Hills in Surrey

Bruce Thornton

I'm coming down to my daughters at Egham from my home in Norfolk this weekend and was thinking of bringing my Van Nick Yukon to have a go at Box Hill or Leith Hill with a view of doing a Sportive later in the year. The option of doing hills in norfolk are non existant. Which one would be easier as a starter? I ride a 13-25 and a 53-39
Bruce

jibberjim

Bruce Thornton wrote:

I'm coming down to my daughters at Egham from my home in Norfolk this weekend and was thinking of bringing my Van Nick Yukon to have a go at Box Hill or Leith Hill with a view of doing a Sportive later in the year. The option of doing hills in norfolk are non existant. Which one would be easier as a starter? I ride a 13-25 and a 53-39

There's lots of ways up Leith Hill, but all of them are tougher than Box Hill, which is a very easy climb, it's infamy just 'comes from the cafe at the top, its switch backs, and the fact so many people do it.

bobtbuilder

As Jibberjim said, Box Hill is a really easy climb and can be done on the big ring. However, it is a stunning climb in terms of scenery.

Some other reachable ones for you are:

Ranmore Common (from Dorking to Ranmore Common). A tough grind.

Whitedowns - from the A25 towards Ranmore Common. A real brute with a long 18% section. I crawl up here in my lowest gear. :oops:

Peaslake Village - great climbs in all directions.

Barhatch Lane (aka Horseblock Hollow) from Cranleigh. A nice 23% bit at the top. :twisted:

bice

I my experience Whitedown is shorter and nastier than Leith.

Don't underestimate Surrey. In these long settled areas, the English (probably owing to established property rights) built roads with impossible gradients (imagine horses and carts on them before tarmac). Unlike, say, France where a bureaucrat's pen could decide how a road scales a hill.

Even the fittest in our group stop at the top of Whitedown.

kilo

You could start from Headley National Trust, car park, up past the top of Box Hill, turn left and descend Juniper Hill (much nicer than Box Hill) cross the main at the bottom, which is the bottom of Box Hill also, and start towards Ranmore Common, which is a left turn a bit after west Humble BR station, get to the top of that and there is a right hand side loop through Stoneyrock lane and High Barn Road, with a few more hills get back on Ranmore Common Road and descend Crocknorth Lane, turn left down to the A25 and go left along the A25 to the horrible White Down, get to the top off that and you follow it back to Box Hill. Not a big spread of area but some "nice" climbing

bobtbuilder

turn left and descend Juniper Hill

Kilo - where is this left turn? At the complete end of the Box Hill Road (where is joins the B2033) or before?

Monty Dog

How far are you looking to ride?
If you want to experience a 'big' hill, then Leith Hill from Dorking and up to Coldharbour and Landslip Road would be my choice - particularly as the rhodedendrons are coming into flower. You could then drop down to the A25 and head straight up Whitedown, turn left down Crocknorth Lane and then turn left up towards Sheepleas and down Coombe Bottom and back across the A25 and into Shere. From Shere I'd head over to Peaslake and then around over to Holmbury and then around via Forest Green back into Dorking, or one final climb up Leith.

kilo

bobtbuilder wrote:

turn left and descend Juniper Hill

Kilo - where is this left turn? At the complete end of the Box Hill Road (where is joins the B2033) or before?

Further on, left at the B2033 along Headley Common Road past the common on your left and the cricket pitch on your right and then go left at the Leech lane junction, i've always known this as Juniper Hill, then left onto Lodgebottom Road - Leech Lane is a steep descent and the Lodgebottom Lane comes up fast - it then a nice rolling descent to the junction at the bottom of the zig zag

flasher

Where is Whitedown, I can't find it on Google map?

bobtbuilder

Where is Whitedown, I can't find it on Google map?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=White+Downs,+Reigate+Rd,+Brockham,+Betchworth,+Surrey+RH3,+United+Kingdom&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FVbhDQMd9If7_w&split=0&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=6.881357,14.941406&ll=51.210379,-0.408726&spn=0.079257,0.154495&z=13

Centre of screen, by the A25 sign heading North, over a railway line to end in a crossroads.

jibberjim

Flasher wrote:

Where is Whitedown, I can't find it on Google map?

