Tircreven Road

There are very few climbs where after years of cycling it still feels like a towering achievement reaching the summit without stopping. An alternative and perhaps less well- known approach to Binevenagh mountain compared to Bishops Road, Tircreven is ludicrous.

Every single time you cycle it, you’re left gasping at the top like you’re about to take your final breath. It never really gets easier.

There are false peaks where you think it’s about to end and it doesn’t, you’re out of the saddle from early on, and the entire one-mile stretch is about as straight as a climb of this gradient is ever going to be.

Just when you think you’ve finished, a false flat appears around the corner for the final 200 metres to the finish line. But it’s not flat. And it’s really exposed. And your legs ache.

For most mortals, the climb is 10-15 minutes of just clinging on. You have been warned!