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Ten x Ten Challenge: Day 2. Swains Lane of Pain Challenge
Swains Lane in Highgate, North London is a narrow road running between the grounds of Highgate Cemetery, the Victorian burial site where Karl Marx rests. It’s not a long climb (840 metres) but is certainly one of the steepest gradients (about 15%) you can find in the capital. Its location beside this Gothic cemetery with its railed walls, creeping ivy and crumbling tombs and the twisting, narrow ascent makes Swains Lane somewhat eerie. This voluptuous and leafy part of London is also rather affluent so, whilst you attempt repeats up Swains Lane, Highgate West Hill or Hillway (known at Rapha as the ‘Faffenberg’), you will see locals roaring past in big black Range Rovers or trying to keep their yapping Chihuahuas on a leash as they carry organic foodstuffs home for brunch. Today myself and Ben Brown successfully did ten repeats of the bugger in just under 45 mins, perhaps not unprecedented but no walk in the park (or cemetery).
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Comments
Joe Hall
15th September 2009 04:17pm
Ooooh, no thanks. I did three repeats of Swains Pain on a fixed gear once and my knees nearly left me. Down must be a tad tricky with a brakeless track bike? I'll go home and get mine!
Matthew Shaw
15th September 2009 04:58pm
A bit early for North Drinks, then?
Who was doing laps there last night as well?
Ben Brown
15th September 2009 07:32pm
I don't have a bloody fixed bike! Cripes.
Jamie Freeman
19th September 2009 04:23pm
I'm not from round these parts so when I realised my Mum lives just a few miles north of Rapha HQ I said I'd go see her after a day at work… bugger me, the route's only up this hill innit?! Still, getting back was easy and I didn't have to do it ten times :-)
Dominic Bevacqua
22nd September 2009 04:59pm
Why is Highgate West Hill known at Rapha as the ‘Faffenberg’?