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Hills of London
12 October 2003

Riders from Tower Hamlets and Hackney pedalled round London taking in as many of the high points north and south of the river as we could manage.

Note: Locations are given as: LCG5 Zb33 = London Cycle Guide no. 5, grid Zb33.
Click on images for larger versions.

Starting off from Mile End Park three of the Tower Hamlets crew (Steve, Trevor & Owen with his brand new bike) cycled up the Lea Valley to meet up with three of the Hackney crew (Gigi, Ben & Oliver) at Lea Bridge (LCG5 Zb33). This pleasant and _flat_ start to the ride definitely lulled me into forgetting what the day had in store.

Turning west at Springfield Park (LCG5 Xb31) we started our first climb heading towards Finsbury Park (LCG5 Rb32) via Stamford Hill. Successfully negotiating this first challenge we were down to five as Oliver said cheerio (he was being sociable and had come along to say hello).

It was then on to the Parkland Walk - a first time for most of us. An excellent off-road route from Finsbury Park to Highgate (LCG5 Kb30) - thoroughly recommended. Going west you gradually climb all the way but for seemingly little effort compared to if you arrive at Highgate by grovelling up Archway Road.

Ben's intricate knowledge of this neck of the woods was then made good use of as we meandered our way across to Alexandra Palace (LCG5 Mb27). There we got our first great city view of the day as we were blown about by the easterly wind whilst drinking coffee, munching cake and watching the endless busloads of elderly ladies being dropped off at the Knitting & Stitching Exhibition.

We then followed Ben towards Hampstead Heath via Muswell Hill (thankfully this way we had avoided actually riding up the whole length of the hill). It was about this time that Steve's gear system started playing up with the derailleur frequently jamming. Roadside maintenance didn't solve the problem so he struggled on.

Things got worse though as we went across the Heath as now his front brake cable suddenly snapped (maybe this was payback for us not taking any notice of the "no cycling" signs...). With further participation of our ride leader in doubt as his bike fell apart around him, we decided to skip the walk up to Parliament Hill (LCG5 Gb34) and head straight for Cycle Surgery on Chalk Farm Road. Before this we said our farewells to Ben - and then there were four.

After a fairly quick pitstop at Cycle Surgery (good friendly service) we left with Steve sporting a new freewheel and working front brake. We immediately clambered up Primrose Hill (LCG10 Hb39) for another great London view before heading southwards to tackle the steep slopes south of the river. By now it was lunchtime so we called in a pub near The Cut for roast dinner :-) we'd covered about 26 miles.

The final three of us set off on the final leg (Trevor deciding to head back home). This is where things got harder. Our route across north London had pretty much stuck to going along the contour lines as much as possible but now in the south we were constantly going across them.

The first challenge was Denmark Hill though we went parallel to it up the cycle route on Camberwell Grove. Steve then took us back down to Peckham Rye before heading up Forest Hill Road and to One Tree Hill (LCG15 Yb58) for another view of the city through the trees - a very nice spot. Reaching the top of each hill was now rewarded with one of Owen's jaffa cakes - the sugar energy boost was becoming essential.

Keeping the pressure on Steve took us downhill and north so that we had the pleasure of riding up to Telegraph Hill Park (LCG10 Zb54). Heading east across the north of Lewisham at Elverson Road, Blackheath Hill (LCG11 Ec53) beckoned. That was hard. We then trundled to the Observatory in Greenwich Park (LCG11 Gc 52) to take in the fantastic view from there. It was now dusk, we were tired but there was one final challenge - the long and continually steepening drag up Shooters Hill (LCG11 Rc54). It was a case of doing it "because it's there". We went into autopilot mode and ground our way up to the top. Unfortunately the city view is broken up by houses and trees but that didn't matter with us knowing that was the last climbing we'd be doing. We flew back down to Greenwich thankfully assisted by the strong tailwind as well as the gradient.

Wearily we grovelled down and up the stairs at either end of the foot tunnel and headed off home. We'd covered about 50 miles and ridden up about 11 'major' hills. An excellent ride with loads of possible permutations to take in more or perhaps less hills. Us "east enders" are certainly rather fortunate not having to deal with those sort of gradients every day...

Owen

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