All the roads up to Crystal Palace are a variation on the same theme, I've had a good run at them all in the past and with local knowledge now I can choose between them, depending on how fit I'm feeling.
Westwood Hill, the one we encountered, was a daily commute for me, the return being that uphill stretch from the roundabout after Sydenham Station upward.
This was also during rush hour, it was winter, I will have been physically tired from laying on cold concrete fixing cars all day and I had little or no time to build up a head of steam before the rise.
The first time I realised I would have to ride that hill everyday my heart sank and the ashphalt rose up and away forever into the clouds.
Include several months of roadworks and a badly managed complete new traffic light and island installation at the top I rarely got a clear shot at that hill.
Aye, she's a tough mistress.
