Climbing Mt Rumney

This is the fourth post of a series on some of the great road cycling climbs around Hobart. You can be notified of new posts in the series by following me on Twitter.  The order of these climbs is completely my own whimsy.  No doubt you’ll disagree with me: leave a comment to tell me what I got wrong.  Maybe I’ll see you out on one of these climbs?

I recently rediscovered Mt Rumney on a lovely spring lunch ride. Mt Rumney is on the Eastern shore of the Derwent River in Hobart, and is accessed via old Cambridge Rd from Mornington. The climb starts with a brief (and if you want, blisteringly fast) climb up Tunnel Hill, and then turns right onto Mt Rumney Rd at the very crest of the hill. From here, the road has a varying gradient, but is never overly steep, and winds its narrow way around both sides of the hill, alternating between views of Seven Mile Beach and the airport, and Hobart, the Derwent River, and Mt Wellington. Whatever point you are at though, the road is smooth, and the climb is great!

Tunnel Hill is named after the tunnel that was built under it as part of the short-lived Bellerive-Sorell Railway.  The tunnel is not visible from the road but is easy to find.

The last kilometre of the climb is dirt, and some riders prefer to turn at the end of the tarmac (especially if you’ve been smashing it up the climb!) but it is definitely worth riding those last few metres for the views at the top. And for the telco tower.  The dirt section is a bit steeper, averaging 10%, but not particularly difficult.  When I rode up recently, it was pretty smooth and no trouble on a road bike.  Did I mention good views from the summit?

The descent is fast and windy and therefore fun, but because the road is quite narrow and sight lines are not great, it is important to be careful of oncoming cars.

Your Challenge: Ride the entire climb at a cadence of 100 (I don’t care which gear)

In my next post, you’ll find one of the most frequented climbs in Hobart…

The start of Tunnel Hill

Tunnel hill is a short, windy ascent

First glimpse of Mt Rumney Rd

The tunnel which Tunnel Hill is named after passes under the intersection with Mt Rumney Rd

One of many views, this one south I think

Quiet woods

The tarmac ends: the climb gets interesting from here

The dirt is pretty smooth, no trouble on a road bike

The telco towers at the top.  Not very interesting, huh?

Fantastic views from the summit

Looking out over Acton Park and Cambridge

North towards Coal Valley (lots of great cycling roads there)

Amazing views of Hobart and Mt Wellington

Other posts in this series:

• #10: The Domain (Carriage Drive)
• #9: Nelson Rd
• #8: Longley – Neika
• #6: Strickland Ave
• #5: Grasstree Hill
• #4: Collinsvale Rd
• #3: Bonnet Hill
• #2: Waterworks
• #1: Mt Wellington (from Fern Tree)

Huon Rd: what’s around the next corner?

This is the third post of a series on some of the great road cycling climbs around Hobart. You can be notified of new posts in the series by following me on Twitter.  The order of these climbs is completely my own whimsy.  No doubt you’ll disagree with me: leave a comment to tell me what I got wrong.  Do go and ride these climbs 🙂

Now for the climb! Longley International Hotel is a famous little pub at the base of this climb. The pub features as the starting point for the annual Wellington Challenge time trial to the summit of Mt Wellington, a 1100m climb, with the current record holder being Richie Porte, who did the climb in 2008 in 49:51, with an astonishing average speed of 25.43 km/h. In this post I only look at the first third of the climb, as the Mt Wellington climb itself will be a separate post.

The climb from Longley to Neika is very pleasant, low traffic, with mostly farmland scenery just starting to edge into the mountain forests as you approach the top. The climb is not particularly steep, averaging 5.7%, but it is long enough at 5.5km that you’ll have to work to make it to the top. The turnoff to Leslie Vale is roughly at the 40% point, which makes a nice milestone. Until you reach this corner, your views will be focused on the North West Bay River valley as it winds its way around the back of the Wellington plateau from Wellington Falls down to the sea.

After the turn-off, you continue climbing on the other side of the ridge. The views are now massive vistas of Storm Bay and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel between the Tasmanian mainland and Bruny Island. I particularly enjoy the two corners which have a divider in the centre of the road; they are also great waypoints and once I pass the second one, I know I am near the top of the climb. The gradient is relatively consistent, until a slightly steeper ramp at the very end as you approach the old Neika Schoolhouse.

I can’t think of much more enjoyable riding than this climb on a sunny summer morning!

This road is also wonderful for descending, without any overly steep corners and a decent surface. Just watch out for damp shaded sections and leaves, even in summer.  (Note: roadworks in recent weeks has trashed the surface and left lots of mud on the road…  I hope they clean up their mess.)

Your Challenge: ride this climb entirely over your heart rate anaerobic threshold.

Coming up in my next post, a climb that is not in the foothills of Mt Wellington…

Longley Pub (or Longley International Hotel)

The valley at the base of the climb

Your climb starts here!

The first third of the climb is lined with sparse gums

Leslie Rd to the right will take you towards Kingston

The climb continues

If you are taking it easy, enjoy the views.  If you are trying to beat Richie’s record, here’s a view that you missed…

And more views

Evening light

Onward and upward

Lots of shaded (damp) corners

Waterfall on the way

Near the top here!

And there’s the crest!  Sprint!

The climb in winter — a little more treacherous!

