Worst hill on the South Downs Way and best B+B in Midhurst

shredhead

I'm cycling the S Downs Way for charidy. I'll be going west to east. What's the worst hill so I can be mentally prepared?
And the best B+B in Midhurst?

robbie7

i live in midhurst. i cant really comment on the worst hill i havent done the whole length, but the moonlight cafe in cocking is a lovely b'n'b and it is about a 1 min ride from the downs at cocking hill car park

pjm-84

Depends on the wind direction.

The two I found particulary tough (12-27 cassette on the rear rather then a 11-32) was the one after crossing the A27 near Lewis. Around 120km in. And the one near Washington after crossing the A24 - around the 80km mark

shredhead

Thanks for the tips. I did the one after the A27 last week on a training run and it was tough, but not as tough as the one after crossing the A26 near Southease or after Alfriston - but maybe that's because they're fresh in my mind. Don't know the A24 one.
Thanks for the B+B tip.

pjm-84

Sorry. You are correct. I've looked at my GPS track on the South Downs MM at 1:25k and the hill after crossing the A26 is the one in question. Itford Hill

The one after the A27 is not a problem. I confused my puncture stop here for the water stop just before crossing the A26.

The other hill is Chanctonbury Hill. It's a horsehoe arrangement. When I climbed it was a head wind (exposed once you come out of the trees) over the first part and my speed was down to 5kph. Measuring the map over the first 600m that it rears up it climbs 80m (13-14%). Total length for the climb is 1.6km and it rises 130m in total

shredhead

Ah, yes, Forgot that one. I'll do it this weekend - weather's looking good. Truleigh Hill coming up from the River Adur is a naughty one - straight, long, no end in sight. Thanks for all the detailed info - it must help take your mind of things grinding up those hills.

mudslinger

Which charity event are you doing?

I've heard Butser Hill is quite tough but don't know anything about it. I also believe the western section of the SDW is the toughest part.

I only know from Amberley to Alfriston & the toughest ones I've done are out of Bramber & the one at Washington.

pjm-84

He is going West to East so misses the nasty climb back up Butser.

I did this last year on the way back , into a headwind, and I was struggling to turn a 22x32 at 5kph.

amt27

I have only done the River Adur to Eastbourne section of the SDW.

I find the climb out of Saddlecombe Farm is quite tough, its not a long climb, but steep and energy sapping, the long climbs where you are build a rhythm (like Truleigh) are not too bad. The initial part of the climb out of Pyecombe is similar.

If you are doing the BHF event, last year they used a different route near Lewes, going through Falmer, missing the climb from the A27.

shredhead

Well, I did all (bar one) of the climbs over last weekend on the Argus Appeal South Downs Challenge. In descending order of horror they were:
1. Out of Jevington - the last one. I'd forgotten how long it goes on for.
2. Truleigh Hill - a personal bette noir because you CAN see the top
3. Out of Alfriston - mainly because I lost my jacket near the bottom when I was at the back of the small group of riders I was with and although other following cyclists saw it, none picked it up
4. Cocking - early in the morning, got a puncture at the top
5-15 the others.
I disagree with the earlier poster that the Western climbs are the worst. Sorry.

mudslinger

Hey I also did the Argus SDW Challenge & it was great!

I'd say it's a personal thing as which are the hardest as there are some short but very steep as opposed to others which just go on & on.

For me one of the hardest is the one coming out of Washington as you have quite a long uphill section on road followed by a long tough climb. Plus I got bitten by a dog!

Itford Hill (from Southease) is very tough as it is long with the steepest section at the end.

Salt Hill is a long tough climb & a bit rutted/rooty.

Amberley is tough as it has a very steep start & finish.

There is a tough climb coming out of QECP.

There are lots of climbs (11,500ft total) so it is pretty tough. Defining the hardest ones is a personal thing as I don't mind the long ones e.g. Jevington & Alfriston but its the steepness that I find the hardest.

Eranu

There is a tough climb coming out of QECP

Which one is that? The back of QEP is more short up and downs I find.

The climb I hate is the one after old winchester hill up to the radio masts at HMS Mercury, it's great going down it though

mudslinger

The one out of QECP was fairly short but quite steep. It didn't help that we had just stopped for lunch & the ground was a bit greasy. It was near the main visitor centre & under normal dry conditions is probably fine.

I was referring to the HMS Mercury one as well - is it Salt Hill? Yes I bet its good going down there. It was great going down into Amberley - my brakes were really smoking! Top speed was 41.8 mph coming down to Washington - shame I didn't pedal at the top of the hill otherwise I could have hit 45 mph!

shredhead

I agree about the QEP. I remember saying at the time that it was a nasty shock. I was looking at my work's intranet forum today and one bloke did the SDW in 12 hours! He obviously didn't have to stop for or eat flapjacks, choc bars etc etc. We took our lunch up to the top of Beddingham Hill (after lunch stop on last day) because we knew what was in store. Bad luck about the dog.