Essex cyclists

the playing mantis

Any essex cyclists here have experence of Purleigh near Maldon? apparently there is a reasonably tough hill there (that is what i have heard from a non cyclist), if i want hill practise is it worth a look?

NewTTer

Try North Hill at Danbury, you can ride a circuit doing repeats.
Or Vicarage Hill and Essex Way in Benfleet again ideally suited for repeats

I can only think of one hill that your friend describes and it is very short (@200m long) so not really a challenge though it is quite steep.

Sharkyssurfers

or if you want to venture a bit more west you can climb church hill near laindon and Basildon, it goes the same height as north hill but is a lot shorter and steeper.

charlie_potatoes

NewTTer wrote:

Try North Hill at Danbury, you can ride a circuit doing repeats.
Or Vicarage Hill and Essex Way in Benfleet again ideally suited for repeats.

I did North Hill at Danbury on Sunday and have done the Benfleet Hills. None come close to South Hill between Horndon on the Hill and Langdon Hills. Hits 12% in places. There are some in old Leigh that are steeper (15%) but not as long. Interested to hear of any others?

NewTTer

The Leigh hills are excellent for repeats, but you MUST do repeats for any benefit, because as you say they are very short, I tend to zig zag along the front going up and down them.

the playing mantis

danbury sounds like a decent idea, but sarf essex....not sure i can venture that far in to estuary lands!

dave35

Come over my side of Essex,nice circuit that takes in Toot Hill and Theydon Mount aswell as a nice climb up to Gaynes Park just the other side of Theydon Mount..then off to tackle Lippitts Hill,Coppice Row and Piercing Hill on the way.

the playing mantis

anyone in W-NW essex know of anything decent? or on the suffolk border?

Sharkyssurfers

doing a quick search on google, apparently the road from galleywood to margretting is meant to be quite steep 12% in places?

just had a quick look at that and it doesn't seem that steep no way 12%

the playing mantis

BS it is! google has to be wrong!

london/margaretting hill is whats it called locally, i live very close to it and mtb around the common on occasion and reguarly come back up that hill on the road. kinda steep in bits but never 12%. its not difficult even for a terrible climber on a mtb like me.

can use it as part of a nice run up to stock though, past a nice pub, white hart, up swan lane, thats a nice bump, and through the woods past the school into stock, then onto the hanningfields and around the resovior along with every other cyclist around here (it seems)if u want and then back via lanes into galleywood.

charlie_potatoes

According to http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php it hits about 11% on one stretch.

giant_man

dave35 wrote:

Come over my side of Essex,nice circuit that takes in Toot Hill and Theydon Mount aswell as a nice climb up to Gaynes Park just the other side of Theydon Mount..then off to tackle Lippitts Hill,Coppice Row and Piercing Hill on the way.

Theres a little undulation around Toot Hill and towards Epping, but nothing significant, the one coming from Theydon Bois towards Epping isn't bad ..

nwmlarge

i'll echo all of the above recommendations
margeretting hill isn't that steep and very short

mill green road is a reasonable bump to ride up

Gizmo_

giant man wrote:

dave35 wrote:

Come over my side of Essex,nice circuit that takes in Toot Hill and Theydon Mount aswell as a nice climb up to Gaynes Park just the other side of Theydon Mount..then off to tackle Lippitts Hill,Coppice Row and Piercing Hill on the way.

Theres a little undulation around Toot Hill and towards Epping, but nothing significant, the one coming from Theydon Bois towards Epping isn't bad ..

Sounds like you guys are pretty close to me... I don't think Toot Hill / Theydon Mount are that steep are they?

The toughest one I know is Avey Lane - http://app.strava.com/segments/730077 as it just keeps ramping up... though Mott St, Church Road and aren't exactly 'friendly' either. Daws Hill - http://app.strava.com/segments/732718 - is shorter but very sharp.

the playing mantis

did north hill, margaretting hill, maldon hill, and the one in purleigh on a run on saturday morning, didnt get much out of them i dont think. was concerned as it was my first run on a road bike, having moved from a mtb, so was abit worried i wouldnt have the gears, as was used to using the granny gears on the mtb, but a complete non issue.

doesnt seem to be any north essex road cycists here, was in the saff walden area recently on the journey seemed some hills in the area. anyone know of any good ones?

also anything in the colchester/manningtree/ipswich area?

