• Ranmoor Park Road
• Length: 0.26 miles
• Avg gradient: 10.3%   Peak gradient: 14%
• Difficulty: 3/5
• Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
• Elevation gain: 142ft
• Strava

It’s like the evil twin of the neighbouring Ranmoor Crescent. This road has all the climbing but none of the forgiving bends. It’s a straight up (literal and figurative) stinker.

You begin, just off Fulwood Road, by the Ranmoor Inn. As the road curves around the church you’re immediately into a dead straight 10% climb. To add insult to injury, as you slowly climb up the hill, the gradient gently increases, peaking out at about 14% as you pass Tapton Park Road. At this point, it definitely feels harder than you expect.

Keep on peddling and you’ll soon reach the sweeping left hand bend where the gradient drops down to 7.5%, and you pass Ranmoor Crescent. Grind on a short distance more until the end of the segment and then, when you reach it, ask yourself why you didn’t just ride up Ranmoor Crescent instead?

• urban