Everesting

A new word or term has crept into my vocabulary. Everesting.

It could be taken to mean a few things at its face value.

Feeling pretty tired after a busy period at work I would appreciate a long period of relaxation and, well, doing nothing much at all. Ever Resting

Alternatively, I could be avoiding constant pestering phone calls from a well known double glazing manufacturer trying the hard sell for its Upvc window products. Everest-ing.

Rather tenuously it could be having a lazy time the day before a major celebration event. Eve-Resting.

In fact the derivation of the word is obviously from the world's highest mountain but relates to a new endurance challenge where cyclists perform multiple ascents of a single hill, any single hill or incline nationally or in their local area to achieve an accumulated elevation equivalent to that of Mount Everest itself.

Ever-seeking new personal bests or standards this newish  pursuit  just follows on from the ultra but casually competitive process started by the wide availability of handlebar mounted or mobile phone global positioning systems. These  allow cyclists to post times for ascents, descents or just old fashioned average speeds everywhere and anywhere and with no apparent shortage of those willing to take on and beat them.

The basic rules for Everesting are
1) You can only use of a single stretch of road
2) It must comprise one single effort with only short breaks
3)No sleeping in between exertions
4) There must be a means to upload and verify the effort using the Strava App.

I say 'newish' in relation to using a bicycle but the roots of Everesting go back to 1994.

The grandson of George Mallory, a British Explorer who tragically disappeared on the mountain in 1924 when attempting to become the first person to reach the summit, completed ten ascents of Mount Donna Buang in Australia to make up the equivalent height in a training exercise.

An Australian, a national trait being competitiveness, caught on with the idea of emulating Mallory Junior's regime and completed the first ride of its type about 18 months ago.

Setting a challenge brings forth foolhardy but enthusiastic individuals and just this month a cyclist from California set a world record in ascending nearly 96,000 feet or more than three times the height of Mount Everest in a continuous 48 hours and utilising 30,000 calories to fuel muscles, tendons and limbs.

UK based riders have taken on well known routes including Horseshoe Pass in Wales, the London Olympic road race route on Box Hill, Surrey and Great Dun Fell, Cumbria to set records.

The Welsh mountain was ascended 26 times with each climb lasting 35 minutes and compensated for with a five minute freewheel back to the start line, in all taking 17 hours.

Box Hill, a wicked winding tree lined route on which I stood with my family to see the Women's Olympic Event in 2012, took up 22 hours to do 72 ascents with 10 minute breaks every hour.

It took 14 rides up the grizzled Cumbrian Fell to complete the challenge, a touching tribute by the participating cyclist whose planned expedition to Nepal had been cancelled following the earthquake. It was used to raise funds for three friends who had unfortunately perished under the huge avalanches which swept away large parts of the lower slopes of the Himalayan Range.

Although I live on a flat, flood plain I do have a nemesis in the form of a steep hill on one of my favourite bike training routes.

It is a bitter sweet experience going up Spout Hill, Brantingham.

Bitter because it is a 1000 foot climb over about one third of a mile and sweet because the ashes of my late father were scattered in the verge about half way up and passing that point serves to sustain and encourage me in not just the effort of the ride but everything in my life.

If I were inclined (!) to take on the challenge of an equivalent top of the world climb then I would have to struggle up Spout Hill at least 94 times.

The saying "Sod that for a game of soldiers " springs to mind at the thought of such a thing.

The attraction of Everesting will no doubt persist as it is a tangible endurance event but yet is well within the capabilities and stamina of a high proportion of regular and enthusiastic riders.

Any hill or slight incline could be used for the operation of the 4 golden rules, either an actual bona fide hill, hump-backed bridge, gentle slope in a residential street or an off ramp to a main road.

I admire anyone who has done such as thing or is contemplating it as some time as long as they are able to cope with the sheer boredom of ploughing up and down the same stretch of road for hour upon hour.