You never cease to amaze me with awesome climbs and epic routes. I always enjoy your commentary and hope to see this one as a ride segment. Hat's off to your mates who are such good company and support for one another. What an amazing UA-cam channel!
Yes I've done that one a few times. The last time was 10 years ago when I was 65 and I did it without any stop but found it fairly hard. Can't do it now.
Bloody love Strava for finding new places to ride. I’m slowly getting better at climbing and getting braver at taking them on. My pal planned a route for us not long back and I didn’t even look at it before we set off. There was a cheeky 15%er not long after we set off, and because I didn’t know it was coming I just went for it. I didn’t have the opportunity to psych myself out. Used to avoid hills whenever I could before I started watching your videos Katie, but the feeling of accomplishment you get... well, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Have a lovely day mate x
Spectacular scenery beautifully captured in your video. It brought back some good memories of the Easter weekend in 1979 when I climbed (on foot) three peaks in Snowdonia. As I remember, it was hot and sunny ... not the sort of weather I had become accustomed to while rambling in the Peak. PS: I must try that counting trick! Thanks!
Doing this climb in a couple of weeks, thanks for the recee, looks like an amazing route. Can't wait to do it, I'll try and provide an update when I've done it..
That's a great tip about counting your pedal strokes when climbing hills, I've always done it and it's great motivation! once the adrenaline kicks I compete with myself to do more and more strokes at a time :)
Not long found out about you Katie, making my way through all your videos, just started going out on the bike again after a leg injury, love your stuff x
Katie , you are so prolific in your content that you deserve and have earned all the success that has come your way . Not trying to be a suck but I lift my helmit to you ! Good job.
Wales looks like cycling heaven. Thanks for the tip regarding counting pedal strokes. I was skeptical when I heard it, but it really helps. Love your videos.
Well done Katie, it’s a massive challenge getting up there not helped by the fact you can’t see all of it, and each time you get to a bend it just goes on as steep again then gets worse for the last bit. I rode it a few years ago doing a loop from Lake Vyrnwy to Dinas M then dropping down into Bala and back round via Hirnants Pass
Awesome Katie, loved the views. I've never done Wales and some of the climbs reminds me of Buttertubs. I do have favourite climbs, like Newlands pass and wrynose in the lakes but it's great to see new challenges x
Very impressive Katie. Will give the count to 50 thing a go, good tip. Used to go to Wales a lot riding MTB trail centres, great fun and sooo pretty! Must go back again soon.
Whilst the entries are open the Wild Wales Challenge ought to be right up your street, it’s around that area although the exact route (it’s different every year) isn’t known until closer to the time.
That was a very late bedtime after a glorious day out! Someone was wired/happy! Living my cycling life vicariously through you during the week, just waiting for the weekend when I can get out to the hills:) ❤️
Ahhh Tasmin you know it!!! Proper awesome day out. But I set it to upload at 4am rather than 4pm haha. Good for you early birds haha. Have an awesome day and hopefully the hills will be dry at the weekend for you xx
@@KatieKookaburra aw thank you:) fingers crossed heading out into Northumberland to the Harthope Valley. Bloomin glorious! I’m from the Peak District which will always be my first love but Northumberland has become a close, glorious second:) just as windswept and desolate! Happy riding! X
Recognize that road! If I'm not mistaken it's close to Lake Vyrnwy. Drove my old Ford Fiesta up there few years ago on an exploration of Wales.. Was totally unprepared for how steep the road became. Car was struggling in 1st gear, with engine literally smoking during attempt at getting the old Ford up the hill! Had to open the bonnet and leave to cool for an hour before was confident was safe to restart. 😬 Eerily quiet up there, with only the chirps of little curious birds as I waited. 🐤
Got a ride round this way coming up next week and I was debating about routes. Your clip of the amazing pass down Dinas Mawddwy has made that part of the decision for me!
@@KatieKookaburra A bit of an epic, and the sun is supposed to come out too! 300k from near Warrington down to Builth Wells via Bala, Dolgellau, Machynlleth and Rhayader. Quite a few climbs but deliberately nothing too steep: Milltir Cerrig, another one I can't find a name for from Dolhendre to Bronaber, then up and over past Nant-y-Moch reservoir and out through Elan Valley! Some of it is a recce for another ride mid-June.
