Mullaghanish - Ballyvourney

Climbed this today. Nice 3km or so climb upto the gate. Luckily a farmer was heading up in his jeep at the same time, so he oped the gate to let me thru. Then the interesting bit begins. Short sharp hairpin after hairpin. The average says 10% from here, but I am not sure. My Garmin recorded 14-16% frequently. The raod surface is actually pretty decent for such a climb in Ireland. The most difficult part of the climb is the very wide cattle grids. I needed to slow completely to stop in order to cross. When you are a poor climber this really disrupts momentum. At one stage I had to hunt almost 100 sheep off the road in order to proceed. The view from the upper reaches is fantatsic. Carantouhil and Kerry to my right and Cork to my left. Tough but hugely rewarding climb. Very few climbs in Ireland have the combination of length and gradient.

My personal climb rating:

Climbed this from Cork City in mid September on a mild wind-free afternoon (in Ballyvourney!). Returning to cycling after a prolonged sickness, Id been eagerly pushing myself way beyond my capabilities, a trend which mellowed as I descended this peach with my brake pads on fire. As you leave the village, the first few clcks are very forgiving, but, like with the whole climb, the gradients change greatly over very short distances. The dreamlike deciduous forest gives way in a matter of seconds to an unsettling exposed bog-tundra. At this point, the road swings up the first steep snap, though the real fun begins after the security gate. There is hardly a better example of my compatriots inability to build proper hairpins, as the turns basically point the road straight up the slope. There are two brief stretches (around the cattle-grids, or more appropriately, sheep-grids) where you can get a bona fide rest, probably around 6 or 7%. However, the bumpy surface, probable howling winds and weresheep (ok, made the last bit up) make this an agony to savour. With luck, youll be able to see the sea beyond west Cork 50k away and everything in between.

My personal climb rating:

I reckon that regarding this climb as starting in Ballyvourney is a gross undersell. At the entrance to the private service road to the RTÉ transmitter you have to dismount and lift your bike over a relatively high security fence. This takes time, especially if theres a group of riders. So surely the security fence is the real start of the climb. From it, you ascend 375 metres in just 3.58 km travelled which works out at 10.5% average.

My personal climb rating: