Tag: 0.75-1 mile

Rutland and Cooks Wood Roads

  • Rutland and Cooks Wood Roads
  • Length: 0.84 miles
  • Avg gradient: 7.7%   Peak gradient: 12.1%
  • Difficulty: 3/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 5/5
  • Elevation gain: 340ft
  • Strava 

Pre-bike, I often used to commute this way, so Rutland Road was one of my earliest introductions to what Sheffield hills are like – even though I was in the car. As a consequence, this hill had a slightly foreboding reputation (in my head at least) and it was a while before I tackled it. When I finally did, and managed to beat it, it felt like a real achievement. However, it was a long time until I added Cooks Wood Road on the end.

Starting under the railway bridge, the road stretches far up ahead of you, although you’ll probably not be able to see it for all the cars. This is not a quiet climb and you will get some form of aggressive motor vehicle pass you. The photos here were all taken at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown and I still got close-passed. You won’t ever see the road it as quiet at this otherwise.

For the first third, it’s a fairly steady 9-10%, with not much to look at except a large variety of industrial units, so just head down and try not to get hit by a grumpy motorist. As you reach Parkwood Springs and the Sea Cadet Corps, on your right, the road flattens for a short run to the traffic lights.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a red and can have a legitimate breather before taking the left turn onto Cooks Wood Road. You’re straight into the climb again and although it never gets more than 2% steeper than Rutland, Cooks Wood Road feels a lot more challenging. There’s no obvious landmarks but near the bus stop, the road ramps up and you’ll need to drop into that lower gear for another 0.1 mile, until you pass the entrance for Parkwood Springs on your left (an old style 1:9 gradient sign still remains on the other side of the road). The Strava segment continues for another 350 yards or so but once you’re here, you’ve done the heavy lifting.

Hopefully you made it up in one piece and, if you fancy a change of tempo, you could always ride the Parkwood Springs MTB track back downhill.

Whiteley Wood Road and Common Lane

  • Whiteley Woods Road and Common Lane
  • Length: 0.88 miles
  • Avg gradient: 6.6%   Peak gradient: 12%
  • Difficulty: 3/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 3/5
  • Elevation gain: 308 ft
  • Strava

This is a utilitarian climb, in that it sole function is pretty much to get you out of suburbia, towards the Peak District. At the top, you’re on the edge of the countryside, ready to discover some absolutely lovely views.

The climb begins after a quick descent on Whitely Woods Road as it cuts through the woods themselves. The climb begins as you cross over the Porter Brook but it’s nothing serious here, as the gradient remains in the low single figures until you reach Wire Mill Dam. As the road curves left, the gradient creeps up but it still remains in single figures, where it stays for the short, straight section to the next bend.

The battle begins after you follow the road round the bend. It’s only 0.2 miles but it’s a slog. It gets slowly steeper as you grind up, hitting a peak of a 10.5% just before the cattery. However, the challenge here is more psychological than physical because the hill is so straight and with slightly boring fields either side there’s not much to look at on your way.

When you’re past the cattery, the road bends left once more and you’re well on your way to the apex as, shortly after, you turn onto Common Lane. From here, with every pedal, the gradient drops away and you find yourself at the start of Ringinglow Road, ready to get out to the Peaks.

Tom Lane

  • Tom Lane
  • Length: 0.76 miles 
  • Avg gradient: 8%   Peak gradient: 12.9%
  • Difficulty: 3/5
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 1/5
  • Strava 

A nondescript, residential road in the leafier end of Sheffield, I was surprised to see that, statistically this hill is actually not that different from the far more imposing Lodge Lane.  Tom Lane is not as hard as that but it does have a couple of spikes along the way and, for the sake of this segment, a surprising little twist in its tail.  I’ve worked around here quite a bit and would regularly see a mum cycling up here with a child on the back of her bike.  Strava kudos to her for that.

Tom Lane starts innocently enough, opposite the junior school, with a gradient fluctuating around the 4-5% mark, as you climb the first couple of bends.  As you pass house number 74, however, the road straightens up, gets steeper and the hill’s first challenge is laid in front of you.  The hill is now around 12% and you feel each percentage as you pedal up to a large stone cottage at the junction of Belgrave Drive.  It is slightly less steep now but you’re still plodding upwards.

Follow the road, ignoring any junctions and continue round, first a left bend and then a right.  This little section here, for me, feels the hardest part of the road section.  There isn’t a significant increase in gradient but the approach to the right-hand bend – and the bend itself – really makes you feel like you’re dragging your bike.

You’ll soon reach a T-junction, turn right and continue upwards on what, once again, feels steeper than it is.  Take the next left (the road you turn onto remains Tom Lane) and head up this narrower section of road, often with numerous parked cars on either side.  You’ll shortly come to a brief section of 5% as you round a few more bends and pass Hillcote Close on your left. It’s here that you’re going to find that surprising twist in Tom Lane’s tail.

As you pass the steps with a handrail, on the left, instead of sticking to the road, wiggle round onto what looks like a footpath (there are no signs saying cycling in prohibited and it even has a Tom Lane road sign at the bottom so I’m sure it’s legal).  It’s this brief bumpy section that pulls the average up and my recording of this part puts the gradient between 17-22%. However, your fancy road bike might not like the surface.  It’s only short, though, and you’ll soon reach Redmires Road and the golf club.

Well done, you’ve just made it up a modest yet surprisingly challenging hill. Which is exactly what a Sheffield cycling climb should be.

Woodcliffe & Hangram Lane

  • Woodcliffe & Hangram Lane
  • Length: 0.81 miles
  • Avg gradient: 8%   Peak gradient: 22.8%
  • Difficulty: 3/5 (steep but not too long)
  • Likelihood of encountering unpleasant motor-vehicles: 2/5
  • Strava  (Strava gets the hill’s topography incorrect. It appears as if there is a far longer flat stretch between the two climbs than there really is).

Woodcliffe and Hangram Lane is another route out of the suburbs to the edge of the Peak District but I was surprised to learn that it’s only 0.8 miles, as it feels much longer.  At its peak, you’ll join Ringinglow Road, about half-way up.  However, that hill will seem like a walk in the park once you’ve climbed this one.

The hill begins gently as the road crosses the Porter Brook but immediately picks up as it passes Clough Lane and curves around to the left. This is the hardest part of the climb and where the gradient quickly slips into double figures.  Do your best to dig in here, as this short straight section maintains its steepness until the next corner where the gradient touches the low 20s.

There is a brief blast of flat terrain before you turn right, onto Hangram Lane, where the road begins to climb once more.  You’ll pass a couple of houses before the the trees begin to drop away, revealing open farmland on either side.

Even though you’ve done the steepest bit and here the road is only averaging 7-9%, I always find this section more challenging as it feels more relentless.  Once you’re past the farm shop though, the end is in sight and you’ll shortly reach Ringinglow Road, where you can head downhill into Sheffield or upwards out into the Peak District.