@@KatieKookaburra I just ride at 6:30AM humidity is higher but it's cooler. I also try to keep my daily rides to between 15 and 20 miles. Where I live it's only 91.5 meters above sea level. My ride will take me from that into a river valley at sea level and back. 91.5 meters is the average elevation in this part of the state. We have totally different road rules than you guys do over there. For instance, the max legal grade on any state-maintained road in Virginia is 9%. If you're in the western part of the state where it's mountainous, it's 14%. Our roads are quite a bit wider with each lane of travel being 2.5 meters wide. We have no single lane state roads here. I'm deciding whether or not to move to Florida where you can literally ride year-round in bib shorts and a short sleeve jersey. In Virginia we have all 4 seasons. There it's also so flat people look forward to just climbing highway overpasses.
Loved the scenery, is it possible you could put some reference points where your route was ie start point and a few other points. Love looking on the map about where you’ve been and possible rides I could try.
I watched this yesterday and today tried out the counting tip when going up a steep climb ( very short compared to what goes on here) but it worked for me ! thanks !
Reminds me of the La Salle range over near Moab, Utah. The first part is 22 miles of up. Then some rolling terrain. And then you get it all back on the way into Moab.
You lucky girl , that looked a beautiful ride please let me know if I can down load it or just where your rides are ? To gain access to them I’ve been watching you for a year or more and love your general positivity to what you do it is so inspiring keep up the good work Like all of us this last couple of years have been hard and strange and cycling as all ways been my go to thing to clear my head which is great and you are doing a great job at getting that across ,like you I do multi bike rides and being a mountain biker first then coming back into road ,it’s great to see your content crossing over I’m into the gravel/bike packing thing at the moment and have a gravel sportive in Yorkshire moors at the start of next month which I’m really looking forward to . Be great to go out on a group ride with you when we it can be organised All my support and keep smiling
Wales is full of places like that. The A4085/4086 loop out of Caernarvon over round Snowdon looks interesting but isnt called 'Certain death Awaits' or 'Satans Pitchfork'. Worth staying somewhere like Porthmadog to get some riding in some great areas. Closer to home look at Cross Stones Road out of Todmorden. Double digits right away, a left at the Golf Club sign (Hey Head Rd) then a climb that tops at 22% (at the electricity sub station). climbs end a few metres later at a T-junction (left to Long Causeway, right to Todmorden). HC is Hors Categories ie outside category - a french rating for climbs.
Haha I have done but before you do a climb check it over so you know it’s all mental. Climbing is physical of course but so much more of it is mental game. Teach yourself to ignore other factors and get up that climb :)
Highest paved is Marchlyn Mawr, a dead-end road up near Llanberis. Highest paved pass is indeed Gospel Pass though! Having said that, I'll give Katie the credit for this one probably being the hardest, if not the highest!
Counting pedal strokes works for me. For planning, I used QoM times as targets for segments I'd never ridden before on Strava. There was no way I was ever going to get close to KoMs and Katie doesn't live near me. This worked well until the Women's Tour of Britain went through my local area.
Did this climb on the wild Wales challenge 1994 (80 miles ) tho the gears I had on my road bike were not low enough my back locked up and had to walk a bit until I was able to get back on the bike (Terry Cole )
@@333wheeler I got the medal but it didn’t have the Slate with it , , 7 of us went out to do a recky ride two weeks before but only two of us done it it was good training for my LETJ’OG in 1997
Well done Katie, it's a super tough climb, introduced to me by the Cambrian Coast Sportive, which is one of the best in the UK (imo!). Maybe the Cowlyd next? Abergwesyn pass (with the Devil's staircase) is also an awesome ride.
I can't believe the opening shot was of the Dragon Bridge! Only a few miles from me where the Chester Greenway crosses the dual carriageway. No hills along it though - max gradient is 1% according to Wahoo!
