Not the slowest up Box Hill this morning!

chrisaonabike

Well, after a few abortive attempts getting a decent route sorted out, I finally achieved another small milestone this morning. I made it up Box Hill, and I wasn't even the slowest up the zigzags - there were a couple of roadies that I went past, so it did feel as if I'm making progress.

Longest ride so far - 46 miles - slightly disappointed that it wasn't over the 50, but still longer, and a lot hillier, than my previous furthest which was a flat 40 miler.

Bit sore round the shoulders and neck, though. Hoping it's just a question of acclimatisation, but I probably ought to flip the stem up just to see if the slightly more upright attitude makes a difference.

Bike sure needs a wash now though, despite the cruds.

elderone

nice one chris,well done as thats no bump you went up and passing other roadies is a small victory on the road of progress.
nice one.
Wanted to get out today but weather is sh1te so looks like mr turbo again.

TommyB61

Good work, Chris.

As the old saying / cliche says..'winter miles = summer smiles'.

pete600

9 PR's not bad going mate keep it up

chrisaonabike

pete600 wrote:

9 PR's not bad going mate keep it up

Yes, it mostly felt quite good, thanks. I've been out a few times this last week after a horrible cold that wiped me out for a fortnight, and it feels like strength is coming back.

However, up the Box Hill zigzags was a lot easier than I'd been expecting. It was my first time, so I took it fairly gently but although it was longer than any climb I've done before, it wasn't too bad. I'd encourage any n00bs like me to give it a go. The most tricky bit was actually a 20% descent, on wet roads, before I got to Box Hill. I was chicken, scrubbing off speed all the way down, and managed to lock the back wheel which gave me a moment of excitement that was not strictly required. Must admit, I don't fancy the route in the opposite direction just yet!

pinarellokid

Nice one Chris already given you some Kudos there pal !!!!

philbar72

well done. i'm yet to brave that, but it will be part of my post xmas purge. kudos added.

chrisaonabike

philbar72 wrote:

well done. i'm yet to brave that, but it will be part of my post xmas purge. kudos added.

Cheers guys.

Don't be intimidated by the climb itself. If I can do it, I'm sure most can. And although I was on the little ring (50/34) I wasn't even in the lowest gear. I was speaking to someone at the top who said Leith Hill was a lot harder.

tiredofwhiners

I am surprised that anyone thinks Box Hill is hard in the slightest - sure, its a bit longer than most climbs but its not as if anyone has to actually get out of the saddle at any point is it ? Its kind of a zig zag version of Newlands Corner but without the traffic.

There are plenty of shorter, sharper shocks than anything on Box Hill, but in the same area, such as the road up past West Humble Station, also Coombe Lane, and White Down lane - basically any roads which join the A25 with the A246.

cornerblock

tiredofwhiners wrote:

I am surprised that anyone thinks Box Hill is hard in the slightest.

What? Even somebody who is posting in Road B e g i n n e r s. Clue is in the name, or do you just enjoy raining on someone's parade? :roll:

tiredofwhiners

Cornerblock wrote:

What? Even somebody who is posting in Road B e g i n n e r s. Clue is in the name, or do you just enjoy raining on someone's parade? :roll:

Even as a beginner, the OP will have more difficult hills where he lives than Box Hill. Unless he lives in Lincolnshire of course. Not raining on his/her achievement but lets not pretend its more than a gentle rise.

rich164h

Yeah, it's not too bad. It's certainly not flat but there are plenty of much steeper hills within only a few miles of Box Hill that would be a much harder challenge.

It's still a good achievement though if you're not used to climbing.

charliew87

Box Hill ain't a monster but the view's bloody good and it's a good one to get the measure of and compare other climbs to.

dynamicbrick

It's not about how steep it is, or whether it's technical, or category this that or the other.

It's about what it means to you to get up it.

There's a road about near me - 14% climb for 1km, almost completely straight, no respite, no easy line. About 200m in it has spiteful kick up for about 40m before very gradually reducing in steepness. That kick is probably a 20-25%, and comes after you've lost all momentum and you're grinding on the bottom gear. Furthermore, it's a main dual carriageway out of town, so you're best off on the isolated footpath which gives you no room to tack your way up that bit. I don't doubt some on here would scoff at it, but I've yet to beat it without putting a foot down. It's one of my 2013 targets.

chrisaonabike

dynamicbrick wrote:

It's not about how steep it is, or whether it's technical, or category this that or the other.

