San Fairy Ann Cycle Club

I better start training for it and find me some hills to climb

Go out to Yalding, ride up Yalding Hill, Right at the top, down Barn Hill, left and up Hunton Hill, Right at Coxheath Crossroads and down Westerhill Road, left up Vanity Lane, right and down Linton Hill.........you can carry on doing this for another 15 hills.

I've got as far as the one up to Boughton Monchelsea. Anyone up for the challenge?

I doubt i could do two of those climbs

Ron - this sounds a great challenge. We need to plot the route including the other 15?! hills and let's see who can get further than you without getting off or nightfall descends. As the B group, when led by you, tend to pick off some of these hills like they are not there, we should get a lot of takers. If I get a couple of minutes I'll look at the map and see what a route looks like- unless of course you have already done it.
Let's go for it!

Does the club own a GPS that could be used for this kind of thing ? Either used for tracking a route or used for those wanting to follow a particular route ?

I don't know if we have a GPS -it would be a good idea- Ron will know. However, I have just written a Greensand Ridge Hill route following Google maps. It is better than OS for this particular route as the OS needs both 136 and 148 maps. The route straddles each OS map and there are some bits which don't overlap. I will check out the route ( by car first!) and make sure it takes in the best hills. That'll give a distance as well. The route is in two parts. One starts at Yalding and finishes at Warmlake Sutton valence (5 killer hills) The second from SV to harrietsham. (4 reasonable hills with decreasing intensity). I am guessing that will be enough of a challenge in one day- however the younger and fitter ones could turn around and do it in reverse back to Yalding! The overall route starts and finishes at a pub which might help.

What sort of tiger have I got by the tail?

It might be an idea to run this as a new thread - "Greensand Ridge Hills" or similar. Can our expert Phill do the necessary?

No sooner said than done -thanks Phill.

I'm glad that worked. Thats another one I'll document for you Ron.

Perhaps a Kent version of the famous 3 peaks challenge could be devised by some masochistic route finder. could be a midsummer madness event.
Just do not ask me to ride it. far too old and unfit!!. Peter.

As stated in my earlier post I will try and put some detail into the one Ron "practiced" on. I followed a route on the google map and that Kn........ me! When I have driven the route with the heater on and cd playing I will try Hill number 1 -Yalding. I will then go home and lie down. When recovered I will publish the full Eleven Hill route and then the club loonies can all have a go.

As promised I went out this morning to drive the route. Unfortunately one hill is closed - road works and there is a lot of water in the Yalding area with diversions. So I started from Stage2 ( see it's like Le Tour already!) at Linton Cross Roads. Mileage from here to the end at the White Horse Sandway is 18 miles. So overall it is probably (yet to measure Stage1) about 28 miles. The total number of Hills is now 9 but I think you will like them. What is special about this route are the views. Going down in the Weald after each hill will be beautiful in the spring - going up won't matter cos most will be staring at the road beneath the front wheel and gasping for breath. Anyway, to give you a taster of the forthcoming Greensand Ridge Challenge these are the 9 hills you will ascend.
Stage 1 Yalding Hill, Hunton Hill, Vanity Lane, Church Hill Boughton Mon, Chart Hill
Stage 2 Boyton Ct Rd/Pleasure House Lane(Stt Val), E. Sutton Hill/Charlton Lane, Ulcombe Hill, Chuch Rd Hill Boughton Malherbe
Finish at White Horse Sandway.

I will try to get the rest done in next dew weeks hopefully.

Great Clive. A further thought - could we copy the Otford Grimpeur audax and then do it in reverse??

Just in case anyone is vaguely interested in this audax it does a 50k circuit taking in hills like One Tree, Riverhill, Exedown, Bayleys and Yorks hills. The second 50k does them in reverse. It's certainly as hard as the Hell of the Ashdown, and at £3.50 it's a lot cheaper.

As the weather was good this afternoon I did a test ride of Stage 1, measuring the length of each hill. This is a bit dependant on what can be defined as the start - the gradual approach or where it kicks up. Less trouble identifying the top.

Anyway they are all around ½ mile which I found a bit surprising as riding home from Marden I use Barn Hill instead of Hunton as it seems to be shorter (and steeper).

Bad news Clive - you made Stage 1 too easy. I found these

Up Yalding Hill ...................... Down Barn Hill
Up Hunton Hill.......................Down Westerhill
Up Vanity Lane.....................Down Linton Hill
Up Loddingford Lane .............Down Church Hill
Up Wierton Hill .....................Down East Hall Road
Up Chart Hill

Didn't take details of the distance but it took 1 hour 40 minutes. I don't think that time will stand as a record for long.

Ron,

Starting from Marden Station, and taking the route you mention, according the TrackLogs the total distance is 20miles and the altitude gain is 602m - bet it seemed further and higher - I feel a club run coming on...



Cheers,

Tim.

Thanks Tim.

I started from home and went over Bow Hill to Yalding and came back from Chart Sutton over the footbridge at Barming and up South and North Streets, so a few more metres of climbing. Mileage was 28.

Is this sufficient preparation for the 120k Mad Jack Fuller audax that climbs 2050 metres or do I need to do Stages 1 and 2 and then both in reverse??