Cycling my own mini Surrey Hills classic

In the spirit of the Liège Bastogne Liège race I thought I would do my own mini Surrey classic and find my climbing legs by riding up a few of the Surrey Hills. 

My route through the Surrey Hills

At this time of year when there are various classic professional cycle races in France, Belgium, Spain, and currently in Italy - races that feature iconic climbs - I wanted to do my own version of a classic ride in my local area.

With my new Liv Avail Advanced 2 and its low gears I decided to put them, and my legs of course, to the test. So where else would I find a route befitting a classic than in the Surrey Hills. After all, I needed to get in a fair bit of climbing ahead of my little cycle challenge in July.

Coldharbour climb near Walden woods

Well, actually there is a choice of places to get in climbs when you're based in South London. Contrary to popular belief, London has hills. Getting to my home from central London involves going over one of a few steep hills at Crystal Palace - Sydenham Hill, College Road, Dulwich Wood, Gipsy Hill, Central Hill - take your pick. Then you enjoy a big drop down the other side, past Crystal Palace Park. By the same token, when riding towards central London from home I have to take these hills in the opposite direction. That's just my neighbourhood - there are other hilly areas too. London-based cyclists can certainly get their share of hills if they wish. Don't underestimate the climbing powers of a London rider - myself not included!

Farthing Down overlooking Croydon and South London

Feeling in the mood to go further afield, I headed south of Croydon and over Farthing Downs to enter the Surrey Hills. Technically, the range of downland terrain  begins at this expanse of ancient grassland and woodland owned by the Corporation of London, that gives views of the City skyline in the distance. But commonly folks think more about venues in the heart of these chalky downs - Box Hill, Leith Hill and Peaslake. That's where I was headed.

 After passing through the suburban town of Reigate I crested my first named climb of the day, Pebble Hill [2.2km; average gradient 4.5%]. These statistics are misleading as parts of the climb are considerably steeper with a short stretch at almost 20%. I had to keep calm on this road and not waste any energy grimacing or getting stressed. It was a real quad-buster and I just had to focus and not allow myself to wobble as the cars chugged on behind me. I saw many groups of cyclists on the road - all of them were going downhill. I wonder why?

Pebble Hill, near Betchworth, Surrey was a quad-buster 

This was definitely a climb where I needed to rest. While recuperating, I spotted a guy pushing his hybrid bike up the hill, then he flaked out in the grass verge while trying to get his breath back. “Are you okay?” I asked him. “Yeah,” he replied, still heaving. “I just hadn't realised how hard the climb was.” I was glad to know he wasn't having a heart attack. “Yeah, it's certainly a toughie,” I replied. Well I'd gotten the hardest climb out of the way first, so from here on in everything would be a piece of cake. Er, kind of!

A loop through Headley and down Lodgebottom Lane, on what was the former Ballbuster Duathlon course took me to the foot of Box Hill. It wasn't quite time to ride up my favourite hil, as it was a case of saving the best till last.

Next up was Ranmore Common [1.8km; average gradient 4%], what I call a Cinderella climb. It is set in very pleasant woodland on a country lane that has few cars on it, though hardly anyone talks about it. Near the top comes a small sting in the tail on a 15% left-hand bend. The first time I rode up this I had to walk. Nowadays I am used to it, and these days the gears on my bike are low enough to crest it in the saddle.

Ranmore Common, where you can go to church or even a vineyard - take your pick

Depending on your preference you are rewarded at the top with either a trip to  Denbies Vineyard or a stopover at the church.

I then dropped down to Dorking and enjoyed lovely views over the North Downs before taking on the longest climb of the ride, Coldharbour [4.5km; average gradient 4.5%]. This climb is the other side of its steeper counterpart, Leith Hill. Where Leith Hill has you honking out of the saddle, Coldharbour takes you gradually up to the eponymous hamlet where road bikers can meet mountain bikers, hikers, and horse riders at the Plough Inn, or at the picnic site below Leith Hill Tower. Nevertheless it's not entirely plain sailing as mid-way up the climb are a couple of 10% ramps, notably at Boar Hill. However, I couldn't ignore the sight of beautiful coniferous woodland near the top.

