With a lack of races, restrictions on travelling and riding with friends, many competitive cyclists looked for different, more personal challenges to take on. One such challenge which saw a large increase in attempts was Everesting. As the name suggests, this is a challenge that requires a rider to cycle up the equivalent height of Mount Everest (8848m). It is all to be done in one ride (breaks are allowed), and more importantly, it must be done as repetitive ascents of the same hill, over, and over, and over again!
Everesting ticked a lot of boxes for cyclists over the lockdown period – It can be done on your own, it can be done locally, and it can be done whenever you want. It also offers a significant challenge. It isn’t something the unprepared should just jump on a bike and attempt, and for those who do manage it, it becomes a definite badge of honor to be worn with great pride.
There have been a number of successful everesting attempts locally over the past year; there is something about the terrain in North Wales that seems to build good hill climbers! We caught up with Ross Howcroft-Jones, a local teacher, and asked him about his Everesting experience which is particularly interesting as he was so taken with the challenge that he decided to do it twice!
Ross’s first everesting attempt was on the Penrhyn side of the little Orme. Ross said “I live on the top of a small hill on the North Wales Coast. I’d been inspired by both the world record, and British record of Everesting and I wanted to give it a go. I decided it was going to have to be on my home hill, which is 0.2 miles with an average gradient of 8%.”
The little Orme may seem like a big hill to some, but compared to many of the climbs locally it is relatively short, so how many laps would Ross have to actually do?
“Originally I had calculated 270 laps. I started early, at 6.40am. I had amazing support all day with people watching and the community getting involved throughout the day. Two friends supported with the ride for the last 70 laps. With a time of 11hrs50 and 270 laps completed I thought I had finished, and whilst sipping a nice cold Guinness, I waited for the ride to upload to Strava. The bad news was, it wasn’t over. I had been cutting the segment short all day and missed around 3000ft (915m) of climbing from the route. I jumped back on my bike and had to complete an extra 35 laps, accumulating to 305 laps, and around 142 miles.”
Riding for a total of 13 hours and 45 minutes is a fantastic achievement just on the flat and it makes my knees ache just thinking about it. So, what was the hardest part?
“This was a real test on mental strength, but the support was incredible from those riding with me and spectating. I finished the extra 35 laps, submitted the two GPX files to @hells500 and they were both approved for the Everesting of Penrhyn Hill. A hill that is sentimental to me, and I certainly won’t forget that day. An incredible day and it’s amazing to see what the mind and body can do.”
Howcroft-Jones was hooked and decided that one successful attempt was not enough. The other official way to record an “Everesting” is on a Turbo trainer, linked to the training app Zwift. This is known as “vEveresting” Using your normal bike, the differences may seem minimal, but that isn’t the case. For those who haven’t used a fix bike turbo trainer I should emphasise how much we move around when riding our bikes normally, without even noticing it. With a turbo trainer this movement is severely restricted, there is no side-to-side movement at all, and this can make long sessions on a turbo trainer particularly uncomfortable! The benefits, however, as we shall hear from Ross far out way this in a very personal way.
“As a teacher I am privileged to be given 6 weeks off each summer which in recent years has been used as an extended training camp on the bike. This year has been a particularly tough year and period for my family. Unfortunately, my Mum wasn’t able to see my Everest on Penrhyn Side due to her ongoing illness; so after my 6 week training block I booked in for a vEveresting in her garden so she could watch.”
This attempt Ross was aiming at a bigger prize, as simply completing the challenge wasn’t enough!
“The British record stood at 10 hours and 40 minutes set by Cameron Jeffers, I had set a target to beat this. With Zwift having no external factors affecting it, I found the effort a much more sustainable one, sitting at an average of 3.6w/kg up the climb completing each lap at around 52 minutes with a descent timed at exactly 10 minutes. I used the 10 minutes to refresh, eat and hydrate. This was the plan all day for the 8.5 laps. For 7 laps, I was holding a consistent power and feeling good.”
Power, measured in Watts, compared to rider weight is how Zwift compares individual riders and it is a vital piece of information for most modern racers. Holding 3.6w/kg is no mean feat, so it is no surprise that Howcroft-Jones’s legs started to feel the burn!
“On the 8th lap it caught up with me. With time in the bag I used this as my legs began to sting and completed the last lap and a half at an average of 3.1w/kg and finished with a time of 9 hours and 40 minutes 132 miles, 29,199 feet of climbing to take the British record.”
Now that is a fantastic achievement! So how did the two attempts compare?
“The vEverest was a completely different experience as everyone could be involved at all times. Usually during an Everest people would have to ride their bikes to be part of it, but my family and friends visited the garden as I completed the challenge and shared the full day with me. Although not everyone’s preferred way to ride a bike, I found this way of sharing it with everyone a fulfilling experience and something I would highly recommend.”
If you have read this and are thinking of giving it a go, please let us know. Although Everesting may not be everyone’s cup of tea, we can all find appropriate challenges on the bike and sensible goals to set ourselves. How about a half Everesting? Or finally making it up that tricky hill near you without having to stop? Riding a certain total distance for the year? Or just simply getting out on your bike more.
Whatever it is you plan for your cycling this year, we wish you the best of luck.
