South London hills

^that's savage. but barely in london...

He wants a 3 hr odd route so if you are going to ride for three hours you may as well go for a challenge.

and you may as well get out of traffic.

lynx just buy a o/s map of south London and work out a route that is the length you require. I've you can't do that yourself then I can't help you.

I can't do that. Could you help me instead?

hell, the tfl free ones will cover you for brasted and back.

actually I might be wrong about that. I can't remember. Will try and look when I get home. Or someone else can.

edit: the free ones do not have brasted. my bad. stop around biggin hill.

They go out as far as that bridleway that has massive houses on it I think. As there is a bus stop at the end.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=titsey&sll=51.363153,0.019655&sspn=0.050697,0.104628&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Titsey,+Oxted,+United+Kingdom&ll=51.286172,0.053494&spn=0.012696,0.026157&t=h&z=16

I only said o/s map because it has contours on it. So better if you want to plan a hilly route.

true. I have the ones that cover that area. Sometimes I find it better to plan without contours otherwise the chickenshit in me will plan around them.

I just cycle around and sometimes point myself uphill. Sometimes I regret it.

You can over-plan some things. It's like surprise buttsecks - it's just not the same when you pre-arrange it.

said the serial killer.

Just go out past Bromley and go arounda few lane round Brastead, Titsey e.t.c then come back making sure you take in Shooters hill.

Alternatively find the Pilgrims way on a map and ride the roads that cross it as many time as possible.

If you're out that way, you should give this a go. My little bump du mois.

That's Yorks Hill, home to the Catford CC hill climb.

Long way from Catford...

Where do the Sevenoaks CC go, Forest Hill?

Just past Brands Hatch lie some interesting hills, the real killer being Exedown. Not long but bloody steep. And it's preceded by a long drag which looks pretty flat but isn't, meaning your blowing by the time you reach the serious bit.

exedown's not awful as long as you're not running track gearing. tnrc taught me this. i'm sure it's much nicer in daylight too, but i'm yet to find out. IIRC it's the middle bit that hurts the most, just past the bend to the right as it curves back round to the left.
to sound like a broken record, if you're out that way, this is a nice short sharp fix. seriously pretty when the bluebells are out/it's sunny, downright reckless when it's wet and slippy.

Did a little route this evening taking in some of the hills discussed above (specifically Gypsy Hill, Sydenham Hill, Canonbie Road and Wood Vale). Canonbie Road certainly seemed to be the crown jewel of the South London hills. Would be interested to see other routes around this area, or good hills that I missed.

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nice one. Which side did you go up? The steep or the long one?

Did it three times each way!

HA! that's obviously the correct answer you frickin overachiever ...

Its got to be Vanbrugh Hill. I once had a Bown (hand built frame in Wales) with a 98cc villiers two stroke engine with two gears hand change by cable. It couldn't get up the hill

Its got to be Vanbrugh Hill. I once had a Bown (hand built frame in Wales) with a 98cc villiers two stroke engine with two gears hand change by cable. It couldn't get up the hill

Vanbrugh Hill is Maze Hill's mellow brother. I've seen people trip and slide half way down it during icy winters.

I used to go to the Roan at the top of maze hill I could ride up all the way on my Robin Hood single speed sitting on the saddle with a fag in my mouth.

Ride around Crystal Palace Triangle, all the crazy steep side streets.. V short climbs, but they hit maybe 12-14% at times on all of them and 1 way... Gets draining after a while..

For those that hate hills here is a tip. Get hold of an old nineteenth century or earlier map of London and find out where the old rivers were. Use these as your routes transferred onto a new road map. Flat riding all the way.

I was partly joking. I live in Beckenham and work near Waterloo so cycle some of those hills on a daily basis. But citing Dog Kennel Hill as being tough, it's over in 30 seconds!

I was out in Kent this morning doing some proper hills, like Ide Hill and Sundridge Lane.

Ugh, Sundridge Lane! Yester Road. Old Hill. Summer Hill. Haven't done Logs Hill. I fncking hate Chislehurst! Beckenham Road is a sneaky little bastard coming from London Road.

And speaking of South London hills...........is the Main Rd going past Biggin Hill Airport hilly like any of the others? (It's still in the London Borough of Bromley, kids!)