Love to see you do these climbs but also (sorry) nice to hear you breathing heavily, daft but always feel I'm failing when I have to breathe and others hear me :)
Awesome vid, really want to try that one! I tired and failed to climb one of the toughest climbs in the UK at the weekend! Cwm Eigiau in the Conwy Valley is less hard than The Cowlyd which is nearby but still crazy steep and long. The weather was awful and the conditions were treacherous, I wheelspun out at the bottom of the really long steep section after a 25% s bend and decided it wasn't worth the risk. I was already nervous but will go and tackle it when its dry. Thanks for all the inspiration, defo check out all the segments in the Conwy Valley its got three very long steep brutal climbs and a super brutal one called Afon Ddu Climb which is 340m long with avg gradient of 33.1%!!!
Yeah course. In short, Strava uses heatmaps to show the most popular roads taken by cyclists. That gives a good guide :) also I ALWAYS check segments / climbs and route around those monkeys, cos what’s a ride without a climb eh?
How would you compare this climb to Hardknot Pass? I was just in Wales in August and did Hendre Mountain, the Long Mountain and Horseshoe Pass. Bwlch looks like a total beast!
This trumps Hardknot because you do get ‘recovery’ bits on Hardknot. Bwlch Y Groes is relentless but also as it’s often winding out of sight to your left it’s a bit of a bugger mentally
Amazing scenery out there thanks for the upload , next for you in Wales surly is the cowlyd and afon ddu that averages out 33% and peaks at 49% 😆 it be reet
Can't remember the specifics but there is a proper steep climb near mold in Wales there's a 60 mile loop from Wrexham to Bala and back that takes a few hills on
@@AndyPhotos I don’t think you’d class it as close to Mold, though if you’re thinking of the Old Horseshoe that’s definitely similar to the Blwch in the pain scale 😖
I reckon analysing anything cycling looses the point of the excitement of the unpredictability of the roads ahead. It's the only part of life that remains free from that. Love your vids by the way. Yorkie bloke living in Tasmania...
WOW - Hell Fire Pass looked Brutal but a great climb. Congratulations Katie, the route & the scenery looked Awesome. Wales 🏴 is a Beautiful Country. When is your Cook Book coming out 🤔I will Definitely buy it🚴♀️😁🚴♂️👍🚴
Well done Katie. I failed Winnatts pass last week. I think I over did it the day before and leading up to it on the day, also mentally wrong. Do you think that climb is harder than Winnatts, or easier?
No idea about frame of mind that has to prepare like that. Being 66, only bike tech ever used was a speedometer. Just look at map, check weather in case need extra clothing, load two bottles, a bit of food in pockets, get on bike, ride. Always have strong flashing lights on all day. Only recently taken a mobile phone in case of emergencies
I noticed that the bikes we could see in your video all had rim brakes, I'd have thought the steep downhills would be screaming out for discs. How did they hold up?
Awesome!!! I love rim brakes, esp for climbing. Descending is fine on them, I use the Shimano Ultegra brakes and they are top. The 105 were always spot on aswell :)
@@KatieKookaburra Good to know I’m not alone with that thought, then (I use Ultegra too). 😊 Just have to put up with getting through wheels a bit more quickly 😁💋
I had to stop and have a lie down the first time I tried this, went out wayyy too hard. Tried again yesterday with more success, all about pacing yourself before the steep section.
You never cease to amaze me with awesome climbs and epic routes. I always enjoy your commentary and hope to see this one as a ride segment. Hat's off to your mates who are such good company and support for one another. What an amazing UA-cam channel!
Yes I've done that one a few times.
The last time was 10 years ago when I was 65 and I did it without any stop but found it fairly hard.
Can't do it now.
Bloody love Strava for finding new places to ride. I’m slowly getting better at climbing and getting braver at taking them on. My pal planned a route for us not long back and I didn’t even look at it before we set off. There was a cheeky 15%er not long after we set off, and because I didn’t know it was coming I just went for it. I didn’t have the opportunity to psych myself out. Used to avoid hills whenever I could before I started watching your videos Katie, but the feeling of accomplishment you get... well, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Have a lovely day mate x
Spectacular scenery beautifully captured in your video. It brought back some good memories of the Easter weekend in 1979 when I climbed (on foot) three peaks in Snowdonia. As I remember, it was hot and sunny ... not the sort of weather I had become accustomed to while rambling in the Peak. PS: I must try that counting trick! Thanks!
