Slower the better in charity hill climb with a difference
CYCLISTS took their time to tackle a new challenge yesterday, flipping a typical hill climb format on its head.
Competitors were challenged to cycle up a narrow lane at Portelet as slowly as possible while maintaining forward momentum to raise money for Male Uprising Guernsey.
‘It’s turned out really well, there’s a good reception here today and we’ve had a steady trickle of competitors,’ said organiser Saxon Brewer-Marchant.
‘The competitive atmosphere is starting to come out now, and people are doing the climb several times to try and beat their own records.’
There were different categories for competitors based on the type and style of their bike.
St Jon took on the challenge on his cargo bike which contained his one-year-old daughter Tiggy as a passenger.
‘It’s tricky and definitely tougher than I thought,’ he said.
‘And it was much harder to turn with the child’s seat on the front.’
He completed the challenge in just over eight minutes and then lent his bike to a friend to attempt.
Despite a collision with a hedge on his first attempt causing him to put his foot on the floor, Edward Moyse managed the climb in 18 min 45 sec and beat the current record at the time which was 16 minutes.
Another competitor, Sylwester Evans, did the climb in 11 min 45 sec.
His tactic was to slalom up the bendy path as much as possible.
‘It was much tougher than I was expecting,’ he said.
‘I was a couple of metres from the end and I nearly stacked it in the hedge, so had to rush the last bit to stay balanced.’
The event was set up to raise awareness of a charity event being put on in June by Mug, the charity which focuses on male cancers and general well-being, in which participants will cycle from Venice to Ventoux in a 1,000km eight-day challenge.
The aim is to raise £5,000 for Mug, and Mr Brewer-Marchant said that they are currently about 25% of the way there.
