I wanna go up Highgate but...

dont know where it starts from...last week i ended up going the wrong way where does the highgate hill run start from?

go up thru kentish town, and just sorta take the road north-west (the road where the forum is on). Follow it all the way up, a park will be on your left, past the park and at the roundabout take a left and there it is.

i did it on your bike yesterday, it was good. Judging by your sprint up primrose hill you'll he aiiight.

Ta mate
you aroud?
i'll give you a tingle when i make it

its highgate west hill which is the gnarly one. highgate hill isnt as bad

highgate hill's allrite, did it last week with a flu

And if you're going down, East Heath Road is the nicest downhill in London. Get ahead of the cars at the lights and it's a clear run all the way down.

Apart from the weird rumblestrip thing halfway down - nearly threw me clear the first time!

oh yes... If you stick to the left there's a clear bit for cyclists. First time I hit it really freaked me out. Plus I couldn't see by then because my eyes were watering too much.

made on fixed 70"! not as tough as i thought but pretty hard, thing is that first i thought i was going the wrong way so at about a third of the way up i stopped to check if i was on the right hill, then turned around went down round the roundabout then up again but didn't know how long the bloody thing was so i just looked at my front wheel and gave it a rithm, then i saw a bright yellow house and then a pub called the flask, asked a lady if it was the top of the hill i was standing on and she said yes!

I find Muswell HIll to be worse than Highgate West. If you go up Highgate and turn right you can head down to Crouch End and then do a nice little route which takes you up both of them. Something like this:
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/40365

Yeah, that's good. I like living in the hilliest part of London! One that's defeated me was Swains Lane. I think I got stuck behind something and had to slow down just as the gradient kicks up about halfway, and there was no coming back. Grr.

I like that route mdja, i'm gonna do it soon. Swains lain is steepest at the cementary part, it's really nice when you get to the top though. What annoys me is having no water bottle holder holes, so i have to stop and go to tescos just to get rehydrated. Does anyone know of a water bottle holder that straps to the down tube?

Duct tape?

mdja - agreed, I reckon Muswell Hill's tougher than Highgate West Hill too. Maybe not as long but feels steeper

Swain's Lane and Muswell Hill are good, but if you're in that part of the world head back from MH down St. James's Lane, right up Ellington Road (short and nasty) and there are some quiet, steep, residential roads to try off Muswell Hill Road.

Wood Vale is a good one. It becomes Queen's Wood Road (very tranquil through the wood) and then Wood Lane. Cross Archway Road and there's a nice drag up Southwood Lane to Highgate Village.

I used to ride from through crouch end from archway to get to my girlfriends house at the top of cranley gardens. THAT was a labour of love.

lpg I like that route mdja, i'm gonna do it soon. Swains lain is steepest at the cementary part, it's really nice when you get to the top though. What annoys me is having no water bottle holder holes, so i have to stop and go to tescos just to get rehydrated. Does anyone know of a water bottle holder that straps to the down tube?

One of these might be what you're looking for... Condor have them on the shelves.

Rattlebag - I'd forgotten about Cranley Gardens, I used to take a route to work north west from Hackney, up Crouch Hill then up Cranley Gardens, to the hospital where I work. For some reason Cranley Gardens was a killer, even though it's not that steep. It just seemed an endless grind. The only way I could make it bearable was to count my pedal strokes, to try to take my mind off it! It never seemed to get any easier either, despite doing it most days. That was on a geared bike btw. I go up Highgate West Hill now instead (on a fixed).

My route home....city to Archway and up Highgate Hill - passing almost stationary cars with drivers looking slightly envious and impressed. Loop round the roundabout at the top and start back down Highgate Hill. Even MORE respect from the same drivers! At the bottom at Archway swing left and do Archway Road to Highgate tube. Turn right and right again thru Queens Woods and into Wood Vale. Turn right into Cranley Gardens and then it's decision time.....left and do Muswell Hill...or right to Crouch End and Archway - cos that's where I live. In the old hospital at Archway - looks like a Victorian institution for folks with issues.