Early morning descent

Descending Huon Rd with my daughter

Other posts in this series:

• #10: The Domain (Carriage Drive)
• #9: Nelson Rd
• #7: Mt Rumney
• #6: Strickland Ave
• #5: Grasstree Hill
• #4: Collinsvale Rd
• #3: Bonnet Hill
• #2: Waterworks
• #1: Mt Wellington (from Fern Tree)

Bend 3 of the 7 famous hairpins.

This is the second post of a series on some of the great road cycling climbs around Hobart. You can be notified of new posts in the series by following me on Twitter.  I have ordered these climbs according to my own preference.  No doubt you’ll disagree with me: just tell me in the comments!  I hope this will inspire you to go and ride these climbs 🙂

Enough blather, what about the climb?  I was in two minds as to whether or not I’d include Nelson Rd in this catalogue of climbs. It is quite a suburban road, and doesn’t have the quiet back road feel of most of the other climbs around Hobart that I’ve chosen for my top 10. However, the road has some unique and fun features, particularly 7 hairpin bends, and it is also well suited to a tempo style climb for each straight. This allows you to build up a nice rhythm with a high tempo run to each corner, out of the saddle to power around the hairpin, and then back on the seat and into your previous cadence on the next straight. Unfortunately, the lumpy road surface does throw your rhythm as you bump over driveway ramps, but I guess that’s all part of the fun!

I mark the start of this climb at the intersection between Churchill Ave and Nelson Rd, although Nelson Rd does start down at the Casino at sea level. The section of the climb between the Casino and Churchill Ave has a lot of traffic and the intersection with Churchill Ave is a hassle because of the traffic, so I’ve excluded that from the climb.

As I said above, the best features of Nelson Rd are the seven hairpin bends, which make great waypoints on the climb. Although after Bend 4 one starts to lose track and there’s always a bend or two more than you hope!  In future years, no doubt these will be commemorated with the names of famous cyclists who have conquered this climb.  I think I’d like to have Bend 3 (pictured above); you can claim one of the other ones.

After the seventh bend, marked by two big water tanks, you crest onto the “plateau” of the hill and follow the climb, which continues at the same gradient, albeit without all the zigzagging, to the finish at the intersection with Olinda Grove. This section of the climb is not very interesting but you will need to keep the power on all the way to the very end if you want to take the KOM in Strava!  (I should mention that the KOM is currently mine and I’d like to keep it that way, okay?)

Take a left at the end to ride to Mt Nelson Signal Station for incredible views over south eastern Tasmania (definitely recommended) and coffee. Turn right to take the quick way down on Proctor’s Rd. Or if you are crazy, down the Southern Outlet.

Your Challenge: ride 3 repeats in a lunch break

The next post describes a climb with a very different feel…

Nelson Rd: the climb starts here.  Bend 1 is immediately ahead

Nelson Rd is made up of long straights, and …

… Hairpin bends.  This is Bend 2

Lumpy driveways to negotiate ahead

Pleasant scenes on the climb

Bend 3

And another long straight!  Keep that tempo going

Bend 4!

More trees provide some shade

Bend 5…  Two to go.

Bend 6 ahead

Gardens to distract from the pain

Bend 7, no more hairpins after this, just a slog to the top

And here’s the top

You can ride back down Proctor’s Rd — take it easy though, it’s busy!

Other posts in this series:

• #10: The Domain (Carriage Drive)
• #8: Longley – Neika
• #7: Mt Rumney
• #6: Strickland Ave
• #5: Grasstree Hill
• #4: Collinsvale Rd
• #3: Bonnet Hill
• #2: Waterworks
• #1: Mt Wellington (from Fern Tree)

Carriage Drive on The Domain

This is the first post of a series on some of the great road cycling climbs around Hobart. You can be notified of new posts in the series by following me on Twitter.  I have ordered these climbs according to my own preference.  No doubt you’ll disagree with me: just tell me in the comments!  I hope this will inspire you to go and ride these climbs 🙂

Onto the climb!  The Domain is a great little climb within 5 minutes ride of the city centre. My friends and I use it for doing repeats. The climb starts at the bottom of Carriage Drive, a smooth little one way road that winds its way up the Domain. Be aware that the road becomes two-way half way up the climb.  Initially a gentle gradient, the climb lures you into a pace of up to or even over 30 km/h, until you round a bend half way up and the gradient triples! This is guaranteed to pour that lactate pain in as you drop through the gears.

But immediately after the steep pinch, the road levels out for a couple hundred metres, where no doubt you’ll work hard to put the pace back on again. On reaching a 4 way intersection, turn right (don’t forget traffic in your pain-induced haze), and follow the curves in the second half of the climb around to the summit of the hill. Keep following the road straight round the circle at the top, and back down the hill, then roll round to the bottom of Carriage Drive to do it all again!

See if you can fit in 5 repeats in a lunch break!  Coming up in my next post, a climb that zigs and zags…

Your climb starts here

Continuing up the hill

Governor’s digs on your right

Watch for traffic as you fly through this intersection

Round past the sports grounds

Turn right here

Road surface is a bit rougher now

Almost there!

The top of the climb

Other posts in this series:

• #9: Nelson Rd
• #8: Longley – Neika
• #7: Mt Rumney
• #6: Strickland Ave
• #5: Grasstree Hill
• #4: Collinsvale Rd
• #3: Bonnet Hill
• #2: Waterworks
• #1: Mt Wellington (from Fern Tree)