A few friends and I cycled down to do these hills to bump up our scores on the veloviewer 100 climbs board (having only Swain's Lane, Box Hill, and Ditchling Beacon under my belt I was way down).
As we hit Coldharbour, my lower limit screw on my front DR was badly set, so we had a nice rest before the climb to make it possible to go into the small ring. I'd just recently changed my cassette from an 11-28 to a 12-26, so I thought that the small ring on the front might be useful for the climbing.
I'm glad I did, though Coldharbour was mostly just long, and quite steep, with nothing to write home about - no wonder it's in the 2nd book and not the first.
Leith Hill was a b******. I didn't really pace myself, and might have gone a bit fast on the lower, shallower section. The steep bit was just too steep to spin in my 34/26, so I popped it in my second gear and stood on the pedals the rest of the way, then sat down after the worst of it was over. My HR was over 180 for all of that, right to the car park. I was pretty out of it at the end, the whole bent over, gasping thing (I do this a lot).
White Down was voted the worst hill of the day, though I thought Leith was worse. Maybe I was just pacing myself a bit more at that stage. I think I was in the 26 and standing at one point, so it must have been quite steep. And it is fairly steep from the bridge to the top, with some nice zigs and zags, getting steeper at each turn. Finding more hill, steeper hill isn't that much fun when you turn a corner hoping for the end. But my HR wasn't so bad. 167 average..
Box Hill was just Box Hill. I suppose it is more popular because it is easier. I hammered it from the get go, got stuck behind a car before the first zig, waited for a bit, overtook it, only for it to overtake me again and slow me down again as it slowed down for a couple of "Sunday ride" cyclists. By the time I got the the right hander leading up the the car park I'd wrecked myself, though I was wondering why, as after those other hills I'd no chance of a decent time. "Shut up, legs" I said to myself (this is actually true), kept it going, and actually did manage to knock 6 seconds off my PR. I quite like the 5-10% nature of Box Hill - it suits my slightly bigger nature more than the other hills did. I think my HR was well over 185 at the end...
We all had a nice day, and did Dark Hill in Richmond Park, and then Park Side at Gladstone Park on the way home for good measure...
As we hit Coldharbour, my lower limit screw on my front DR was badly set, so we had a nice rest before the climb to make it possible to go into the small ring. I'd just recently changed my cassette from an 11-28 to a 12-26, so I thought that the small ring on the front might be useful for the climbing.
I'm glad I did, though Coldharbour was mostly just long, and quite steep, with nothing to write home about - no wonder it's in the 2nd book and not the first.
Leith Hill was a b******. I didn't really pace myself, and might have gone a bit fast on the lower, shallower section. The steep bit was just too steep to spin in my 34/26, so I popped it in my second gear and stood on the pedals the rest of the way, then sat down after the worst of it was over. My HR was over 180 for all of that, right to the car park. I was pretty out of it at the end, the whole bent over, gasping thing (I do this a lot).
White Down was voted the worst hill of the day, though I thought Leith was worse. Maybe I was just pacing myself a bit more at that stage. I think I was in the 26 and standing at one point, so it must have been quite steep. And it is fairly steep from the bridge to the top, with some nice zigs and zags, getting steeper at each turn. Finding more hill, steeper hill isn't that much fun when you turn a corner hoping for the end. But my HR wasn't so bad. 167 average..
Box Hill was just Box Hill. I suppose it is more popular because it is easier. I hammered it from the get go, got stuck behind a car before the first zig, waited for a bit, overtook it, only for it to overtake me again and slow me down again as it slowed down for a couple of "Sunday ride" cyclists. By the time I got the the right hander leading up the the car park I'd wrecked myself, though I was wondering why, as after those other hills I'd no chance of a decent time. "Shut up, legs" I said to myself (this is actually true), kept it going, and actually did manage to knock 6 seconds off my PR. I quite like the 5-10% nature of Box Hill - it suits my slightly bigger nature more than the other hills did. I think my HR was well over 185 at the end...
We all had a nice day, and did Dark Hill in Richmond Park, and then Park Side at Gladstone Park on the way home for good measure...
