Here’s a charming little feature on the British Hill Climb Championship produced by Hunt Wheels. The British cycling tradition has this way of reducing a thing to it’s most painful elements. They have a history littered with time trials and hill climbs, and part of me (To be fair, I also hold British citizenship) thinks they’re just nuts. I wouldn’t be signing up for any of this stuff.
But.
This video makes it look good, makes it seem a little romantic. Because another thing the Brits do well is create platforms for amateur athletes to explore the inner reaches of their own capacity for suffering. See Fell Running, also.
So sit back, pour a Friday cup of coffee, and enjoy the abnormal psychology and perverse love of pain of a bunch of British lunatics.
My favorite, albeit less fancy and professional, is our local sufferfest, the passport2pain.
It’s even on an island.
https://www.passport2pain.org/
From the course descriptions
“We offer four courses of increasing difficulty: The Tourist, The Weenie, The Weasel, and The Idiot. 12 to 80 miles; 800 to 10,000 feet of vertical. Something for everyone! You are welcome to adjust your ambitions as the day unfolds; there are plenty of shortcuts to the P2P Barbecue.”