Hill intervals - what a b@$t@*d.....

[Dan_K]

So the "I want to be a skinny whippet" training started this week.

Went out on Sunday and did a couple of hours in the pouring rain. First time on the bike for a week and felt suprisingly good.

Had a spare hour last night so thought i'd head out and do some hill intervals (read hill "crawls"). Did a couple of laps of Winchelsea Rise(cheers for the tip George - you're plain evil) and then up to Sanderstead through all the back streets and then down Upper Selsdon Road, across to Croham Valley Road (with another cheeky lap of Winchelsea - I can't get enough can I?) and then up Ballards Way to the top of Gravel HIll, down Shirley Hill Road and home.

Thought I did ok although I need to up my intensity on the hills a bit instead of crawling up in the granny ring.

Thighs are a bit sore this morning but it's all good preparation for the Tour Of The Peak District next week....

[Sylv]

[quote="Sylv"]If you live not far from Butlers here are a few local hills on which to train.You can see length and elevation/profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567799
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567804
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567806
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567809
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567813
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567818

[quote="Sylv"][quote="Sylv"]If you live not far from Butlers here are a few local hills on which to train.You can see length and elevation/profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567799
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567804
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567806
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567809
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567813
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/12567818

[Andrew G]

Happy killing your legs slowly .

There are loads of killer hills in the area but the ones below are safe to ride through winter being on well lit reasonably main roads (or not quiet country ones anyway), so not as susceptible to winter weather problems, and fairly central. They are also not overly traffic laden so perfectly safe which is important in the dark winter nights. You could get to them easily enough and fairly quickly, and also be fine riding them on dark winter nights with commuting LED lights so you wouldn't need anything that you won't already have or be able to pick up for a few quid - so no excuses then .

[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=87981]Spout Hill[/url] is a 17% killer I have to do within a mile of leaving home on my commute .
Others to add to your list in the Sanderstead / Purley area are:
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=87984]Mitchley Hill[/url] is a good one to warm you up on.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=87982]Downs Court Road[/url] is an absolute sod of a hill.
While you're there do [url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=87983]St James Hill[/url] which is a real leg breaker that you have to do from a switchback hairpin entry to it so you have to start from practically a standstill - make sure you are in a low gear before you turn on to it.
A bit further out but [url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=87986]Tithpitshaw Lane[/url] will have you weeping for your Mum, particularly when you get to the haipin .

[Andrew G]

Okay Dan seeing as you want to point your front wheel in the air these are some good local ones for weekends/daytime. Quiet unlit lanes so best done in daylight if you're going to be weaving on the road or staring at your front wheel .

All belters . They are all close together and not far from Croydon so you can head out for a leg breaking session and never be far from home to roll downhill to afterwards.

[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88569]Slines Oak Road[/url] - a flat run in with a right turn and it'll rear up in front of you, be warned it goes on a bit longer than you think.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88571]Slines New Road[/url] - a gentle meaner with a very steep short kick up at the end.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88570]Bug Hill[/url] - nice lane and not that hard, best thrown in at the end to make it more difficult.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88568]Washpond Lane[/url] - can be done from either side as it goes down then up from either end. Short so do it fast in a big gear.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88576]Hesiers Hill[/url] - a very steep real grovely barsteward. Would be fine to charge it if it was half as long, sadly it isn't and will have you weaving about a bit by the top.
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88574]White Lane[/url] - The Bec CC Hill Climb hill .
[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88573]Chalkpit Lane[/url] - everyone knows this murderous horror.

[Dan_K]

Thanks Andrew, they look like some absolute crackers!

With all the heavy breathing i'll be doing, i'd easily get a job as a phone pest...

[kieran]

boring but effective, find one hill, go up it, go back down it (to where you started)- repeat ad infinitum. This is good for either short recovery times as should only take 2 min or so to go down most hills around here or where you want repeat efforts of the same intensity and duration, then head back up!

[Sylv]

I'm done with hills for the season now
Apart from the slight gradient that is Box

[kieran]

handy tip: if you can'f find a steep hill you can either add weight to your bike, deflat your tyres or let your chain rust to make the effort harder.

[quote="Sean Hogan"][quote="Andrew G"]

[url=http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=88569]Slines Oak Road[/url] - a flat run in with a right turn and it'll rear up in front of you, be warned it goes on a bit longer than you think.