PebbleHill Road and Westerham Hill

curium

What's the general opinion about the difficulty of Pebblehill Road just near Box Hill?

I found it incredibly steep although relatively short. I'm hoping to have another crack at it in mid-Nov, this time I'll be more prepared. It was my first ride with clipless pedals and I had to stop half way up it and then struggled to clip back in to finish it. Perhaps I spent too much energy on the approach.

I'm relatively new to road cycling so it's very possible that lack of training means I over over-hype the difficulty of some local hills.

Another hill I tackled that day (thankfully in reverse) is Westerham Hill in Kent. I'm due to climb up it in mid-Nov on my return from cycling to Box Hill. How have others found it?

Cheers!

DomPro

Pebblehill is very doable for me and I power over the steep bit at the end - shouldn't be a problem if you pace yourself from the beginning of the climb. Plus theres a flat bit in the middle to recover.

Westerham hill is much harder I would say. The climb gradient is more consistent and the average gradient must be steeper than Pebblehill. The lead up road from Westerham is long and tiresome as its going uphill slightly. I usually avoid this hill because of the traffic.

porker33

Westerham is fairly steep, but the main problem is traffic, particularly older cars, struggling, which results in cyclists getting their lungs full of exhaust fumes.

Westerham is doable without being easy, but if you go along the pilgrims way, the adjacent Brasted and Sundridge hills are quieter, yet more challenging in my view.