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Ride to the Catford Hill Climb

'The route to Yorks Hill is mostly flat', it reads below and I was reminded of this more than once on the 24% gradient section of Church Hill en route to the 112th Catford Hill Climb, the oldest event of it's kind in the country. Clearly we have a sense of humour here at Rapha (either that or 'a Rapha style of hard riding' is just that), and our thanks goes out to all the riders who all completed the ride (I think!) with enough enthusiasm to render our foolhardy route planning a success.

An early Sunday start was required from The HOST Gallery in central London where The Rouleur Exhibition was being held, and an impressive number of riders turned out, equal to that of the preceding Friday night's ride to Brighton. Progress was smooth through London's southern sprawl, but as we swapped grey urbanity for green farmingside, the struggle to contain lungs within the chest cavity and have legs remain unexploded became order of the morning. We only knew ahead, riders were about to compete on a ramp surpassing the severity of our own route and we had to be there to see them. At least we had a taste of their effort to lend authenticity to our cheers. The hotdog stand was fabulous.

images by Leigh Simpson

About the ride

As part of the Rouleur Exhibition, Rapha organised a mass ride from the Host gallery in central London to the legendary Catford Hill climb on Yorks Hill near Sevenoaks. All riders were welcome.

The Catford Hill Climb is a true gem and is right on London’s door step. This hill climb was a world's first when initially staged on 20th August 1887. It should be a regular feature in anyone’s cycling calendar, competitor or not. It offers some of the very best spectating that the sport has to offer.

The ride left the Gallery at 08.30. The ride was approx. 35 miles taking in South London before reaching Kent’s countryside. The route to Yorks Hill was mostly flat* and could be completed on a fixed wheel bike. Dedicated Rapha riders led the way, and there is a full route mapped out on bikely.com.

(* with the benefit of hindsight, this statement is arguable)

A very British affair

By Therese Bjorn

This is a day in the Alps. You know the images. The images captured by the cameraman sitting squarely on the motorcycle right behind the rider that escaped. The sun is king on a sky void of clouds. The road now horribly exposed; the tree cover restricted to the lower part of the mountain. You watch him bite his time, watching his rivals, making estimates as to their remaining strength. Veering off to the left he jumps. The speed astonishing, leaving his rivals struggling, unable to respond to the challenge. Now dancing on the pedals, he comes through the hairpin on his way to the summit finish. He’s out of the saddle, hips rocking, the cheering crowd enclosing him only to disperse at the last minute. ‘Allez, Allez’, the crowd cries.

The North Downs are not the Alps. Yet this is the spot where you as a rider on a flat sky, autumn day can glimpse a portion of that intensity and glory. The crowd lining the narrow lane edge you upwards and onwards with their chant. ‘Up! Up! Up! This rhythm mirroring each of your pedal strokes. This is Yorks Hill, Kent. The hill is host to the Annual Catford Hill Climb. Short and unforgiving, the course measures a mere 625 metres plunging steeply under tree cover. The autumn, a culprit, throws wet leaves into the equation that form a film of slime as treacherous as ice. This perfidious hill commences with a false flat, but your overconfidence is quickly punished as the gradient increases to 25%. It levels off to 12% but only to return to the unbearable gradient of 1 in 4 for the last 100 metres. Riders give everything in this 2-3 min race. At a 10-foot deficit they collapse at the summit. In foresight, the organisers arrange for a marshal to catch riders as they fall.

British hills tend to be short and sharp, but like mountains, these hills are respected and hated. In British terms, Yorks Hill is a ‘pig of a hill’. And you say it like you mean it. You spit it out; pig of a hill! Short and sharp, the hill bites. It is the kind of hill that demands a brief, extreme effort that hurts like a smacking. A hill climb suits explosive riders requiring a different technique and qualities to those of the feather light climbers that are the kings of the mountains. And so not surprisingly, many of the past winners of this prestigious event have been ‘track men’.

Prestigious. Make no mistake; I am using the correct adjective. The Catford Hill Climb, is not only a unique experience to riders and spectators, it also shyly hides an exceptional piece of cycling history. The Catford Hill Climb is the world’s oldest hill climb competition. First held on 20th August 1887 on Westerham Hill, then regarded as insurmountable. Insurmountable can only have been an apt description, as in those days the road surface would have been loose, unmade and so readily transformed into crippling mud. Or the minor of evils; choking dust. Of the 24 starters, only 12 riders succeeded reaching the top. S.F. Edge of Anerley B.C. won in 6 min 24 sec.

Until 1944, the year the national championships came into being, the Catford Hill Climb was regarded as the Hill Climb Championship of England. And as with any championships, the event can boast of its heroes. Men who ruled this short hill climb season in the month of October. Ernie Hussey, the Finsbury Wizard, was untouchable to his rivals and dominated the event from 1930 to 1938 with nine executive victories. And what is more, Hussey won with style. Cycling’s 1935 headline reads; ‘E.W. Hussey Again Wins Catford Hill Climb. Over Six Seconds Faster Than The Second Man’. Then and now; six seconds is an enormous winning margin. Other impressive riders come to mind. A. Pursey took five consecutive wins from ’54-’59, while M. Pendleton ruled the 1960s clocking up eight victories. During this era, the scene on the road was of even greater animation and excitement with crowds five man deep, numbering thousands, stretching the entire length of the hill. The story told in black & white pictures, gives you a glimpse of the sense of occasion and electric atmosphere.

More recently, Matt Goodes of De Laune CC has set his mark on the event, winning the event four times. Matt joins past and present by sticking to taking on the hill riding a fixed gear bike emblematic of previous champions. Nowadays most riders prefer geared bikes, but a handful swears by the fixed gear bicycle. Get the gear right and it’s the sharpest tool in the box; it providing a more direct and efficient drive along with better traction on the slippery surface.

Conceived in England, the Hill Climb Competition seems curiously to have remained a British affair; never taking off on the Continent. This punishing, sharp, brief, shock variety of racing uphill on wet tarmac slick with leaves and sandy grit. Perhaps not your cup of tea, but in that case a Hill Climb Competition offers some of the best spectating the sport has to offer. The riders close enough to touch. And close enough to let you witness the focus and pain on their faces.
Next window of opportunity is: 2007. Month of the falling leaves. Yorks Hill. Kent. England.

Special thanks to Catford CC: Bryan Stout, Dave Marshal, Ivan Stacey (for painting my name on the road!) & Brian Laughton.

Images courtesy of Catford CC & Lewisham Library.