That's Ranmore Common Road. Perhaps my favourite hill to ride - even though a "favourite" is difficult to describe, as such. With hills, the ones you love, tend to also be the ones you fear, slightly. When you start your ascent, there's always a voice in the back of your mind - "do I have to do this today?", that little bubbling feeling of self-doubt. It's always balanced by the feeling of achievement, once you arrive at the top. Ranmore is one of those.
It's a deceptive hill, the first section is quite easy - no more than 6%, gradual, and relatively straight. The hedges are high, the verge is steep. You quickly realise you're being funnelled along. After passing a couple of farm buildings, and some paddocks, the woods appear. As soon as you hit the tree line, there's a subtle change. The gradient ticks up, and it feels like the hill is getting warmed up.
In the photo above, you might just detect a slight bend to the left, in the distance. That's where the ramps kick in. There's a couple, about two-thirds of the way in, the first is almost imperceptible, the second more pronounced. But they're enough to mess with your rhythm - and if you've gone off too hard, they'll bite you.
You can see them on this Veloviewer profile of the hill - those two little orange bands. But then, once you're done with the ramps, everything rears up, even more. That kick to the left is the final hairpin, by which point the hill is at around 12%, perhaps a little more. The hairpin also tends to foul up your climbing rhythm and cadence, as it seeks to throw you in one of two directions. The first is to the very inside of the curve, where the gradient will momentarily be ridiculously steep. It'll pass within seconds, but those seconds will do all they can to sap your momentum. Or, you'll head for the wider outside of the bend, where the gradient is much kinder. However, this wastes time, and you'll be fighting the urge to catch up with any other riders - when an extra burst of energy is least advised. The last section is a grim sprint to the top, where the trees part, and you emerge by the top of Denbies vineyard.
When I first rode the hill, it must have been six or seven years ago. I went up in nine minutes, and I'm fairly sure I had to stop and compose myself, momentarily, before attempting the hairpin. Since committing fully to my cycling, and my training, I've made a more concerted effort to improve my skills. Looking at my stats, I've been up Ranmore around forty-five times in the last twelve months - about once a week. There have been times where I've pushed it, too; one week in spring, I decided to concentrate on getting my time down, and had a week of repeats. I focused heavily on the last third of the hill, trying to work out where to put the power down. Eventually, I found the Strava segment needed, and gave it everything I had. Now, my time up Ranmore Common Road is a little over six minutes. I can't quite believe the change, but then again - it has come at the end of a process of quite single-minded determination.
Ranmore, I'll be back.