http://jibbering.com/hills/#Whitedown

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Whitedown

It's a pretty steady gradient, so whilst it's steep, I don't find it too bad at all, but that's got a lot to do with gearing I'm sure.

roger_merriman

thus far whitedown seems the best work out, for me, i do like winterdown/barhatch lane which though slightly steeper is much shorter, in that the only bit i need to put a little bit of effort in is from the last house up, steep i can do, it's just maintaining speed on flatter climbs. while box hill is hardly a challenge i struggle to get below 10mins....

flasher

Thank you, will hunt it out tomorrow, probably from Ranmore down and see if I fancy the ride back up

jibberjim

roger merriman wrote:

thus far whitedown seems the best work out, for me, i do like winterdown/barhatch lane which though slightly steeper is much shorter

Interesting that we have such different viewpoints of it! I reckon winterfold/barhatch is longer than whitedown by quite some way, it does alternate between 8% and 16% though, whereas whitedown is solid 12%+ all the way, so I guess it's how you react to the "rest" portions of the hill.

I also seem to remember old red is a regular double, so me with my compact makes it a lot easier.

roger merriman wrote:

while box hill is hardly a challenge i struggle to get below 10mins....

Your time up there is definately a surprise to me, compared to how you go up the steeper stuff.

roger_merriman

jibberjim wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

thus far whitedown seems the best work out, for me, i do like winterdown/barhatch lane which though slightly steeper is much shorter

Interesting that we have such different viewpoints of it! I reckon winterfold/barhatch is longer than whitedown by quite some way, it does alternate between 8% and 16% though, whereas whitedown is solid 12%+ all the way, so I guess it's how you react to the "rest" portions of the hill.

I also seem to remember old red is a regular double, so me with my compact makes it a lot easier.

roger merriman wrote:

while box hill is hardly a challenge i struggle to get below 10mins....

Your time up there is definately a surprise to me, compared to how you go up the steeper stuff.

old red is a compact with 12-27 gearing so fairly easy up the hills, i think it's a mix of motivation ie i like steep hills but loose interest up longer flatter ones, and i spent most of my life walking/riding up steep hills so that sort of thing, is what i guess i'm used to.

Monty Dog

You're not a 'real' cyclist until you've ridden the Surrey Hills on a fixed! I'd say Barhatch is the toughest as you have the 'draggy' start whereas Whitedown is such a straight-up blast from the bottom and you're well recovered by the time you get there

redddraggon

Monty Dog wrote:

You're not a 'real' cyclist until you've ridden the Surrey Hills on a fixed!

Why would I want to go to Surrey?

roger_merriman

redddraggon wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

You're not a 'real' cyclist until you've ridden the Surrey Hills on a fixed!

Why would I want to go to Surrey?

network of quiet lanes with picture box villages, and as the downs are well down your very rarely forced to go one route as the roads don't just follow the valley bottoms. thats one reason why people stream out of london to ride though the downs.

Monty Dog

Firstly, I've ridden all over the UK - from Scotland, the Lakes, the South West, the Midlands and the Welsh borders - although the highest point in Surrey is only about 240m, a 'hilly' ride in Surrey is probably as tough as a 'hilly' ride anywhere else IME. OK, the traffic on main roads and towns is often unbearable and therefore you need to know the back lanes - but the constant up and downs means that our regular 150km training rides have nearly 3000m of vertical ascent.

Bruce Thornton

Thanks for the replies. Shame to say i couldn't take the cycle but I did manage to get to the Surrey Hills to have a recce, it looks a great place to ride for me when I come to Egham. Something I think I'll have to do which i'd like opinions on is gearing. Should I go for the cheaper option of just changing the cassette from 12-25 to 12-26 or 13-28 or should I change the 53-39 crank to a compact which is more expensive? I have campag veloce.
Bruce

roger_merriman

i'd probably leave the set up as it is for the time being and only switch out the cassette's if you end up feeling over geared on the climbs, most of the surrey hills aren't that steep, i go looking for steeper ones but most don't!

gtitim

I live in Egham and love cycling round the area. There are some really nice traffic free routes. I still haven't actually been up box hill yet! I really should have a go at the that. There are plenty of hills though.
Enjoy your cycling