Count count count! :)
Doing this climb in a couple of weeks, thanks for the recee, looks like an amazing route.
Can't wait to do it, I'll try and provide an update when I've done it..
That was a proper kicker. Stunning views and open space. Thank you for sharing your journey and creating for us all.
Thanks for the route Katie. Did it today with my brother plus extra counting from penmachno where we stayed 👍
That's a great tip about counting your pedal strokes when climbing hills, I've always done it and it's great motivation! once the adrenaline kicks I compete with myself to do more and more strokes at a time :)
Yeah it just takes your mind off the grade and just focuses your mind away from ‘I’m gonna stop!’ 😂💃🏼 hope it works for you too :)
I try go “guess” how may strokes a climb is to the top.....almost never correct.
Bloody Fair Play Katie 👍👍
Bostin
What a fantastic route woop 🙌🏼 woop 🙌🏼
Cheers Peter :)
Not long found out about you Katie, making my way through all your videos, just started going out on the bike again after a leg injury, love your stuff x
Congrats on a beautiful ride in beautiful Country 💯🇺🇸
Katie , you are so prolific in your content that you deserve and have earned all the success that has come your way .
Not trying to be a suck but I lift my helmit to you !
Good job.
Ahhhhh THANK YOU!!! Ha been on UA-cam yeaaars though and still managed to upload at 4am instead of 4pm 😂🙄
Wales looks like cycling heaven. Thanks for the tip regarding counting pedal strokes. I was skeptical when I heard it, but it really helps. Love your videos.
Soon as I saw the title, thought Katie won't have any bother with that, good idea scoping it out on strava never thought of that.👏❤
inspiring stuff, as always. lovely scenery, nice tunes in the background, feels so good, comes across so well.
Well done Katie, it’s a massive challenge getting up there not helped by the fact you can’t see all of it, and each time you get to a bend it just goes on as steep again then gets worse for the last bit. I rode it a few years ago doing a loop from Lake Vyrnwy to Dinas M then dropping down into Bala and back round via Hirnants Pass
Awesome Katie, loved the views. I've never done Wales and some of the climbs reminds me of Buttertubs. I do have favourite climbs, like Newlands pass and wrynose in the lakes but it's great to see new challenges x
Very impressive Katie. Will give the count to 50 thing a go, good tip.
Used to go to Wales a lot riding MTB trail centres, great fun and sooo pretty! Must go back again soon.
So lucky! What a stunning adventure!
I love that count to 50 tip I'll be giving that a go on my next climb :)))
It’s defo helped me get up some of the steeper ones when you’re out of the saddle.
Lovely video, fantastic scenery, and congrats on completing the climb 😀👍
Thanks Tony :)
@@KatieKookaburra no worries 😀👍
Used to do the Col de Cat n Fiddle as a benchmark fitness measure.
Need to go back, for s&g.
Good stuff, Katie! 👌🏻
One of your best! Kudos (great choice of music too)
Whilst the entries are open the Wild Wales Challenge ought to be right up your street, it’s around that area although the exact route (it’s different every year) isn’t known until closer to the time.
That was a very late bedtime after a glorious day out! Someone was wired/happy! Living my cycling life vicariously through you during the week, just waiting for the weekend when I can get out to the hills:) ❤️
Ahhh Tasmin you know it!!! Proper awesome day out. But I set it to upload at 4am rather than 4pm haha. Good for you early birds haha. Have an awesome day and hopefully the hills will be dry at the weekend for you xx
@@KatieKookaburra aw thank you:) fingers crossed heading out into Northumberland to the Harthope Valley. Bloomin glorious! I’m from the Peak District which will always be my first love but Northumberland has become a close, glorious second:) just as windswept and desolate! Happy riding! X
Good evening From New Zealand, Great Katie Kookaburrra Video, Thanks for sharing, Have a great rest of your week
Helloooooo Tony! You too, have a good one. Hope the weather is better in NZ than it is in the UK today :)
Well done Katie, I'm getting better at climbing my goal hill shaley brow, will do it one day 😍❤❤❤
I was like that before I’d done Shaley....I’ve now done it over 100 times, just gotta take your time, hope you nail it soon 🙏🏼
So glad you got out for a ride in North Wales Katie. Croeso!