The Plough Inn, Coldharbour - bolthole for hikers and bikers 

Coldharbour: Snack point and gateway to Leith Hill Tower

An undulating ride over rough roads meant I needed to pay attention as my bike handling skills were put to the test. Having decent tyres was definitely helpful at this time. Back to Westcott, and then Dorking where I could look forward to my final climb of the ride, Box Hill. A classic bike ride can't end without an iconic climb. At 2km and an average 4.5% gradient with no steep ramp, Box Hill is probably one of the easiest of the Surrey Hills. It is the alpine-style switchbacks winding their way to the top of the chalky escarpment and among the box trees that make it famous. For many it's a big-ring climb that can be done after the other significant challenges along the way, often at attacking pace. Then it does become difficult, and at that point you can justify having an extra slice of cake at the National Trust café.

I took the climb at a steady pace, without trying to get a personal best. That was the most appropriate speed given the energy I had left. After all, I still needed to save a bit in the tank to comfortably get me back to London.

Box Hill Zigzag

As ever there were lots of others pedalling up Box Hill at a variety speeds, with many of them overtaking me. Whatever our ability we all met at the top and enjoyed a snack at this hub in the heart of the Surrey Hills.

Box Hill, National Trust Centre café

After a short break I headed home, feeling satisfied with my mini classic in Surrey, and glad to have gone some way towards finding my climbing legs for the Etape du Tour - and the bike fared well too!

Related posts

Liv Avail: My new wheels for the Etape du Tour

Operation Etape du Tour: Cycling around Parc Serralada Litoral, Barcelona

Operation Etape du Tour: Understanding the challenge

Box Hill Zigzag is my best fitness test

One Day One Photo - 3: Surrey Hills ride up Pebble Hill - a steep challenge

Top of Pebble Hill - a lesser ridden killer climb in the Surrey Hills

My bike recent bike rides have tended to be in the local Kent and Surrey lanes. On the Kent side they have tended to be around Chislehurst, Petts Wood, or out to the village of Downe, the home of Charles Darwin. On the Surrey side I go out to Warlingham. Time has tended not to allow me to do long rides.

Today I decided to venture further out. My intention had been to do Box Hill, Ranmore Common and maybe Coldharbour. However, I started my ride too late and wanted to get home early enough to rest up before going out and meeting my friend Rachel. So on checking the time when I reached Reigate I decided to change plan, and would head homeward once I reached the roundabout in Betchworth. This involved going up Pebble Hill, a hill which I hardly ever ride up. 

It's a hill that I see when I leave Box Hill village. As I turn left to head towards Walton-on-the-Hill I see the top of Pebble Hill to my right. It seems to drop down quite steeply and doesn't look a particularly appealing road to ride up.

I only ever recall riding up it once. I remember having to make quite an effort to get up it, and things were complicated further by the fact that there's a level crossing so you ride up it from a standing start if you have to stop to let through the Redhill-to-Guildford train.

Between it being a Sunday, and also the aftermath of a train strike there were no trains so I had a clear run up Pebble Hill. The early part of the ride was not so bad, and I could just twiddle up in a low gear as I nodded to the numerous club cyclists and motorbikers flying down the road.

Then there was a right-hand bend in the road as the gradient suddenly ramped up significantly and it was impossible to twiddle in the saddle. Over the 200 or so metres I was forced to make a number of out of the saddle efforts and use every bit of energy to winch myself upwards. I could only look at a short strip of tarmac in front of me, and no longer noticed anyone on the opposite side of the road. I just had to hold a straight line as the various cars sped past me, probably wondering why in God's name anyone would choose to climb up this road without some mechanical assistance!

Finally, the gradient became manageable and I felt like I was able to use my senses to do other things like appreciate my surroundings and acknowledge the guy on the other side of the road who gave me a large thumbs up at my achievement. It certainly felt like an achievement when I looked behind me and saw the sign that said "16% - Low gear for half a mile"

At the top of the hill a breather definitely was de rigueur. That was my moment to replenish my energy stores with a bit of banana and take a few photos. Plenty of cyclists came through the junction - many of them either turned left from Box Hill to go to Walton or Tadworth, while others were coming from Walton to and turning right to go to Headley or Box Hill. No one was riding up from Betchworth.

I then headed home via Walton, Kingswood and Chipstead, feeling happy at what felt like a win. To some, riding the Surrey Hills without doing Box Hill may seem like eating a sandwich with no butter or margarine, but I must say I more than made up for it by using Pebble Hill as the filler.

Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life tour: Day 5, Box Hill

Stats
Kms ridden:77
Running total: 347
Kms left: 153

Weather: Cloudy, mild 9 degC

Parks: Oaks; Box Hill Country; Gatton; Crystal Palace


Route on Strava

As it had been a while since I was last at Box Hill I decided to include this route in my Festive 500. After all, Box Hill is set within a country park, so why not have it as part of my park life theme!

My route into the Surrey Hills was slightly circuitous compared with my "plain vanilla" route via Coulsdon and Kingswood. Instead I went via Woodmasterne, Banstead and Epsom. It is slightly hillier, and a longer route than usual, but given that I am in the business of clocking up miles at the moment, I wasn't complaining!

The route took me past Oaks Park, near Wallington. There wasn't much to see there as I was on my road bike so couldn't advance very far into the park. It was also too early into the ride to do a coffee stop there either. So I pressed on past there and the lavender fields opposite.

There is a lot of parkland en route to Box Hill, notably on the Epsom Downs and around the Racecourse. But these are not technically named as parks so I couldn't give them a name. But just to suffice to say that there is a lot of green space in this area - much in keeping with the various parts of London where I have ridden so far.

Weatherwise, things were improving. There was still no sign of any sunshine, but at least the temperature was rising a little.

No sunshine, but still loads of cyclists out on Box Hill

On reaching the zig zag road up to Box Hill I saw many riders all doing the climb up to the National Trust cafe to the top at different paces. That's the great thing about Box Hill.

It must be the most ridden hill in the UK not just because it is regularly ridden by pros during the 2012 Olympics year at Ride London, but anyone who has a bike likes to have a go.

Granted, most people are on road bikes but there are still plenty of folks on hybrids - I even saw someone riding up there on a Brompton once. Whatever bike you ride and whatever pace you do it, everyone queues up for a snack at the top. So it is a democratic hill, and a busy hill - as it was today.

I did a couple of videos while at the top, and attracted the attention of quite a few riders who came up and chatted. People admired the fact that I was doing the Festive 500, though I must admit that it was surprising that none of the people I spoke to were doing it. It was hardly as though they were incapable of taking on the challenge given how strong they looked.

The most common reason given for not taking on the Festive 500 was family commitments over the Christmas period. I can understand that. With or without family commitments it isn't easy to ensure that you get in the miles. I have found that doing the Festive 500 does require a bit of thought and planning. At this time of year it is so easy for a day of bad weather, visiting a friend or family member, or even illness can just throw everything out of line and you are immediately playing catch-up.

If you go away to a training camp it is easy enough to get in 500km because that is the specific reason for being in Mallorca or Club Santa, or whichever warm-weather destination. The weather is inviting too.

However, when you're at home it is hard to fit things in around all the other distractions, and the weather at this time of year makes it all too easy to just say "computer says no" and get on with other things. So maybe it's not all that surprising that many people shun the idea of doing the Festive 500.

While at Box Hill I bumped into Bridget Malarkey, a fellow rider from when I was at Addiscombe Cycling Club. It was good to catch up with her after what seemed like years. She was looking lean and fit, although she said she didn't feel that way at all, and was a bit worried about not being fit enough to get through the rides on her upcoming trip to Colombia. The Festive 500 could have been good preparation for her trip, but ironically she was too busy to do it.



For my return route home I skipped Walton-on-the-Hill and Kingswood, and instead opted for another circuitous route to take in the extremely fast descent of Pebble Hill, to then ride into Reigate and go via Gatton Park. This route also led me discover a cheekily steep climb on Wray Lane, a road which goes right past the park and to Reigate Hill car park. I was quite caught out by this climb, and almost put my foot to the ground (shock horror)!

In my manor, Crystal Palace Park

The nice thing is I was rewarded with a lovely descent through Gatton Bottom, and my run in back to Croydon was gently downhill. Then once back in my neighbourhood I felt refreshed and ready to take on a couple of small hills in Crystal Palace and in the park before going home for a well-earned mince pie.


Related posts
Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life Tour: Day 4, Knole Park

Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life Tour: Day 3, Beckenham/Croydon

Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life Tour: Day 2, East/Central London

Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life Tour: Day 1, Richmond Park