South East London hills with Cyclopsbiker

Cafewanda

.............. well worth it despite my occasional whining. Beer and chips AND bombing down Blackheath Hill, farking A-c-e ending to the afternoon 8)

We definitely doing it again


I need sleep..........

cyclopsbiker

there wasn't *that* much whining. and the beer/chips combination did make the hill circuit most enjoyable. what was your total mileage...? ...and do I get credit for topping up the team SCR stats?
enjoy the sleep....
and shout again sometime soon, it was just what I needed

Cafewanda

I reckon it was twenny+ for our 'jaunt' including my return journey. 33 miles for the day overall :shock:

Been checking my diary and it will be some time in July* as I have a few club races this month. We should go back to that pub, so I can try a different tipple .

*I'll see if I can squeeze in short one though

Cold Guinness. Hmmm.

I think you should join up................ Scalping roadies AND getting extra points......... :twisted:

Bassjunkieuk

A London hills circuit? Any chance you could share the route for the masochistic people here.....

Would love to join you for the next attempt but I fear it may be rather unfortunate timing as July is pretty much written off for me :-(

Cafewanda

BJUK, that'll be for Cyclops to set out, although I'm fairly confident you would find these so very easy given your love of Crystal Palace hills

Having dug out the map CB gave me we did (probably not in this order) as my memory is hazy :oops:

1. Up through Greenwich Park, down Vanbrugh Park 2. Up Maze Hill then down Crooms Hill 3. Up Royal Hill/Hyde Vale then down Point Hill, where I think we stopped at a rather lovely pub for the beer and chips 4. Back up Royal Hill/Hyde Vale then bombing down Blackheath Hill - Weeeeeeeee!!!!!

We also stopped at a place called Point Hill. A nice spot with great views across London. That was worth the pain and wheezy chest

cyclopsbiker

yep, that's the route CW, well remembered

the pub is The Union, Royal Hill - right at the bottom of Hyde Vale. Meantime Brewery beers and amazing steak & chips

if you were coming from Charlton direction you could start the circuit going up Westcombe Hill then along Westcombe Park Road and down Vanburgh Hill

deptfordmarmoset

Aha, those are all hills I know well. But it's just occurred to me that I've never cycled up Vanbrugh Hill - I've been down it plenty of times. It's the one hill I haven't been up between Woolwich and Hither Green. There's a plan for tomorrow evening.

The Point - my very first girlfriend used to live just below there - it was a regular spot for our tomfumbleries

Paul E

All those are right around me as I live up shooters hill (technically down one side of it) and yes I am treating the hill up from deptford as training for my little jaunt to the isle of arran in july

spasypaddy

meh those aren't hills. south london is flat as a pancake. you should come to north london and tackle some proper hills

Stevo_666

spasypaddy wrote:

meh those aren't hills. south london is flat as a pancake. you should come to north london and tackle some proper hills

Bah, North London is like Norfolk. Our hills are way better than yours :P

Kieran_Burns

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

roger_merriman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

it's all relative, for london they are!

in the same way the climbs of north and south downs are hardly impressive in their own right but it's nice roads close to london etc.

I mean the tallest hill in the area doesn't crack the 1000ft mark....

is nice riding though. but towering peaks it's not nor never that steep to be honest.

deptfordmarmoset

roger merriman wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

it's all relative, for london they are!

in the same way the climbs of north and south downs are hardly impressive in their own right but it's nice roads close to london etc.

I mean the tallest hill in the area doesn't crack the 1000ft mark....

is nice riding though. but towering peaks it's not nor never that steep to be honest.

Yes, boasting about London hills was never going to impress our hillier neighbours. There are hills to the north and south though. This topographical map should centre on London/M25: http://www.cartes-topographiques.fr/?lt ... tp=roadmap

(It's quite a useful site for at-a-glance route planning if you're looking for hills or avoiding them. Does anybody know it there's a UK equivalent - it seems to stop functioning at Carlisle?)

Cafewanda

Will you country folk just butt out :P This Londoner says there ARE hills in London. My legs said so and my lungs would have joined in, but they shut down

My upcoming L2B (non-charity) ride at the end of the month should be interesting given my dislike of hills whether running up them or using the bike :roll:

davis

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

(It's quite a useful site for at-a-glance route planning if you're looking for hills or avoiding them. Does anybody know it there's a UK equivalent - it seems to stop functioning at Carlisle?)

Quite a few maps use NASA's SRTM data: http://www.opencyclemap.org/ being one. It's also the map used by Bikehike.

