Decent climbs for hill training, N London

[Ball]

I need to find a fairly decent hill climb, steepish gradient, a mile or two long, in North London (fairly vague I know but any suggestions are appreciated). I'd like to do some hill repeats and from what I've seen North London is seriously starved of even remotely long climbs.

 

[stoofer]

Umm, Muswell Hill? There's Crouch Hill, Archway Road, Crouch End Hill, Primrose Hill, Highgate Hill, Alexandra Palace Way... These any good?

 

[CopperBrompton]

Highgate Hill is definitely not to be sniffed at. Ali Pali would be another to add to the list.

 

[Aperitif]

Archway Road, as stoofer mentions, is blessed with a nice bridge to look at on the way up / down...that route slopes a bit too!

 

[zimzum42]

Watching the peloton go up Highgate Hill during the 07 ToB was amazing, they flew up like it was nothing, I normally have to push quite hard!

 

[jimboalee]

You don't need a steep hill to train for hills. You need a steep hill to do speed trials on the bike you normally ride.
To train, all you need is a moderate hill and a great big weight training disk strapped onto your bike.

Force = mass x acceleration, and as acceleration is constant ( gravity ) you can simulate a steep hill by increasing mass and riding it up a not-so-steep hill.

 

[srw]

From Hendon you're only a few miles into the Chilterns - some of the hils north out of Rickmansworth might suit.

 

[Ball]

Thanks for all your ideas. I had a look at Highgate West Hill on streetview and it looks ideal. Might give it a go this afternoon which should be amusing for anyone passing by. I'll look into the Chilterns too I hadn't thought of that.

 

[wyno70]

If you want to get out of London a bit, a few ascents from different directions of High Beach will leave you out of breath (and probably with sore legs).