NewTTer

the playing mantis wrote:

did north hill, margaretting hill, maldon hill, and the one in purleigh on a run on saturday morning, didnt get much out of them i dont think. was concerned as it was my first run on a road bike, having moved from a mtb, so was abit worried i wouldnt have the gears, as was used to using the granny gears on the mtb, but a complete non issue.

doesnt seem to be any north essex road cycists here, was in the saff walden area recently on the journey seemed some hills in the area. anyone know of any good ones?

also anything in the colchester/manningtree/ipswich area?

Will be expecting to see you on the many Hill Climb events that are held up North Hill winning everything. Have you got a copy of your sat morning route that took in all these hills Garmin gpx or Strava etc, just intersted in the route you took to link them all up

the playing mantis

haha, didnt say i went up them quiclky! especially danbury, just wernt as difficult as i was expecting based on lack of granny gears, and my previous struggles on a mtb...and was pleasently surprised.

no not on strava or have a garmin (hence my trip computer question on another thread), base my routes on OS maps and local knowledge.

i will try and explain my route as best as poss, but u will need to be familiar with mid essex, will be a bit long winded too!.

start at c'ford, through galleywood, to grt baddow, head through sandon and up past the park and ride, and turn left on the roundabout just beyond the a12 junction, on a road that leads down to the chelmer navigation, and just before the navigation turn right and onto the danbury backroads that run parellel with the water. (dont turn right to early other wise you will hit a ford, which is frequented by people who would like the sight of young men in lycra...!). follow the back roads, to the bottom of north hill, or whatever its called at that stretch, then up it into danbury by the pond. then did 180 and came down it again for the rush of descending it (however its a bit of a 'mare as loads of people seemed to be coming out of their drives). descend as far as the 'blue mills' right hand turn, which i think is the last right you can take before you cross the water, and follow the back roads thriough curling tye green onto maldon. i turned left in maldon down the hill and followed the coast road past heybridge basin onto goldhanger, then turned left and looped back round on the backroads into heybridge and up maldon hill until the high street. down the high street past the park, and back out of maldon and take the road to mundon. turn right at mundon and come cross country, via roundbush, purlrigh and cocks clarks onto bicknacre and then east hanningfield. cross the 'old southend road' at east hanningfield and up to west hanningfield, skirt the resovoir headign towards stock, once in stock come down swan lane and follow it to 'tiger island' crossroads and turn right and ascend margarrting hill!

nice 50-60 mileish (i think) loop which takes in some nice country and views.

NewTTer

Yep I know those roads, ride them often. Nice riding roads not to much traffic.

charlie_potatoes

NewTTer wrote:

Yep I know those roads, ride them often. Nice riding roads not to much traffic.

+1

I think that you may struggle to find anything more challenging in Essex. What I do is to try the same hills but with one tooth less each time on the cassette. I have a local hill that I could barely climb when I first started but now pump up it on the large (50t) ring.

the playing mantis

yes nice and quiet usually. see a few other cyclists, but usually old boys (at least i seem to, that said around the resorvoir and stock seem to be a lot more, in groups too),only issues are some of the lanes behind danbury are a bit narrow and blind in places (and covered in stones/mud and horse shi*, but at least some of the horse riders are rather attractive and offer a bit of banter, especially when standing up in cycling/bib shorts!) and the coast road out of maldon can get a bit busy and lead to close passes, usually from coffin dodgers and the odd small truck.

i stayed on the 'big ring' on all bar north hill, which i was pleased about. the ease of climbing compared to my heavy mtb is amazing. its a good idea to try it one tooth less but im a bit weary , i dont want to push it in too higher gear as i understand it can damage the knees, and mine are fooked already, snapped acl and damaged meniscus in one from footie, and the other ones meniscus has deteriorated too from jogging (hence why i started cycling a lot more as my main source of outdoor exercise)

sadlybiggins

There's not too many really difficult climbs I can think of in the N Essex area. One that I didn't look forward to is on the B road going from Bures into Fordham, although I haven't done that for a while so it might not be as bad as I remember it. The other is Danbury hill as others have said. I thought the hill on Stock Road going away from Billericay into Stock was quite challenging on Sunday, especially because (a) there was a large coach hanging off my back wheel for the duration; and (b) I'd c0cked up the navigation so had gone all the way down the hill unnecessarily in the first place. Nothing like that for a bit of motivation...

brettjmcc

Sharkyssurfers wrote:

or if you want to venture a bit more west you can climb church hill near laindon and Basildon, it goes the same height as north hill but is a lot shorter and steeper.

+1 and then you can loop it by going down south hill. Or do it in reverse and go up south hill