The Isle of Wight - January 2011

A weeks break in the Isle of Wight may not be everybody's idea of a great destination in January, but we know a lovely spot that is great at all times of the year.
The weather was never likely to be that good so I took the Trek 1.2 and Amanda took her 1.5 WSD and on the Sunday morning we planned a ride so that we could meet my parents in the tea shop at Osbourne House to give them a key and then ride home.
We have done the "Round the Island" route a few times but generally in an anit-clockwise direction so we decided on the clockwise route heading off from Ventnor towards Freshwater, which takes in a couple of nice climbs as the road traces the southern costline.

The second climb is a personal favourite of Amandas as the views are tremendous and the decent is safe and fast.

You can just see the road going over the chalk cliff in the distance.












The top part of the island is fairly flat and a tail-wind meant that we made good time, handed over the keys and headed off to finish the 48 mile ride in good time.

On the following morning (Monday) I decided to get up early to tackle a specific climb - St Lawrence Shute. It probably won't be a surprise to know that my support vehicle chose to stay in bed, but it did not matter as I was only planning a short ride.

This is the view from the main road looking up the first section which leads past the little church on the hillside and the postbox.

This first section is over 8% in parts and represents a good challenge.

Every hill of note has "that bend" and this is no different. A sharp right hand hairpin and the road goes left and over a small bridge, and then turns sharp right and upto the final very steep section to the top.

This final run to the top is steep but not that long and one thing to bear in mind is that road can be quite slippery as it is under the trees - so rear wheel traction can be an issue.

Once over the top I turned right and back to Ventnor via the top route and a short 20 minute ride was complete.

A nice little climb to try if you are in the area.

I returned back to base camp to join the gang and we all prepared for a walk over Ventnor Down to landslip.

During the walk I noticed that there was a road leading up Ventnor Down to a radar station at the top. It was very steep and windswept but looked like a good challenge.

So myself and Amanda plotted a route to take in the climb as part of short sharp 28 mile run that would take us back through Shanklin and Sandown.

The climb in total from where we were staying is just over 4miles but the last half a mile is virtually flat, as the work is all done by then.

There are a couple of very steep sections of around the 15% mark and the wind on this exposed bit of road makes for an added complication. Amanda did herself proud by making to the top with just one short stop to catch her breath.

Definately worth a go if you are in the area.

This is the steepest section

It has its' own "that Bend" too.

One of the spectacular views looking back over Ventnor

Cairn O' Mount

I really wanted to cycle whilst in Scotland as I have been there a number of times and never had the chance.
My wife knows the area well as she is half Scottish and has often told me of her lovely holidays there as a child, but there was one thing that she had mentioned to me that had stuck in my mind - Cairn O'Mount, a mountain just north of Brechin, with very steep sections of road which her family had driven up many times when they were children.

I love climbing mountains on my road bike...... I can't exactly say why but I just do. My wife says that it is because they represent such a challenge and I can't resist trying to get the better of them - she may well be correct.

My mind was made up - I wanted to cycle up Cairn O'Mount come rain, wind or shine (or probably just the first two knowing how the Scottish weather can be!).

So on the Thursday morning, myself and Amanda set off on an 80 mile round trip, designed to take in the Cairn, and to visit some relatives along the way. The wind was blowing from the north, so the climb would be directly into the teeth of the wind and this toughened it up making it very hard going. Add to that, the fact that the climb has two very distinct steep sections - 16% right at the start and 14% through a hairpin at the end - making it a formidable proposition. You can see the profile here courtesy of climbbybike.com.

The great thing about climbing on a bike though, is that you see everything that nature has to offer on the way up. Every stream, every waterfall and the birds of prey that are so easy to miss whilst in the car (I am sure that many walkers will also echo these comments). Add to that the feeling when you finallly get to the summit and look at the incredible view knowing that you have really earned the right to soak it all up.

I enjoyed the ride so much that I went and did it again the following day - this time though, the northerly wind was much stronger, no place to hide. Once over the top, I got down the far side and to the bottom I turned round and came back up the north side, which proved to be considerably easier, as the climb is longer and therefore less steep - not to mention the wind helping from this side.

On the decent I hit an unbelievable 53.4 mph, the fastest I have ever been on a bike and beat the car down by about three minutes - totally exhillerating, but don't take my word for it, here's the screen shot from my GPS.....

Please have a look at the video below as Amanda recorded some of the day while she followed in the car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSXHYK4vPbk

This short trip had made my mind up - I was going to do everything I could to get place on the Etape Du Tour 2011 and try and raise some money in the process.