It’s bloody beaut eh?!!! Loved it!!!
Recognize that road! If I'm not mistaken it's close to Lake Vyrnwy. Drove my old Ford Fiesta up there few years ago on an exploration of Wales.. Was totally unprepared for how steep the road became. Car was struggling in 1st gear, with engine literally smoking during attempt at getting the old Ford up the hill!
Had to open the bonnet and leave to cool for an hour before was confident was safe to restart. 😬
Eerily quiet up there, with only the chirps of little curious birds as I waited. 🐤
OK I think this ride is my personal favorite from nearly all of your videos, it just looks really really beautiful and awesome cool.
Cheers Mark!!! Glad you enjoyed. And if was so last minute, decided at around 9pm the night before to go and ride there :)
@@KatieKookaburra I’m quite jealous 🙂 Have a super rest of the week
Just grabbed the GPX from Strava. Going to have to do it!.... thanks for the inspiration.
Do it!!! But you gotta let me know how you get on :)
Amazing views in this video! Loving it!
Got a ride round this way coming up next week and I was debating about routes. Your clip of the amazing pass down Dinas Mawddwy has made that part of the decision for me!
Glad I could help Steve! Have an awesome ride!! How far you going? Any other climbs??
@@KatieKookaburra A bit of an epic, and the sun is supposed to come out too! 300k from near Warrington down to Builth Wells via Bala, Dolgellau, Machynlleth and Rhayader. Quite a few climbs but deliberately nothing too steep: Milltir Cerrig, another one I can't find a name for from Dolhendre to Bronaber, then up and over past Nant-y-Moch reservoir and out through Elan Valley! Some of it is a recce for another ride mid-June.
Looks beautiful. You guys are out there in full kit. Here in Virginia, it's 33C with 80% humidity.
Oooof that heat will make any climb tougher! :) how is it riding in that heat? Guess you’re used to it... :)
@@KatieKookaburra I just ride at 6:30AM humidity is higher but it's cooler. I also try to keep my daily rides to between 15 and 20 miles. Where I live it's only 91.5 meters above sea level. My ride will take me from that into a river valley at sea level and back. 91.5 meters is the average elevation in this part of the state. We have totally different road rules than you guys do over there. For instance, the max legal grade on any state-maintained road in Virginia is 9%. If you're in the western part of the state where it's mountainous, it's 14%. Our roads are quite a bit wider with each lane of travel being 2.5 meters wide. We have no single lane state roads here.
I'm deciding whether or not to move to Florida where you can literally ride year-round in bib shorts and a short sleeve jersey. In Virginia we have all 4 seasons. There it's also so flat people look forward to just climbing highway overpasses.
Loved the scenery, is it possible you could put some reference points where your route was ie start point and a few other points. Love looking on the map about where you’ve been and possible rides I could try.
Yeah course, the link of the whole route is on my Strava, linked below in the description box
Wow! The Queen of Dovestones in sheepie/hill climb heaven and it didn't even rain 😅 Beautifully filmed vid Katie.
Thanks Stuart!! I know, how did it not rain?!!!!!!
good one. Tough hills but the downhills look like pure joy
Absolutely!!!
I watched this yesterday and today tried out the counting tip when going up a steep climb ( very short compared to what goes on here) but it worked for me ! thanks !
Reminds me of the La Salle range over near Moab, Utah. The first part is 22 miles of up. Then some rolling terrain. And then you get it all back on the way into Moab.
Beautiful scenery. Cycling heaven
Great video. As always 🚵♀️
Thanks Leah :)
Amazing, beautiful and inspiring video Katie, thank you :)
Ahhh cheers for watching Mark :) how beautiful is it?! Have you been to Wales?
@@KatieKookaburra Just for fell walking, I live int Lakes, so done a fair bit of climbing ont bike ;)
Oooh you’re in a good spot :) love it there!!!!
