Swains Lane Challenge (North London)

spasypaddy

So seeing as the south of the river riders have their college road challenge thread

I propose we do the same but with Swains lane which is obviously a MUCH MUCH harder climb. (note ive never been to college road or even know where it is).

I reckon the best way to do this is from the bus stop to the purple (rapha) line across the top of the last speed bump/narrow closing.

heres the results from the last urban hill climb challenge, however its important to note they start further on than the bus stop but at an designated spot that i'll never find again:
http://www.urbanhillclimb.com/2011/07/r ... limb-2011/
and here is a report of the road
http://www.goinggoingbike.com/blog/the- ... ains-lane/

Last night i did a 3.22 for my first lap which was a PB, the other 4 reps were all between 3.40 and 4.13. 5 laps was enough as im still recovering from whiplash.

Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep.....

mrc1

I did 2:02 in the first Urban Hill Climb event last year.

I subsequently did a 1.48 during raam training so il go with that 8)

10 reps of up and down is a good challenge as well. I hovered around 39 mins for that (I used to live in Highgate so it was local training ground).

Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
mrc1........................1:48..........Mar...
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep.....

Edited - checked garmin stats - bit slower than i thought.

clarkey cat

spoilsport

spasypaddy

well thats rather embarrassing...

el_presidente

what are the specific start/finish points please? i.e. which bus stop

clarkey cat

spasypaddy - Look phoned...

aripallaris

dam i didnt know that existed. im up for the challenge. got to get my legs back first though. currently doing the 300 ; 30day training program and my legs are shattered.

ari

rubertoe

Just round the corner from where I work - at the bottom of highgate hill.

Never climbed it - now there is no excuse.

dhope

spasypaddy wrote:

well thats rather embarrassing...

http://www.urbanhillclimb.com/2011/07/results-urban-hill-climb-2011/

Don't worry, you beat Amy Koerbel in the senior female category :twisted:

_Brun_

I'll try put down a marker for the fixed category over the weekend. Have to flip the wheel over to the larger sprocket first, might struggle on 80".

t4tomo

spasypaddy wrote:

I reckon the best way to do this is from the bus stop to the purple (rapha) line across the top of the last speed bump/narrow closing....

what this bus stop near what appears to be Cafe Mozart?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Highgate+near+Swains+Lane,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.561838,-0.150054&spn=0.000027,0.027831&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=21.350277,56.99707&vpsrc=0&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.56187,-0.149863&panoid=PoqhK2-BESMDLYL0vvRUGA&cbp=12,59.31,,0,0

to here?

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Highgate+near+Swains+Lane,+Camden+Town&hl=en&ll=51.570228,-0.148637&spn=0.000027,0.027831&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=21.350277,56.99707&vpsrc=0&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.57014,-0.148577&panoid=YS93vkFcp7S9MhyNEgHuJw&cbp=12,317.96,,0,21.33

I may take a diversion from Euston and set a Brompton time.

bigmat

Judging from those times, it looks a bit shorter than College Road but I gather steeper. I don't think you'd get up College Road under 2 minutes (I managed a 2:43 on my best bike last year), but then I should never underestimate how far off the pace I am when the real fast guys show up!

spasypaddy

no the points im using are here:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Highgat ... .2,,0,1.93

and here (the official rapha/hill climb finish point) is this stop line and theres a purple line on the floor from rapha
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Highgat ... 30.04&z=16

clarkey cat wrote:

spasypaddy - Look phoned...

In my defence, im too heavy to hill climb and ive had 3 weeks off any exercise (apart from a once a week 7mile commute) altogether as i got run over.

dhope wrote:

Don't worry, you beat Amy Koerbel in the senior female category :twisted:

haha rub it in why dont you!

willy b

Brilliant! I'll join this game. Be interesting to try on the proper road bike, and the SS beater! Just to see how different the times are!

Whats the biggest gear anybody can get up there? That sounds a fun challenge!

spasypaddy

ive added my start finish points to the OP. if we all use them we can all embarrass me even further

clarkey cat

clarkey cat wrote:
spasypaddy - Look phoned...


In my defence, im too heavy to hill climb and ive had 3 weeks off any exercise (apart from a once a week 7mile commute) altogether as i got run over.

just pulling your chain - you're definitely quicker up hills than I am.

mrc1

BigMat wrote:

Judging from those times, it looks a bit shorter than College Road but I gather steeper. I don't think you'd get up College Road under 2 minutes (I managed a 2:43 on my best bike last year), but then I should never underestimate how far off the pace I am when the real fast guys show up!

It's definitely shorter and a bit steeper. The challenge in it is that the steepest part of the climb comes about three quarters of the way in. If you have gone off too fast you soon suffer.

