The way points of this bicycle route:
This is the steepest section of road in Britain: a genuine 1-in-3. The North York Moors are a spectacular place to ride, with loads of challenging climbs, but Chimney Bank is the steepest (toughest? see Hardknott & Wrynose passes)
Heading south out of Rosedale Abbey you are almost immediately into the climb, which is wide open and exposed. Less than a mile (1.6km) to the top, but the leg strain will make it feel longer.
The gradient is steep and steady from the start, and the climb has a strange feel to it. It clings to the edge of the hill like you could fall backwards off it. Slowly heading upwards it weaves slightly before heading into a sharp bend, which is the steepest part of the ride.
This is why they call it the steepest climb in Britain: the short stretch from the bend to the summit, which will test your chain and your legs to their limits. You may find you have to weave to keep going. After that it eases off onto the gentle roads over the summit onto Spaunton Moor.
The climb has featured in numerous Tours of Britain, and has always proved a shocking stumbling block for Continental riders who have simply not expected or experienced anything quite so steep.
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
Tagged with: Training, Onroad, Smooth, Steep, Difficult, Low traffic, Safe, Scenic