@@KatieKookaburra I am indeed, especially when the suns out ;)
You lucky girl , that looked a beautiful ride please let me know if I can down load it or just where your rides are ? To gain access to them
I’ve been watching you for a year or more and love your general positivity to what you do it is so inspiring keep up the good work
Like all of us this last couple of years have been hard and strange and cycling as all ways been my go to thing to clear my head which is great and you are doing a great job at getting that across ,like you I do multi bike rides and being a mountain biker first then coming back into road ,it’s great to see your content crossing over
I’m into the gravel/bike packing thing at the moment and have a gravel sportive in Yorkshire moors at the start of next month which I’m really looking forward to .
Be great to go out on a group ride with you when we it can be organised
All my support and keep smiling
Thanks Adrian, all of my rides are on Strava, there's a link in my description of all videos :)
Tried it twice and walked part of it twice. Tough climb with stunning views.
What an awesome happy ride.
It was so good! I think it’s cos it was really last minute. All the stuff I do with these guys is and they always seem the best days :)
Thanks for the upload Wales looks 😊 I’m a Pom living in Australia this makes me homesick 🥲
Ahhh where in Aus are you?? Love it over there! Well lots of local rides to make you feel you’re not missing out. The riding is good over there yeah?
@@KatieKookaburra Hey hey I’m
In Toowoomba in QLD. Lots of good riding out this way. Lots of hills like Wales
"It's not yorkshire but look at that" The quote of the year
Done it a few times, it's nuts steep in places but once done huge kudos
Wales is full of places like that. The A4085/4086 loop out of Caernarvon over round Snowdon looks interesting but isnt called 'Certain death Awaits' or 'Satans Pitchfork'. Worth staying somewhere like Porthmadog to get some riding in some great areas. Closer to home look at Cross Stones Road out of Todmorden. Double digits right away, a left at the Golf Club sign (Hey Head Rd) then a climb that tops at 22% (at the electricity sub station). climbs end a few metres later at a T-junction (left to Long Causeway, right to Todmorden). HC is Hors Categories ie outside category - a french rating for climbs.
Do you ever think your rear tire is flat during a steep climb? That feeling often breaks my concentration.
Haha I have done but before you do a climb check it over so you know it’s all mental. Climbing is physical of course but so much more of it is mental game. Teach yourself to ignore other factors and get up that climb :)
Yes I get this too x
yeah me too
Many a time, thought, hell my back tyres flat, you check it and its hard as rock. Think its the surface your riding on.
If there was such a thing as cycling heaven, thats it, wow.
300 days rain lovley
My local roads 😁. No better place IMO. Glad you liked it round here. 👍🏼
Ahhh it was bloody gorge!!
My ‘local’…Love it!!...When I’m descending :)..
Was gutted not to descend it all! What a corker eh!!!
Have cycled the Bwlch y Groes several times in the past, hard going, but great ride.
Hey @Katie, I’ve looked back through your videos but can’t see a recommendation for cycling computers - can you recommend one please?
I use a Wahoo Roam and really get on with it :)
What a ride ! Beautiful
Thank you 😊
Wales highest road is the gospel pass near Hay on Wye in South Wales. It’s not that steep either.
Highest paved is Marchlyn Mawr, a dead-end road up near Llanberis. Highest paved pass is indeed Gospel Pass though! Having said that, I'll give Katie the credit for this one probably being the hardest, if not the highest!
Counting pedal strokes works for me. For planning, I used QoM times as targets for segments I'd never ridden before on Strava. There was no way I was ever going to get close to KoMs and Katie doesn't live near me. This worked well until the Women's Tour of Britain went through my local area.
Did this climb on the wild Wales challenge 1994 (80 miles ) tho the gears I had on my road bike were not low enough my back locked up and had to walk a bit until I was able to get back on the bike (Terry Cole )
Yeah "A proper old school ride" Did you get your slate trophy for completing !
@@333wheeler I got the medal but it didn’t have the Slate with it , , 7 of us went out to do a recky ride two weeks before but only two of us done it it was good training for my LETJ’OG in 1997
Well done Katie, it's a super tough climb, introduced to me by the Cambrian Coast Sportive, which is one of the best in the UK (imo!). Maybe the Cowlyd next? Abergwesyn pass (with the Devil's staircase) is also an awesome ride.
Haha that’s some sportive taking you up there!!
