily, up to the top of Bale Hill. It takes you up from a small bridge over the Derwent at Baybridge, just outside Blanchland, to the very top of the moor. Amongst its challenges are some steep pitches (up to 18%, or so), the weather and sheep.
In some ways, you can get a sense of the nature of Bale Hill from the get go: to make up for being sheltered from the elements (and the sheep), the slope increases accordingly. This is the steepest section of the entire climb and it’s a nice way to see your lunch again if you’ve just eaten and then hit the base a bit enthusiastically. It won’t come as a surprise to know that this is the Tyne Velo hillclimb course. My suggestion? Grit your teeth and stamp on the pedals … but not too much. It does slacken off, eventually, and settle into a more manageable 7%, or so. Make the most of it, because you’re about to pop above the treeline…
…and straight into the prevailing wind. Just when you thought it was safe to relax. There’s usually enough head in the head-cross to make you reconsider some of your life choices, for example ‘why am I here’ and ‘who thought riding up this would be a good idea?’ Stick with it at a pace that you can keep without going into the red. The reason for this will become apparent as you roll over the cattle grid: the road is about to aim skywards with a bit more vigour once again. Brace yourself as you’ll have a few hundred metres of both reasonable incline and headwind to contend with and the energy you just saved will come in very handy. You can spend some of it, because there’s a descent coming and you can recover a bit[ref]With the caveat, of course, that the wind isn’t so strong that you’ll need to keep pedalling downhill. It can, and does, happen in this part of the world with a greater frequency than you might like![/ref].
The only problem I can see with the descent, apart from, perhaps, having to pedal, is that you can see the next ramp coming from some distance away. It snakes around a couple of bends and up towards what looks like the top. It isn’t. But, before you get there, do a bit of pedal stamping to get you past the steeper section and then you can revert to a more sensible approach for the remainder of the ramp. If you’re ever descending this one be aware that the first (right-hand) bend is, essentially, hidden until you’re pretty much on it – the road looks like it’s about to go over the edge of the abyss whereas, in fact, it drops quickly into the right hander with very little warning…
Assuming you’re climbing, then you are almost there, at least in terms of height gained. The best bit is that, normally, that headwind will now come to your aid as you bear left and push you up the final sections of the ascent. It’s a bit tricky to work out exactly where the top is, because there’s a new, higher, bit around pretty much every corner. Eventually, though, the road does begin to tilt downwards and it is at this point you can exhale and give yourself a big pat on the back as this is an ascent with some real challenges. Once you’ve done that, and got your breath back, lift up your head and take in the views…
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…
