Cyclone Climb Guides

Here are some rider guides to help you prepare for the Cyclone Challenge Rides' more notable hills.

Note: Some of the videos were shot several years ago - the lengths of our 4 rides have been tweaked in the interim. For full mapping, climbing and distance info, visit our routes page. For everything else you need to know about the event, visit the Challenge Rides homepage.

The Ryals 

Length 1.4 miles / Height Gain 350 feet / Max Gradient 12%

Let's start with The Ryals climb that will also feature in the Curlew Cup and Beaumont Trophy races later in the year. It's not a typical climb in that it is actually three ramps, separated by short, flat and slightly downhill sections of respite. The first ramp is relatively easy, but the second and third are much more severe. There's something slightly un-nerving about the variations of effort that this combination throws at you. The "100 Climbs" author, Simon Warren rightly features The Ryals in his book, Climbs of North East England, where he describes it as "a climb that has forced many cyclists to their knees". If you're riding the Challenge Rides, remember that the Ryals is relatively late in all three of the longer rides. Save some energy for it, because it is the proverbial sting in the tail of all three! Our organiser, Peter Harrison, gave us his take on the climb a few years ago - see what he had to say in the video below:

Cyclone Guides - The Ryals Climb from Cyclone Cycling Festival on Vimeo.

The Gibbet 

Length 2.5 miles / Height Gain 500 feet / Max Gradient 10%

The Gibbet climb (aka Winter's Gibbet) features in our 112 and 95 mile routes and is very well known and respected in the NE cycling community. Again, it features variations in gradient, with the steepest sections actually at the foot of the climb. It's also relatively long at 2 miles, with a gain of 500 feet. Simon Warren featured this climb, too, in his book Cycling Climbs of the North East. Locals will tell you that this climb is also very weather dependent, with the entire length extremely exposed to winds from virtually any direction. You should pray for a North-Easterly or a still day. With a tail wind it's a fun climb with an even more enjoyable blast past Harwood Forest on the following descent. 

Cyclone Climbs - The Gibbet from Cyclone Cycling Festival on Vimeo.

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Bilsmoor 

Length 1.1 miles / Height Gain 450 feet / Max Gradient 10.5%

Bilsmoor is shorter than the Gibbet, but steeper and equally exposed to the wind. The final third of the climb is absolutely straight and is a great place to chase down slower riders! A final tip on this climb - pause a minute at the top and take in the views. We think you get the best views of the whole ride, but they will be behind you on the climb and you'll miss them if you don't stop!

Cyclone Guides - Bilsmoor Climb 2018 from Cyclone Cycling Festival on Vimeo.

Garleigh Moor 

And, though not strictly a climb, here's another important upland section of the Cyclone Challenge Rides. Garleigh Moor is simply a stunning section of the longer routes and the landscapes you'll encounter vary from windswept pasture, through heather moor and stony upland, through the arable farming and eventually, river valley and market town as you head into Rothbury.

Cyclone Guides - Garleigh Moor from Cyclone Cycling Festival on Vimeo.

Dunterly Fell

Length 1.0 miles / Height Gain 320 feet / Max Gradient 11%

Less than a mile in length, but with a solid incline of 8%, Dunterly Fell comes just after the half-way point of the 102 mile ride and takes in one of the most remote and beautiful fellsides of the entire ride. We have watched the event from here o several occasions and this appears to be a particularly stinging climb. Simon Warren also features this climb in his Climbs of NE England book and he notes that it's the two distinct bends on the way up that are the focus for suffering. Dunterly Fell also marks the start of one of the most sustained stretches of high ground on the ride, before the steep descent into Wark.

Coldrife & Ewesley Fell

Length 4 miles / Total Height Gain 680 feet / Max Gradient 8%

This climb comes just after the Forestburn Gate feed station on the 65 mile route only. It's actually two climbs that come in quick succession, both with about 340 feet of ascent, with a descent of similar size in between. You'll find the first climb is slightly steeper, but the second will probably hurt more as the two climbs come in very quick succession (the top of the first comes only a couple of minutes before the start of the second). From the top, you're starting the run for home, but remember that the Ryals climb is still to come!

Wark Bridge to Birtley

Length 2 miles / Total Height Gain 500 feet / Max Gradient 9%

This is a tricky climb, ridden only on the longest route, which winds up from the picturesque Wark Bridge into the village of Birtley and slightly beyond. After crossing the bridge as you leave Wark and turning left, you're briefly on a flat road by the river, before the tarmac suddenly rears up to the right and you enter the first section of the climb, with high hedges on either side and the road winding this way and that, never giving you a clear sight of what's coming next. And it's steep. It then flattens out through open fields and into a small wood before arching round the left and climbing steeply again into and through the village of Birtley, only gradually letting off after you've left the houses behind. Corners, constant changes in gradient (there's event a couple of short sections of descent) and a sense that you'll never get to the top make this a mini classic and an ascent you won't forget in a hurry. Mercifully, there's a feed station in Birtley village, where you can recover and take stock of your depleted energy levels!

Whitley Hill

Length 1.0 miles / Height Gain 150 feet / Max Gradient 8%

Although neither steep nor long (a mile at 3-4%), this is still a significant climb in that it takes the 35 mile route to its highest point on a draggy road with a number of steeper ramps. It's not quite all downhill from here, but you're past the half-way point and heading for home, with the Stamfordham feed station just down the road.