Adding a bat-box should fix it. It'll let you ride up no problem. Also, if you're using the same pole to move up and down, you'll find that once you get it working, you'll only be able to go up. You could just take off your boots, but having a separate, unpowered pole next to the powered one makes for smoother travel. Or you could just use trampolines (for downwards travel), but that's a personal preference.
As for powering it, I've found using 4 water-mills and a bat-box makes for a nice "fire and forget" setup. Yes, it's expensive, but not nearly as expensive as using energy collectors and it works on EE-banning servers.
Also, @JaffaCakeMan: I get why you like your elevator rails, but, in my opinion, magnetizers win-out, in my opinion, for one major reason; they can launch you 5-6 blocks into the air if you set them up right (20 fences on top of a magnetizer). Combine that with a floating platform (with water in the middle in case you miss), and you've got a much more interesting way to travel.
It's not for everyone though. I like it, but that one set-up killed my friends more than a couple times whenever they tried to visit.