Generally, the steeper the gradient the more it’s going to hurt to get up it. That pain, in the case of “the kicker” for example, can be mercifully short-lived or it can just go on & on seemingly forever, like “the long drag”.
Sometimes “the long drag” doesn’t need to be that steep to earn its’ reputation as being awful, and my primary example demonstrates this phenomenon perfectly.
The ‘king’ of the local “long drag” climbs has to be Cragg Vale.
Now I know what you’re thinking – 3.2% average, that doesn’t sound daunting at all!
And you’d be right, apart from when you take the weather into consideration. The first half of the climb kicks up to about 8% as it winds up the side of the valley through trees & dwellings with picture postcard views of the glorious greens of the Yorkshire countryside… it can feel pretty unpleasant, but there’s plenty of beautiful scenery to distract you… it then drops back to a sub-3% average as you hit the exposed moorland on the top half.
On a bad day this is where the climb truly begins. On the first half you’re somewhat protected from the headwind by the gradient but once you hit the open moorland it can be brutal and ‘in your face’ for the rest of the hill. The first time I went up was an early Sunday morning one February and it felt truly horrific… a sub-zero, biting headwind; driving, freezing rain; the moorland & verges had a covering of snow and the road was a patchwork of icy puddles. That first attempt took me 42+ minutes including a 5 minute stop to have a little cry 😉 I subsequently always check the wind speed & direction before going up there nowadays…
I’ve obviously done it in better weather since and have finally learned to embrace -even enjoy- it. The key to the long drag is not to blow yourself out early on; steady away, go at tempo if you can, and keep something back for when you finally, triumphantly, roll over the top.
Benchmark time amongst us amateurs up Cragg is 30 minutes; the quick lads are low-20s, and the myth & legend is that Bradley Wiggins was doing hill repeats before the TdF Yorkshire stage (way back when) in 14 minutes…
A ‘long drag’ can go on much longer of course, but this one gets a mention because it is a genuine half hour uphill.