A Great Climb by Bike
Le Col de la “ Shuang Jie Shan”
We may not have an Alpe D’Huez, a Galibier or a Mortirolo to satisfy our sadistic cravings for epic long-distance climbs. Nor do we have stunning Alpine scenery or quaint little stone chapels along the way. And I haven’t seen any names of cycling gods in white paint across the mountain roads. No “Allez Tom Boonen, Der Jan, or Go Lance” around every hairpin bend. At most we get a Mao-era slogan on the cliff-face or a meaningless “慢” (Go slow) sign. But to state that we are starved of a great climb would be dead wrong.
Most of us already know the climb starting just below the Huang Hua Great Wall. It is just 60-something km north from Pinnacle Plaza and a fairly quiet place to cycle. Of course it will take you 30 km of boring flats, an irregular 20km climb from the Xing Shou village at the bottom of the mountain to the scenic viewpoint and about 10 km of smooth valley road just to get there.
The climb is exactly 15,76km long. I start counting from the middle of the bridge next to the convenience store in the valley, and end my meter all the way at the top of the climb (right next to the road sign). There is no way to ascertain the height of the “col” or the average levee, so I take some estimated guesses. I think the top is at about 1300 meters, because the highest peak to the west of the climb is ca. 1500 meters.
I take the liberty of dividing the climb into three parts.
1. From km 0 to 8: The road passes the fantastic scenery of the Great Wall. Every time I look at it, the Wall and the lake become more beautiful. The climb is irregular with some sharp up-swings but mostly long steady “faux plats”. I reckon it has an average of 5% levee until your reach the wood-cutting farm at km 8.
2. From km 8 to km 12.5: Now the road becomes really strenuous. These 4.5 km will test you with an average levee of about 9-10%. Most painfully in my opinion is that you pass the villages during this section of the climb, so they can all see you inch your way forward with bewilderment in their eyes. And a laowai, and on a bike, and in a shiny uniform, and breathing like a horse… They shake their heads in honest disbelief. During these tough kilometers you find no real point to recover which makes it very difficult. From now on the roads start making quaint hairpin bends, worthy of an Alpine climb.
3. From km 12.5 until the top: The road now drops to a steady 7%. The scenery is spectacular on a clear day and the road twists and turns to the summit. The road is quiet but overall quite rough on the tyres. Provided you pay attention to the trucks or cars coming down the mountain (which you should hear them coming miles away), you can cut the corners like the pros. Some 2 km before the end the climb, the road has a steep section towards the concrete viewpoint platform. That is the last main punch of the mountain. Once past that point the road drops again to a tolerable levee.
I have done this climb over 10 times, most of them by myself against the clock. Here is my data for those interested:
Height: 188 cm
Weight (at the time of PB): 78kg
Bike: Trek 1000 (aluminium frame)
Gears used for the climb: 42 x 14, 16, 18, 21, 24
Personal Best (PB): 44’ 18’’.
Personal Worst: 57’
Average Speed over 16km: ≈ 21 kph.
Temperature that day: 24 degrees
By Tom Lanhove