Bassjunkieuk

Cafewanda wrote:

Will you country folk just butt out :P This Londoner says there ARE hills in London. My legs said so and my lungs would have joined in, but they shut down

My upcoming L2B (non-charity) ride at the end of the month should be interesting given my dislike of hills whether running up them or using the bike :roll:

As you get further out of London the hills do tend to get a bit longer! Around town for me the longest "hill" I have to contend with is when heading back from Dulwich upto Crystal Palace but even that isn't a particularly long or high one.

Short hills (the definition of short will vary person to person!) can normally be tackled anaerobically with a nice sprint or out of the saddle effort - it's the longer hills that are really beneficial IMO. You probably won't find this type until you get out towards Kent though at which point there are some crackers! Of course you do have to remember the best bit with hills - What goes up must come down so all that effort you put into getting up is usually rewarded with a great descent :-D

Cafewanda

BJUK, tell me there's food (an an inhaler) at the end of any hill and that will inspire me

Gussio

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

Lots of little hills can add up to significant height gain, but point taken

Bassjunkieuk

Cafewanda wrote:

BJUK, tell me there's food (an an inhaler) at the end of any hill and that will inspire me

I normally settle for a nice view :-) We had a stunning one for the SCR Wales trip but that certainly was a proper hill! I think you'd need to head down to Box Hill to sort of replicate the climb and view within a reasonable distance of London.

Stevo_666

Gussio wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

Lots of little hills can add up to significant height gain, but point taken

Some of the more maschistic amongst us climb said small hills, pelt to the bottom - then repeat until you've done the equivalent of a big, manly Northern Hill

spasypaddy

Stevo 666 wrote:

Gussio wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

Lots of little hills can add up to significant height gain, but point taken

Some of the more maschistic amongst us climb said small hills, pelt to the bottom - then repeat until you've done the equivalent of a big, manly Northern Hill

yep, i do that on muswell hill

Bassjunkieuk

spasypaddy wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

Gussio wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

Lots of little hills can add up to significant height gain, but point taken

Some of the more maschistic amongst us climb said small hills, pelt to the bottom - then repeat until you've done the equivalent of a big, manly Northern Hill

yep, i do that on muswell hill

Pfft, I did Titsey Hill then went back down to the A25 via Croydon Road (great fun!) then headed east a bit and went up Westerham Hill :twisted: Admittedley they re probably on the edge of what you consider London (unless you class it as the land inside the M25 car-park in which case they both just qualify!) but they are certainly a good challenge.

Still I do concede tho that most of the good hills are up norf, the article about hills to climb in this months C+ had me longing to move closer to the Peak District :-D

spasypaddy

if it doesnt have a london postcode it doesnt count
:roll:

muswell hill is a 4min climb (for me)

roger_merriman

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Isn't the term "London hills" an oxymoron? :P

it's all relative, for london they are!

in the same way the climbs of north and south downs are hardly impressive in their own right but it's nice roads close to london etc.

I mean the tallest hill in the area doesn't crack the 1000ft mark....

is nice riding though. but towering peaks it's not nor never that steep to be honest.

Yes, boasting about London hills was never going to impress our hillier neighbours. There are hills to the north and south though. This topographical map should centre on London/M25: http://www.cartes-topographiques.fr/?lt ... tp=roadmap

(It's quite a useful site for at-a-glance route planning if you're looking for hills or avoiding them. Does anybody know it there's a UK equivalent - it seems to stop functioning at Carlisle?)

the hills to the north and south are still little though most are well under 1000ft, nice riding but hardly epic climbs.

Cafewanda

Rain on my parade, why don't you :roll:

There be hills in Lunnon. That is all.

Rich158

Take no notice wanda, they're all worthy hills point hill is part of my lunchtime run and it's steep! Greenwich park is my everyday commute so I know those hills well. Next time you're headed down that way give me a shout and I'll join you. Especially if the route finishes in the Union

cyclopsbiker

I like the sound of a hill tour plus Union pitstop....shout me in too

for all those rumblin on about hills not been hills it's all relative my friends....if you're used to riding the mostly flat roads of London on your commute then the hills of Greenwich are just that. and guys, its not a competition....we do it for our own pleasure (though CW may disagree with that!!) and purpose

Cafewanda

You tell'em CB (although the 'pleasure' bit only comes when I'm sat in the pub with a portion of chips + trimmings and a beer)

Rich, we'll holla when the next hills plus 'recovery' is arranged.