Britain's 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs

thinkin baout heading to the alps in january for this

day 1: flat to undulating, 105km
day 2: tawonga gap then falls (and back over tawonga on the way home, 130km
day 3: mt buffalo, 75km
day 4: rest day, haha
day 5: mt hotham, 112km
day 6: rolling to buckland gap rd (2.3km @ 10% avg!), 120km

i'd have to be in some kind of form by the end of this, right?? think i may be in the market for a 27t cassette

I headed down to where Kent meets London today and ticked off another couple of (soft southern) monsters today.

First up, Toys Hill. In total it's about two miles of climbing with a height gain of about 180 metres at an average of 5%, but that doesn't really tell the story: the climb gets steadily steeper and steeper. The last mile averages 10% and includes a lengthy section between 14% and 18%. The book (which this thread is based on) gives it 7/10 and says "...this climb is as serious as it gets along the North Downs ridge." I'm not sure about that as I thought the next one was tougher...

That link didn't work properly. Hopefully this will:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/toyshill.jpg

The next one was Yorks Hill:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/yorkshill.jpg

This isn't quite so long. There's about a mile of climbing at an average of 8%, but again, this really doesn't tell the story at all. The 'road' is a narrow lane filled with mud and grit and holes and it just gets steeper and steeper. It ends up twisting and turning through a wooded area with steep grassy banks on either side of the road. Looking at the map I made it about 15% for the last 500 metre, but the book says it's 18% and this interesting article: http://www.rapha.cc/ride-to-the-catford-hill-climb claims it reaches 24%. Whatever it was, it was a miserable, lung-breaking grind. I looked at my computer at one point and my speed was 5.4mph.

It's used each year in October for the Catford Hill Climb:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/audioslideshow/2010/oct/11/catford-cycling-club-hill-climb-classic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PNvxBtxLME

proper pain face there:
http://www.rapha.cc/images/catford_hc-5.jpg

My own face of pain:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/crunchydog_2006/yorkshillnear.jpg

seeing ppl racing w/out helmets looks odd to me now.