Considering that we call ourselves mountain bikers I thought we ought to find out...
A quick bit of online research reveals that the highest point in the South East is Leith Hill in Surrey Hills at 295m. Now it is good to know that many of us have ridden up and down this point a few times which kind of, lamely, enables us to call ourselves mountain bikers.
By comparison I think that the highest point within comfortable riding distance of us is the hills above Wye Kent on the North Downs which is 137m, please feel free to correct me if you know otherwise.
Those of us that have done the Hell of the Ashdown with the hills - Star, Toys and Ide all have elevations under 240m.
I decided to look further afield to see where larger hills lay, that if hills do lay as such, maybe they lurk or loom? Looking at the topography of the UK we have to travel quite a way to find anything significantly bigger than Leith Hill, Gloucestershire to be precise with Cleeve Hill at 330m.
Obviously we have the well known mountain ranges to choose from for really big climbs but the purpose of this blog entry was to see what we could find nearby that is more challenging than Leith Hill, it appears unfortunately that the answer is there is not much over 300 metres, although 300 metres can still be a lot of fun of course. So to summarise - if we want more mountains, we need to move :)
Haddington Hill is 267m high in Buckinghamshire, in the Chilterns. I have climbed over these hills on the road at Stokenchurch which is not as high, but quite close. I reckon Stokenchurch Hill to the top where the TV mast is must be about be a climb of a couple of miles on the road. You pass the said TV satelite mast on the M40.
ReplyDeleteThe Annual Hill Climb Event:
ReplyDeleteThe other hill I have to mention is 'The Vigo' near Meopham. It is the steep version of Wrotham Hill. All I can say it is errased from my memory and I cant describe it in any way... All I can tell you is 4-5 minutes of excruiting pain. It has an arched bridge above you at one point, which looms black as your passing out of conciousness and into some kind of altered state where its dark and you must be visiting the devil in an underworld of torture where it hurts so bad your unable to make descions or even judge anything. All you know is don't vere off the road that is the primary and only single piece of awarenesss that can get through. When you realise you can stop now you might vomit, then uncontrolable shaking takes hold and some kind of laughter comes out. Then you realise that you were no where close to the pace of the event leader and you walk back bewildered disorientated and gratefull that its over for another year!
The Vigo sounds like some kind of hill, especially if the devil is involved. My fork tailed moment was climbing up to the top of the Ashdown Forest on a hill aptly named "The Wall" in a blizzard and then fixing a puncture at the top.
ReplyDeleteAltered consciousness indeed, Bazza was there he says it was the biggest high so far ;)
I think by riding the high spots around where you live and surveying the view from the peak gives an essential idea of space and scale and how you fit into the landscape itself. The wild spots away from civilization and blasted by winds and lower temperatures humbles and inspires in equal measures. High spots are indeed good things and should be sought out but never tamed
ReplyDeletein other words you can "bag" a peak but never own it
ReplyDeleteWhy are you walking when you have got a bike?
ReplyDeleteCycle up and ski down, now that@s a proper day out.
If it's the Alps etc get a chair lift>
Can I just say! The Matterhorn, The Eiger and K2 are all markers or measures. So to, Mount Fuji which has been painted and Popperkatapetal in S. America which......er, I dont know?....danced on with Aztechs, Ayers Rock played the didge with First Nation Brothers, and prayed to the Gods on Mount Olympus. But use a 'Ski Lift' ? What?. Sorry..Only for capitalist pigs holidaying in St. Moritz on their stock market dividends. The Mountains are the same stuff, the same make up of our warrior braves who roam these lands free. Our ancestors climbed and befriended these wild places, they are part of us and mother earth is way stronger than a convienient chair lift hanging on a steel cable. Meet her on her own terms and say Hi, I have been there, She was a tough Mistress, but a merciful landlord....'Chair lifts, another of the white-mans'iron horses'. These and SUV's are where the illusion of supremacy starts taking over.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the rant guys, but the branding on this 10 year old single malt, whose packaging and marketing carries the traditional symbol for birth, and the forces of nature has influenced my comment. Combined with text on the nice box saying that this 'Water of life' is forged by turbulent seas and windswept landscapes re-kindles some kind of passion for the wilderness. Encapsulated by the 'three magnificent peaks' from the Isle of Jura', whose presance greet you by poking through the clouds!
Things seem clear through the magnification of the bottom of the glass.
Now that is more like it posting from the Isle of Jura with a swirl of peat smoke, crashing waves on the Atlantic shore, kippers smoking gently in the smokehouse, the gentle hint of a Céilidh in the distance and looking at the world through the kaleidoscope of the bottom of a glass.
ReplyDeleteFor Sale
ReplyDelete1 pair of spectrlite skis and bindings
1 pair Salomon ski boots
1 nitro snowboard
1 pair Northwave boots
1 Honda CRV
One careful capitalist porcine owner
May consider swap for a hair shirt and a bottle of Mount gay rum.
I have plenty of Laphraig single malt but I am avoiding it as it makes you angry.
please reply by carrier pigeon as I am selling my computer to avoid even greater capitalist evil from the internet.
I can only give my address as third cave from the right Mount Chicetta, El Silencio, Tenerife.
I will of course be walking up as I have done to many proper mountains in my short but humble life.
I will sign off now as I think the greatest downfall that can come upon man is not a few SUV's and ski lifts but from the 2 or 3 people who should they choose to pull the plug on the global computer network we will screw the lot of us.
I think I better get some candles just in case.
I think that the capitalist pigs on here are exempt from any satirical comments, it is aimed at the "other" ones.
ReplyDeleteMy exploitation of cheap labour in the Far East and transporting goods halfway across the globe is perfectly acceptable and to be positively encouraged.
My huge SUV was perfectly OK at the time, we as card carrying members of the two wheeled carnival have the mantra "two wheels good, four wheels better"
I agree it is all meant in good heart and fun, cos THIS IS THE Carnival of LOVE, and peace rules.
ReplyDeleteIt is very obvious that all of us have a little of the Animal Farm going on about our lives and that is why with tongue in cheek (upper) it is good sometimes to look at yourself and realise none of us are above a little bit of double dealing.
It is crazy when you look at life and aspire to different things to suit your needs.
Case in example computers are one of the greatest capitalist tools for dealing in stocks, shares, insurance, debentures, banking, etc, basically the tools of those lovely chaps in the city who delight in providing us all with the invisable assets they tell us we sorely need. They of course manage to remunerate themselves hansomely regardless of the returns they do or do not provide for us poor fools. But here we are using the same Capitalist equipment to bemoan them, Crazy.
The same argument can be said for SUV's (we want to be able to get to work in the snow and keep our families safe) but we tend to get the more inviroment friendly ones.
Again as rightly pointed out by my Indian friend these guys built the ski lifts for themselves and now as I get older I want to use them to get to the top of the mountain, as they are there why not. Only snag is I pay exactly the same as they do! What a mug.
I think the cave idea is not a bad idea. If we all did it our porcine friends would have to pay for it themselves, that would muck them up.
Hey Indian any room on the reservation?