@@KatieKookaburra www.welshcyclingevents.co.uk/index.asp - still taking entries this :-)
I can't believe the opening shot was of the Dragon Bridge! Only a few miles from me where the Chester Greenway crosses the dual carriageway. No hills along it though - max gradient is 1% according to Wahoo!
The ramp up onto the bridge is hard work if your legs are dead on the way home, Neston resident :)
@@MrOvershoot It's funny watching all the places Katie climbs when a hill for us is when a cycle path goes up and over a main road!
@@AndyPhotos I'm used to hills from mountain biking but for some reason road climbs kill me?
You should come to Mongolia, if you want open space ride. We have a ton of open space and roads are usually much less crowded than in Europe.
Did you check out sutton bank Katie?
Great vid but I think The Gospel pass is the hugest paved road in Wales 🏴 have you tried it?
Good climb that . Did it 2 years back .
I enjoy Rotherhithe tunnel, it's like the gateway to Dante's inferno. Awesome.
Thanks, I love Wales but it has been a few years since was last there.
Get yourself back there :)
Love to see you do these climbs but also (sorry) nice to hear you breathing heavily, daft but always feel I'm failing when I have to breathe and others hear me :)
Awesome vid, really want to try that one! I tired and failed to climb one of the toughest climbs in the UK at the weekend! Cwm Eigiau in the Conwy Valley is less hard than The Cowlyd which is nearby but still crazy steep and long. The weather was awful and the conditions were treacherous, I wheelspun out at the bottom of the really long steep section after a 25% s bend and decided it wasn't worth the risk. I was already nervous but will go and tackle it when its dry. Thanks for all the inspiration, defo check out all the segments in the Conwy Valley its got three very long steep brutal climbs and a super brutal one called Afon Ddu Climb which is 340m long with avg gradient of 33.1%!!!
Ahhh it’s a different beast in bad weather! Defo not worth crashing for. On those steep sections you need all the grip you can get :)
@@KatieKookaburra Yep good lesson learnt I'm a newish rider so all part of the learning process. You still got a really big cassette on??
I’m local, Cowlyd is almost impossible in the wet, once the back wheel goes you’re toast :)
Katie, appreciate these pre-climb tips. Suggest one featuring how YOU use Strava to navigate routes which are unfamiliar.
Yeah course. In short, Strava uses heatmaps to show the most popular roads taken by cyclists. That gives a good guide :) also I ALWAYS check segments / climbs and route around those monkeys, cos what’s a ride without a climb eh?
How would you compare this climb to Hardknot Pass? I was just in Wales in August and did Hendre Mountain, the Long Mountain and Horseshoe Pass. Bwlch looks like a total beast!
Ooooh Hardknott is steeper but only for very short sections. This is steep but for aaaaaages
This trumps Hardknot because you do get ‘recovery’ bits on Hardknot. Bwlch Y Groes is relentless but also as it’s often winding out of sight to your left it’s a bit of a bugger mentally
Amazing scenery out there thanks for the upload , next for you in Wales surly is the cowlyd and afon ddu that averages out 33% and peaks at 49% 😆 it be reet
Read my mind 🙃🙃
Do you use 34/34 to do hard climbs like that ..... ??
Amazing and inspirational video Katie ☺️ would be cool if you did some features with GCN
Can't remember the specifics but there is a proper steep climb near mold in Wales there's a 60 mile loop from Wrexham to Bala and back that takes a few hills on
Not thinking of Hope Mountain are you? Fairly steep but nothing near as tough as Blwch y Groes
Horseshoe Pass?
@@AndyPhotos I don’t think you’d class it as close to Mold, though if you’re thinking of the Old Horseshoe that’s definitely similar to the Blwch in the pain scale 😖
Come on Katey!
Try Bank road/Rutland St in Matlock.
Please try it.
Not done it myself now for last 25yrs.
I'm 57 now but my hometown is Matlock.
Lived in Ireland 🇮🇪 since 96.
Brilliant vid Katie.
What's that noise a sheep makes ?
Hahahah whyyyyyyy did I do that????! 🙄🤣
@@KatieKookaburra No doubt meant the world to the flock Katie ! 😁 Don't ever change.
