Hill training in and around Ipswich!

Yost

I have got a place at Ride London in August and aside from the logistics of getting from the finish line back to Stratford, my main worry is that I have no experience of big hills. I live in Kesgrave (Ipswich) and there are not many hills in the area than I am aware of. However, maybe someone knows otherwise and can point me in the right direction? There are some steep hills around but they do not stay steep for long - is it worth practising going up and down these?

I know that the more experienced of you will say that the Ride London hills are nothing to worry about, but it would be good to have a rough idea what I am letting myself in for before August.

It is not really feasible for me to trek across to Surrey to practise either, in case someone has that suggestion.

Cheers in advance.

mikpem

I've only recently started cycling distance in preparation for the tour of Cambridge in June and I am also Ipswich based. I haven't been many different routes around here but heading north to Lowestoft I found it felt pretty flat. Heading south towards Maldon and through the Essex countryside had a few more hills. I'll be going out that way again in a couple of weeks if you fancy a ride, I'm thinking I might try for 60 miles ish but I'm flexible on both mileage and day that week because the OH and little one are away for the weekend.
I do tend to get lost though, thank got for maps on my phone.

rick_chasey

Welcome to the forum.

I grew up cycling in the fens in Cambridge and now cycle the the hills in Surrey more or less every weekend, only after a few years cycling in Sheffield .

Firstly, the hills aren't big in Surrey.

Finger in the air numbers: even someone who's not in great shape but can ride a big will be able to complete them in 10-12 minutes, and a fit club run amateur can get up them in 6-7 minutes, give or take.

So for the other 6 hrs you'll be riding flat or flattish stuff, so in the grand scheme of things it's not all that much climbing.

As for training for hills when you've got lots of flat - focus on efforts that mimic the length of time that the climbs will take.

If you're worried about gearing, just stick it in a slightly heavier gear.

Worried about standing up on the climbs? Stand up for a while on the flats.

It's not ideal but pretty manageable.

When you start worrying about training for mountains, suddenly the flats are actually quite useful, FWIW .

awavey

there are lumpy hilly bits in that part of the world, though yeah its harder to find them as they tend to be more hidden down country lanes or out in the back of beyond places youd not figure to go to, but its not as flat as people make out, cycle to the coast yep it can be quite dull, head away from the coast from where you are and things can get more interesting.

I know several of the local cycling groups use places like Washbrook up to Copdock on the old A12 for hill reps as its steep and relatively traffic free.

and it gets quite bumpy out towards Bildeston Hadleigh, or around Lavenham which ironically or not is named the Lavenham alps the beauty of those is obviously you could plan a route to get there and have put enough miles in your legs before you hit the hills.

I know some of the hills Ive done on sportives round there are short maybe by most hilly standards, but they can be quite sharp, chuck in a persistent headwind and they do hurt, I mean the Tour of Britain and Womens Tour route round there quite a bit and find some challenging bits.

Yost

Rick Chasey wrote:

I know several of the local cycling groups use places like Washbrook up to Copdock on the old A12 for hill reps as its steep and relatively traffic free.

and it gets quite bumpy out towards Bildeston Hadleigh, or around Lavenham which ironically or not is named the Lavenham alps the beauty of those is obviously you could plan a route to get there and have put enough miles in your legs before you hit the hills.

Thanks for replies so far. awavey, I have experienced all of these areas you mention, and survived, so I guess the main difference is going to be the length.

lancew

Heres a link to a strava club near to you.

https://www.strava.com/clubs/stowmarket-cycle-club

Theres some pretty good cyclists in there so you could see what routes they're taking?

surrey_commuter

I have read on other threads that in Holland people make a point of cycling into the wind to replicate hill climbing.

Also Rick is correct about hills on Ride 100 - there are only 2.5 of them