Surrey cyclists.....you have my sympathy.
Discussion
Yesterday I decided to take the journey from Essex to sunny Surrey to tackle some road bike famous climbs.
I parked up in Cobham..planned a 70 ish mile route and off I rode into the distance.
All I can say is WOW..firstly stunning scenery and views...But Jesus Christ..some of those climbs are completely ball breaking.
I managed the famous Box Hill and Leith Hill which had 2 ways up also Whitedown Lane and Coldharbour Lane.
The Ultimate killer in my opinion was Barhatch Lane...this god awful hill has a finishing gradient of 21 %..I was on the brink of walking it was that bad.
Well done to anyone who has to tackle those bad boys every week..I survived ...only just
I parked up in Cobham..planned a 70 ish mile route and off I rode into the distance.
All I can say is WOW..firstly stunning scenery and views...But Jesus Christ..some of those climbs are completely ball breaking.
I managed the famous Box Hill and Leith Hill which had 2 ways up also Whitedown Lane and Coldharbour Lane.
The Ultimate killer in my opinion was Barhatch Lane...this god awful hill has a finishing gradient of 21 %..I was on the brink of walking it was that bad.
Well done to anyone who has to tackle those bad boys every week..I survived ...only just
mcelliott said:
Cool, glad you enjoyed the hills. What was your total elevation for your 70 mile ride? Cos I always get confused when people post up on Strava and title it 'hilly ride' when there's less than 1,000m climbing in a 100km ride. 
1600m elevation in 120km it's all part of a training plan as tackling the french alps in 4 weeks for a few of the Grand Tour climbs.Deanno1dad said:
mcelliott said:
Cool, glad you enjoyed the hills. What was your total elevation for your 70 mile ride? Cos I always get confused when people post up on Strava and title it 'hilly ride' when there's less than 1,000m climbing in a 100km ride.
1600m elevation in 120km it's all part of a training plan as tackling the french alps in 4 weeks for a few of the Grand Tour climbs.
Deanno1dad said:
mcelliott said:
Good going. Which climbs are you thinking of doing?
Still being finalised as going in a group of 25 ish riders...so far Col Du Glandon..Col Du telegraphe..Col De la Madelaine and whatever else tickles our fancy...we have a meeting in a week to discuss etcDeanno1dad said:
Yesterday I decided to take the journey from Essex to sunny Surrey to tackle some road bike famous climbs.
I parked up in Cobham..planned a 70 ish mile route and off I rode into the distance.
All I can say is WOW..firstly stunning scenery and views...But Jesus Christ..some of those climbs are completely ball breaking.
I managed the famous Box Hill and Leith Hill which had 2 ways up also Whitedown Lane and Coldharbour Lane.
The Ultimate killer in my opinion was Barhatch Lane...this god awful hill has a finishing gradient of 21 %..I was on the brink of walking it was that bad.
Well done to anyone who has to tackle those bad boys every week..I survived ...only just
I can relate to this.I parked up in Cobham..planned a 70 ish mile route and off I rode into the distance.
All I can say is WOW..firstly stunning scenery and views...But Jesus Christ..some of those climbs are completely ball breaking.
I managed the famous Box Hill and Leith Hill which had 2 ways up also Whitedown Lane and Coldharbour Lane.
The Ultimate killer in my opinion was Barhatch Lane...this god awful hill has a finishing gradient of 21 %..I was on the brink of walking it was that bad.
Well done to anyone who has to tackle those bad boys every week..I survived ...only just
For 7 years I spent my weekdays near Saffron Walden, North Essex, in easy riding distance of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. My weekends were spent in Farnborough, in easy riding distance of said Surrey Hills. The two years before that were a similar arrangement, just substitute Ripon, N. Yorkshire, for Essex. And I grew up in South Wales, near Swansea, so I know 'hilly' of old.
Now this isn't a boasting type of post (my pace is low on climbs generally, and nothing to boast about) but despite the title "Surrey Hills" it can be disappointing to get back from a ride round those parts and find you've not achieved as much climbing as you set out to do that morning. And that's even with bouncing from one climb to another. I signed up for the Giro Climbing Challenge on Strava and found myself nearly 50% short of the required elevation at the end of it, for example. I'd foolishly presumed that the Surrey Hills would provide more than adequate elevation to finish such a challenge. Obviously they would have, if'n I'd ridden them more...
My favourites are Staple Lane (amazing views of the London skyline on the horizon) and Crocknorth (that quaint stone bridge near the top). There's also the very cheeky Chapel Lane/Bagden Hill, out of Westhumble toward Great Bookham which is short and sharp but has a '20%' warning triangle at the bottom. Further afield is the climb from Tilford to Hindhead, followed by the drop down into the glorious countryside across toward Peaslake. Peaslake is a great centre for climbing because every which way out of the village seems to be a climb. Last time out I managed to tick off Pitch Hill too.
I've lived in Farnborough over 15 years now, but still I don't think I've managed Barhatch, nor half of the myriad ways there are to climb Leith Hill. It's great out that way, though. Fabulous scenery, most of the roads are at least half way decent, and the climbing is tough too. Yes, of course other regions make it look flat(ish), but it's as tough as things get locally and there is no shortage of cafes and shops for refreshment and the topping up of essentials (unlike the wilds of Essex and Cambridgeshire, where village shops are few and far between, and opening hours are far from dependable).
Glad you enjoyed it!
Was totally expecting this to be about the cars 
(more so than anywhere else they seem intolerant.. but then I have a little sympathy as some roads are busy with both kinds of traffic and there are idiots on both sides of the coin)
IMHO the defining nature of the surrey hills is a lot of short but pretty sharp ramps (Box isn't much), they're painful in their own way and reward a different type of cycling.. very different to the alps.
(more so than anywhere else they seem intolerant.. but then I have a little sympathy as some roads are busy with both kinds of traffic and there are idiots on both sides of the coin)IMHO the defining nature of the surrey hills is a lot of short but pretty sharp ramps (Box isn't much), they're painful in their own way and reward a different type of cycling.. very different to the alps.
wobert said:
Yes we are aware of that.....sussing out if the closure is passable.
Check out this blog on the subject:http://blog.alpine-property.com/2016/05/19/col-de-...
Deanno1dad said:
Still being finalised as going in a group of 25 ish riders...so far Col Du Glandon..Col Du telegraphe..Col De la Madelaine and whatever else tickles our fancy...we have a meeting in a week to discuss etc
Don't underestimate the Glandon. It is a very long climb, even with the little downhill pair of hairpins in the middle. The Galibier is one to tick off the list. Also a long b
d of a climb. The Surrey hills aren't long, but they are steep. In terms of gradient Box Hill is (IMO) the closest thing to an Alpine climb - that is if you were to make it 5 or 6 times as long. And steepen up the false flat after the hairpins...
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