I reckon analysing anything cycling looses the point of the excitement of the unpredictability of the roads ahead. It's the only part of life that remains free from that. Love your vids by the way. Yorkie bloke living in Tasmania...
I think we are all different and I think for me I like knowing a rough idea so I can prepare mentally for it. :) do whatever works :)
Totally agree Katie.
WOW - Hell Fire Pass looked Brutal but a great climb. Congratulations Katie, the route & the scenery looked Awesome. Wales 🏴 is a Beautiful Country.
When is your Cook Book coming out 🤔I will Definitely buy it🚴♀️😁🚴♂️👍🚴
Ahh it was BEAUTIFUL :) tough but beaut. It’s coming don’t you worry. Have a cracking day :)
@@KatieKookaburra Really Looking forward to the cook book. Enjoy your day, also looking forward to your next video 😁
Yes Bala, my home town!
Arthur Brown will be proud of you!
3:36 SPECTACULAR! More Wales Please
Well done Katie. I failed Winnatts pass last week. I think I over did it the day before and leading up to it on the day, also mentally wrong. Do you think that climb is harder than Winnatts, or easier?
Unfortunately this is a lot harder than Winnats.
That being said, the technique is similar, you just have to hold it for *much* longer on this one.
No idea about frame of mind that has to prepare like that. Being 66, only bike tech ever used was a speedometer. Just look at map, check weather in case need extra clothing, load two bottles, a bit of food in pockets, get on bike, ride. Always have strong flashing lights on all day. Only recently taken a mobile phone in case of emergencies
I noticed that the bikes we could see in your video all had rim brakes, I'd have thought the steep downhills would be screaming out for discs. How did they hold up?
Awesome!!! I love rim brakes, esp for climbing. Descending is fine on them, I use the Shimano Ultegra brakes and they are top. The 105 were always spot on aswell :)
@@KatieKookaburra Good to know I’m not alone with that thought, then (I use Ultegra too). 😊 Just have to put up with getting through wheels a bit more quickly 😁💋
As long as you make sure the pads are clean and don’t pick up too much crap my wheels last well :) long live rim brakes haha
@@KatieKookaburra Indeed. Bring back the Penny Farthing, I say! 🤣👍
I always count, too...by 3s!
Ahhhh man I know that hill nasty well done, which wahoo model do u have??
Helen it’s a right cheeky little swine!! I have the Wahoo Roam :) cracking unit.
@@KatieKookaburra 🤣🤣 cheeky swine dam right there I couldn't do it super steep! cheers x
7mins 50 in... Music please?
Beautiful area remember it well
can you send the link to the route please? looks class, want to do it
It’s on my Strava - link in description box :)
I can’t see the description box to click on 🤔x
I am definitely stealing that idea of counting pedalstrokes on climbs.
Let us know how you get on :) works a treat for me!
So amazing and enjoying but make me homesick for Wales u lucky lass x
Ahhh will enjoy it for you Darrell :)
Wow, what camera do you use?
I used GoPro 9 and Sony ZV-1
@@KatieKookaburra thank you, your editing and videos are amazing.
Llanberis Pass is worth doing. Starts off easy then gradually gets steeper.
I forgot to say, it's long as well, about seven miles
Katie, I can relate to you counting on climbs although I don`t go as high as 50 !!! PS GREAT VLOG X
Ahhh it really works doesn’t it?!! Cheers Gary, glad you enjoyed!! :)
Strava live segments is brilliant, but I have the same reaction when it kicks in "ah shit" 🤣.
Every. Time. It’s the sound of ‘this is gonna hurt’
Nice editing Katie
Ahh cheers Orry :)
Riding around our playground there Katie, Gods country :-)
"Hundreds of sheep baaahhing , baaahhh " classic 👍
I watched it back and thought what the heck am I doing?!!! 😂😬🙄
I had to stop and have a lie down the first time I tried this, went out wayyy too hard. Tried again yesterday with more success, all about pacing yourself before the steep section.
Pacing is EVERYTHING but it’s a tough climb as it’s steep for such a long period
You pretend you're into climbing but really you're there for the sheep :)
You know it!! 🐑🐑🐑