It's about what it means to you to get up it.

I can very much relate to this. Having watched bike racing for the first time ever during the Olympics road race, I was stunned by the sheer scale of it all. And watching them go up Box Hill not just once but nine times, it took on something of an iconic character as a destination.

Several times now I've set off, and turned round before getting there - various reasons including discovering that I wasn't feeling as good as I'd hoped, miscalculating the time it would take, and simple bad route choices.

So getting there, and then getting up it - more easily than I expected to, as it happens - was a real confidence builder.

Now of course, I want to do it quicker... as part of a longer route.... with other hills included... etc etc.

chrisaonabike

tiredofwhiners wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

What? Even somebody who is posting in Road B e g i n n e r s. Clue is in the name, or do you just enjoy raining on someone's parade? :roll:

Even as a beginner, the OP will have more difficult hills where he lives than Box Hill. Unless he lives in Lincolnshire of course. Not raining on his/her achievement but lets not pretend its more than a gentle rise.

I didn't take it as raining on any parades - no probs.

I think it's more that any that haven't done it and don't know very much will associate it with the Olympics (as I did), and hence assume that it's really tough. Then if you do it, it doesn't seem so bad.

I mean nine times up it would be pretty tough, but once is Ok. Though the two guys I overtook seemed to be finding it quite an effort

TBH, I still find Broomfield Hill in Richmond Park quite hard. Easier out of the saddle, I've found, but I'm trying to stay in it and build up my CV fitness a bit. Got up it in the saddle *not* in the lowest gear for the first time this morning, so I must be getting stronger (though I was nearly dead at the top). Nearly everyone is still faster than me though

TakeTurns

Good job Chris. What a badass riding with your stem flipped down. I don't even have it like that! If you do a lot of climbing you may prefer it upwards

I've only been up Box Hill once, don't usually ride towards the south. It was easier than expected, when I got to the top I thought to myself whether that was it It's still nice to be able to say you've conquered it though, since it's quite a notorious hill thanks to the Olympics.

chrisaonabike

TakeTurns wrote:

Good job Chris. What a badass riding with your stem flipped down.

Awesome. No one has ever described me as badass before, even ironically like this

However, the stem is just at the angle it was at when I got the bike. I'm not wild about the aesthetics of flipping it up, since it will no longer be parallel to the top tube. But if it stops my neck aching...

smidsy

tiredofwhiners wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

What? Even somebody who is posting in Road B e g i n n e r s. Clue is in the name, or do you just enjoy raining on someone's parade? :roll:

Even as a beginner, the OP will have more difficult hills where he lives than Box Hill. Unless he lives in Lincolnshire of course. Not raining on his/her achievement but lets not pretend its more than a gentle rise.

Well you either don't or never venture beyond the fens, which is only 1 small part of Lincs. Try riding from Louth to Conningsby and back or from Grimsby to Caistor or Casitor to anywhere.

Pross

smidsy wrote:

tiredofwhiners wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

What? Even somebody who is posting in Road B e g i n n e r s. Clue is in the name, or do you just enjoy raining on someone's parade? :roll:

Even as a beginner, the OP will have more difficult hills where he lives than Box Hill. Unless he lives in Lincolnshire of course. Not raining on his/her achievement but lets not pretend its more than a gentle rise.

Well you either don't or never venture beyond the fens, which is only 1 small part of Lincs. Try riding from Louth to Conningsby and back or from Grimsby to Caistor or Casitor to anywhere.

I was up there the other week in the Wolds around Louth. Although there's a few short, steep hills I don't think any are any tougher than Box Hill (they were a bit tougher than I expected though). The highest point in the County is only 168m and the highest road is around 140 - 150m. The road on Box Hill peaks at around 170m. Lincolnshire isn't an easy place to cycle as it's so exposed but to try to claim it is anything other than flat is pushing it a bit!

smidsy

@ Pross - I agree but that was not what I was saying. Simply making the point that Lincolnshire is not Norfolk flat as the poster implied.