There be hills in these parts
There has been a noticeable lack of hills in our fieldsites to date. A respondent in Hull once talked about a hill and when I asked for more detail I discovered she meant an overpass. Similarly, there were few inclines in Hackney. I was of course aware that Bristol presents a unique topographical contrast but I wasn’t entirely prepared for such unexpected verticality today* (with full backpack and stomach). My planned routes certainly didn’t look hilly on the map. Maps lie.
No doubt I’ll work my way through the list of Bristol’s killer hills during my stay or if a ridiculous mood takes me I’ll attempt The Bastard Hills of Bristol in one fierce go.
I’ll be interested to learn about how locals navigate the city and beyond; what bikes they use, how they carry stuff, when they travel, how they worked out the best routes and what kinds of rude words they say when they near the top.
*Happy I brought the geared bike and not the fixed.
Tags: hills
April 13th, 2011 at 5:30 am
-the bastard hills ride was not only ridden by Adam Eff on a fixed wheel, he helped on the recon, which was actually harder work, as all the options had to be scouted out.
Even if you can’t do the whole route, check out ninetree from stokes croft, and from hotwells through cliftonwood via church lane. Then go down to Totterdown. Classics.
April 13th, 2011 at 6:52 am
Eff must be made of carbon fibre. From early experiences on only a few of the hills, and with gears, I am starting to gain a sense of the magnitude of the Bastard HIlls Ride. Nevertheless, even it it’s not all in one lung/leg bursting attempt, I plan to attempt them all. Thanks for the list of the classics.
August 5th, 2011 at 11:35 am
The steepness of the hill is definitely one of the factors to consider as you cross the city – and means that return journeys can be different routes to outbound ones (ie whizz down the steep hill, but go up the gentler hill).
When commuting Southville to Clifton Village I favoured Ambrose Road / Church Lane / Cliftonwood Road – rather than Clifton Vale or Granby Hill, where traffic that tries to squeeze past you on those rat-runs (the fact my bike was old and heavy also influenced my decision). I’d generally choose Woodland Road over St Michael’s Hill – I suppose it’s trial and error as to what works for you.
I did both the Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride and the follow-up southside one (Vale Street Totterdown a particular treat…) – maybe it’s time to resurrect a re-run…