London's Toughest Hills

Starting in Holloway head north up into Archway rd under suicide bridge then keep on then left into Jacksons lane which leads up to highgate village.Then relax!!

overdrive Starting in Holloway head north up into Archway rd under suicide bridge then keep on then left into Jacksons lane which leads up to highgate village.Then relax!!

cressida is parallel to the hill up to suicide bridge, but imagine going up to that height ;)

I have a love hate relationship with Cressida.

Object17 I have a love hate relationship with Cressida.

A "love it on the way down and hate it on the way up" kind of relationship, is that?

down is worse than up!

I'd agree with you on that front.

Steves anyone know what telegraph hill's like??

I don't remember it as being too bad. lived 3/4 of the way up and no so difficulo.

There is a stinker coming over the m25 from westerham in kent. Go over the motorway and then up what seems like a vertical climb. Not even tried it on the fixed as I ran out of steam in the lowest gear of the road bike.

Westerham Hill. Most of the brigade who came down to see BMMF in action at Yorks Hill rode back up that on fixed. I think they all enjoyed it ;0)

I used to live 2 miles away from it, but I've never ridden up it. Waaaay to much traffic. There's hills just as steep (and steeper) on either side and nice country lanes they are too.

dogsballs [quote]Sano Did Fitzjohn's Avenue from Swiss Cottage to Hampstead the other day, on a 48:16 gearing - that was a bastard. I sounded like Ricky Hatton sparring with every pedal stroke. Got to the top only to find I only should have gone halfway.

I'm getting a new gear ratio this week.

you were the only person in the alleycat to go that way :p
[/quote]

Yeah, thanks for pointing that out... ; )

Rakan did the clever thing and said 'fuck this' half way up which turned out to be EXACTLY the right place to turn.

I, however, kept going. What a Cnut...

i used to ride up and down that hill every day to work! East finchley to Sth Ken, bitch of a commute over hampstead. had my biggest crash ever coming down fitzjohns, going over the handlebars in the middle of the lights near the top out the front of school, ouch!!

er - best hill is toys, in kent. and then sundridge. can safely say i would never, ever attempt it on my fixed wheel. i wouldn't even try it in the big ring, i joked about it once when at the bottom with a friend, then very rapidly changed my mind.

laps of swains lane (up), highgate west hill (down).

I've done Toys fixed - 60" road bike style, and 65" mtb with 22" flat bars. It's never a pleasure. The ultimate ramp test (just keeps getting steeper). And I came very close to pooing myself on the last section, which was nice.

The 'shallow' side of it is much longer, and an interesting alternative (and an amazing descent).

Norwood - Knights hill is up there...and so is that big fucker from W.Dulwich to Gypsy hill - stroof wouldn't even go there with that one.

Denmark hill is gradual but can get you jus on the last bit..

Dog kennel I always try and ride around too, infact hills are just not my ting at all!

Highgate area .... Jackson's Lane is not too bad, the cobbles and holes in various places break your rhythmn though.

Cressida is toughest I think (I have not tried it on fixed - an indication). Swains lane longer but not as steep. Highgate West a little easier than Swains because it curves and is therefore a little longer and less gradient (but do not try it tonight - burst water main at the top - and it is freezing up there tonight - I was running on Hampstead Heath and the puddles are ice). I got up Highgate West on 48 x 17 without thinking of walking last Friday, but I would not make it regularly part of my route home .... :)

BMMF- Toys is an absolute gem. And I agree, the descent of Ide Hill Road is great!

lpg laps of swains lane (up), highgate west hill (down).

What gear do you use?

Zippie [quote]lpg laps of swains lane (up), highgate west hill (down).

What gear do you use?[/quote]

Have done it on 81", usual training gear is 72" or 67", more sit-down affair on 55" :)

is very very tough in the middle on 48:18 or 16, a real grinder.

Latchmere Road in Battersea. Do that one quite regularly. Usually have to fit through the parked cars and the cars waiting at the lights opposite the police station. It's not that long, but pretty steep. The other one I do on regular basis is the one in Tulse Hill along the A205. And all my routes, apart from going to Greenwich involve going up and down Forest Hill.

Zippie [quote]lpg laps of swains lane (up), highgate west hill (down).

What gear do you use?[/quote]

Used to be 46x19 (63"), but I really hate this gear because I can't stand up and mash on it, so 46x17. Since i crashed, I haven't really been doing it fixed, though..

St johns hill and the pollards hill on top of that
serious...

thought i'd dig up this old thread up having thouroughly shamed myself by stopping for a breather 3/4 of the way up highgate west hill in the the pissing rain last night. FAIL.

i felt like a total loser but i just couldn't will myself to get up the fucking thing. i was pulling the bartaps off with the effort but no joy. had no idea i was so weak and puny.

on the plus side (having given up trying to find a western passage back to kilburn from highgate) the skiddy fun in the wet on the way back down was almost worth the climb.

will definitely be having regular runs at it now i've started swimming at the parlimant hill lido.

a

anyone new to the hills game up for cracking a few of these soon? summit to do at the weekends....

ps me and asm were talking about gellatley road off Peckham / Brockley.

That's short but sweet and has the added attraction of going in to an even steeper climb with a slight bend in the road just as you go past a pub with lots of people languishing with cigarettes and drinks outside.

Forest Hill - coming from East Dulwich - isn't a great laugh. Especially that last bit by the Horniman. Dog Kennel hill by Camberwell isn't hilarious either.