Hill no 95 - 54 Boltby Bank

Probably didn't start this climb from the right place as it was too tempting to start it down by the (thankfully) relatively dry ford. That allowed me to turn my legs over and get some speed up which was about the only time that I did get some speed up.

There is a nice bit at the start where you can see the road just ramping up and snaking ahead of you a little bit - the climb isn't too steep at this point, but it is still enough to get the legs working hard and to get you blowing a little bit, in fact, I think this is probably shown by the fact that I got a rather sympathetic "hello" from a couple of walkers!

The slope doesn't look too hard on the video - but actually it was a lot harder than it appears - I was continuously surprised to look down at my Garmin and find out that the slope was pretty steep - my head was lolling from side to side and I was really struggling up at points.

Basically, I think once it gets above 15% then it starts to really challenge the legs - this climb did that regularly and didn't seem to give you those little flat bits that allow you to take a rest. In fact, whilst Boltby Bank does not have the warning signs of White Horse Bank, I'm pretty sure that it is at least as steep - with 25% gradients and long periods of over 20%.

Also, as a climb, it really kicks you in the teeth, it starts of gentle and then gets tougher and tougher, only really giving you a break right at the very top.

Simon ranked this at the same rating as White Horse Bank - again a 7/10 climb, but I thought that this was a lot harder than White Horse Bank - I'd give it maybe at least an 8/10 and if it went on for any longer it would be right up there with some of the toughest climbs in the book. Maybe Simon was having a very strong day when he did this one!

Garmin here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/159798073
Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-tFdH1RIg8
Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/100hillsforgeorge/sets/72157629690001691/