If I remember I'll find the power file and post the average.

jds_1981

Took a long detour and did it on the commute home with rucksack & (aero)pannier. Guess it may have been a bit quicker without. Garmin says 3:24 but video footage looks nearer to 3:22.
The advantage to me is I get to go down archway & pipping over 37 mph.


Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
mrc1........................1:48..........Mar...
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep.....
jds_1981..................3:24.........Sep.....

_Brun_

Legs felt good on the way home after five pints and it's very tempting to grab the garmin and head back out.

Changing gear is too much hassle tho', I'll leave it for the time being.

SmellTheGlove

FWIW video vs. G-streetview confirms that the Rollapaluza race is a standing start from the corner of Chester Road. Have never timed myself on this climb, usually feels like about 4mins. Now I need to know properly, to the millisecond if possible. But not today.

Oddjob was once a Swains Lane aficionado - that thread seems gone without a trace.

optimisticbiker

Can you clarify - is this a rolling start or a standing start at the bus-stop... and what route are the laps you speak of?

I've put it on MapMyRidewhich has a 'Challenge Leaderboard" if you want to use it

jds_1981

mrc1 wrote:

I did 2:02 in the first Urban Hill Climb event last year.

I subsequently did a 1.48 during raam training so il go with that 8)

so 1:48 from the bus-stop or from the urban hill climb starting point? Just checking because it looks to be about 300 metres difference.

jds_1981

OptimisticBiker wrote:

Can you clarify - is this a rolling start or a standing start at the bus-stop... and what route are the laps you speak of?

I did mine as a rolling start.

http://vimeo.com/28864476

Can hear the garmin pipping when I press the lap button at bottom & top.

I even got encouragement from some people who were talking near the top

izzy Eviel

Standing start from Chester road - Ok.

But shouldn't the finish be when you get to the actual top? The climb goes on for another 50-75 metres.

izzy Eviel

What's the actual gradient for this? I've heard it's 15% average, 23% in places.

Is this correct?

roger_merriman

izzy Eviel wrote:

What's the actual gradient for this? I've heard it's 15% average, 23% in places.

Is this correct?

The blog linked by the OP has a nice review of the climb. Somewhere around the 20% for peak, no idea about average but 15% average is a big ask for a urban climb.

optimisticbiker

roger merriman wrote:

izzy Eviel wrote:

What's the actual gradient for this? I've heard it's 15% average, 23% in places.

Is this correct?

The blog linked by the OP has a nice review of the climb. Somewhere around the 20% for peak, no idea about average but 15% average is a big ask for a urban climb.

MapMyRidesays 8.8% average... when I do it with my Garmin I'll let you know what it says...

jds_1981

jds_1981 wrote:

mrc1 wrote:

I did 2:02 in the first Urban Hill Climb event last year.

I subsequently did a 1.48 during raam training so il go with that 8)

so 1:48 from the bus-stop or from the urban hill climb starting point? Just checking because it looks to be about 300 metres difference.

Hmm, seems that I had the wrong starting point... Therefore correct timings

Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
mrc1........................1:48..........Mar...
jds_1981..................3:00.........Sep.....
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep.....

willy b

I'm taking a detour on the way home this evening, however i'll be on the SS. I'll have another go on the geared road bike tomorrow.

willy b

Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
mrc1........................1:48..........Mar...
willy b......................2:31..........Sep... (53:18 old SS in commuter guise)
jds_1981..................3:00.........Sep.....
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep....

I'm going to hit it again tomorrow but take the geared road bike. Be interesting to see the time.

t4tomo

Name.......................Time.........Mnth....
mrc1........................1:48..........Mar...
willy b......................2:31..........Sep... (53:18 old SS in commuter guise)
jds_1981..................3:00.........Sep.....
spasypaddy.............3:22.........Sep....
t4tomo......................3.23.........Sep....(Brompton)

So I took a slight detour - how is Kentish Town/Highgate a detour from Mayfair to Euston? - to tackle this on the Brompton, carrying messenger back full of kit I might add. 3.23 standing start from the bus stop to the purple line, where incidently an oxygen mask could be usefully stationed.

About 2/3rds of the way up on the steepest section, as I was struggling to keep the pedals turning, I had three regrets:

- I possibly set off a bit to quick (but I was tackling it blind having never been up the road)
- I specified the 54 front sprocket rather than the 50 tooth option on my 3 speed Brompton and 52 Gear inches wasn't quite low enough for my legs.
- Opening this damn thread in the first place, I could have lived in blissful ignorance!

Hats off to willy b for getting up there on 53:18. I manage to leave a bloke on a hybrid with panniers in my wake, but some chap on a specialized road bike burned past me at the top.

Its a decent climb for an urban setting though. I'll have to try again, preferable once I've lost the 1/2 stone I put on over summer.