Nick O'Pendle is one of my favourite hill climbs. It's a classic British hill climb, 1200m of pure pain in beautiful countryside out of the quiet village of Sabden. Infamous for killing witches in the 17th century, sleepy Sabden has a hidden past. Every October Nick O'Pendle hosts some more suffering, I assume being hanged isn't pleasant but an all out hill climb on Nick O'Pendle surely rivals it.
With very little variation in gradients it's one of the purer hill climb tests. The climb is steep from the gun and it can be easy to press too hard, the end is very tough so don't go out like a rocket. Once you pass the houses, the gradient doesn't really slacken but the road widens and the it feels less claustrophobic. There will not be a crowd here and it's important to focus on pace.
You will be able to see a sign for the cattle grid. I sprint for this sign as the gradient eases the most just after and you can recover from the first half as you pass gently over the grid. Cruelly, the hillside opens up wide from the grid and you can see the finish line for the last 1/2 of the climb.
I don't know whether it's the history, beautiful scenery, savage gradients or a combination of all three but I really rate this climb and would recommend a trip out to tick it off.
With very little variation in gradients it's one of the purer hill climb tests. The climb is steep from the gun and it can be easy to press too hard, the end is very tough so don't go out like a rocket. Once you pass the houses, the gradient doesn't really slacken but the road widens and the it feels less claustrophobic. There will not be a crowd here and it's important to focus on pace.
You will be able to see a sign for the cattle grid. I sprint for this sign as the gradient eases the most just after and you can recover from the first half as you pass gently over the grid. Cruelly, the hillside opens up wide from the grid and you can see the finish line for the last 1/2 of the climb.
I don't know whether it's the history, beautiful scenery, savage gradients or a combination of all three but I really rate this climb and would recommend a trip out to tick it off.
2019 Event
Fuming from my loss the previous week at The Rake I had chance to redeem myself on Nick O'Pendle. It was a block headwind and I knew it'd be important to pace it well and slightly conservatively at the start. Driven by rage, I just dug as hard as I could, held on and managed to take the win by 0.5 seconds. It was actually obscenely close and using the strava comparison function (I'm the purple line, Alex is the black) you can see I was behind Alex the entire climb until the last literally 20 metres. Paced to perfection.
How To Ride
A typical hill climb effort, start hard, hold it and finish harder. There's not an awful lot of gradient change and I think a fixed gear would suit. I know Jim Henderson rides a fixed on it and Chris Boardman set the course record on a 60in fixed but I have no idea what that actually means.
The steepest section is just after the start and it can be easy to press too hard, remember the end is tough, so don't go out unsustainably. Once you pass the houses, the road widens the road curves to the left and you should sprint for the cattle grid. You can recover over the grid and the push for the second half. I would recommend holding as constant pace as you can and drill it all out as you round the final corner.
The steepest section is just after the start and it can be easy to press too hard, remember the end is tough, so don't go out unsustainably. Once you pass the houses, the road widens the road curves to the left and you should sprint for the cattle grid. You can recover over the grid and the push for the second half. I would recommend holding as constant pace as you can and drill it all out as you round the final corner.
