An adaptation to the plan...

When I started out on this I set up the list of climbs based on keeping everything west of easting 57 on the OS maps. There were reasons - but they have to go...

Given that New Road, Draycott is closed I went hunting for the last of the 25 climbs on the map. Initially I put in a route up Dundry Hill from the Bristol side but I was never satisfied that this was a good choice. The start off the A38 seemed rather arbitrary, the A38 climbs from Bristol up to this point. To do the whole climb would mean cycling up that - which is a horrid road for biking in the Bristol area. Further, if the route was to be started from Bristol then somehow that felt as though it was out of area. I went hunting again.

I found an interesting looking hill rising through Butcombe running more or less parallel to the route we did from Lye Hole. That set alarm bells ringing though as readers will remember that the lane in question was hardly fit for cycling. I went to investigate - the new route was at least as bad and I can't think you'd thank me for sending you up another thin lane with a poor surface. Cutting that out left me with a problem, no more suitable hills in the area that don't have the same 'really suitable for very thin mountain bikes attraction'. 

So rethink. If we allow the area to include the whole of the Weston-super-Mare OS map area (OS182) then the perfectly pleasant run up Littondale followed by the admittedly less pleasant completion up the A39 (nowhere near as horrid as the A38) comes into play. So that's my answer. All the climbs have to fulfil the following criteria: -

• They need to start, finish and be wholly contained on the OS182 map.
• They need to climb 100m plus.
• They need to qualify for a Tour de France category.
• They should not be on lanes which have degenerated to become mountain bike territory on the steep sections where control of the bike could be seriously affected in the presence of traffic.

Regular readers will remember that there have been two other climbs with thin, parallel track type sections being the route up Shipham Lane and Highfield Lane out of Compton Martin. The first route could be started avoiding the narrow section by leaving Winscombe village eastwards on the A371 (fine for cycling) and then turing left on the A38 a Sidcot lights. This would provide a route of just about height gain and length. The other route, Highfield Lane, is more of an issue and, frankly, I stand by the warnings I gave a the time and the comment that Harptree Hill is a much better route up the same challenge. Having said all that, the surface wasn't so bad that it provided a threat to the tyres - so it can stay. Just! As for Lye Hole; again - it never threatened the tyres in the way the roads around Butcombe would and everyone needs a little adventure from time to time...

DP