Bristol by Bicycle

Thank you!

2010-05-25T22:03:00.003+01:00

A quick note from the organisers -Adam and Steve- to say thank you for turning up. Twenty people all in, including Owen, a seven year old, whose participation was very impressive.

Montpelier was a good intro, Kingsdown fun, Cliftonwood as scenic as ever. The best bit: Bridge Valley Road being closed to cars, giving it a full Alpine-mountain ascent feel. Here we can see Adam enjoying the climb. At least we think he's enjoying it.

We have a proposal from one participant to organise the sequel, the Bastard Hills of South Bristol, which would take in windmill hill and finish in Totterdown, of course. That's going to be harder than this week's event.

There seems interest in doing a repeat, maybe this time we can do one around Christmas, as on a cool day it would be a great way to stay warm. There is also some enthusiasm for a kids version, which would probably just take in one of the sections: Cliftonwood or Kingsdown. Maybe we should do one in each location on separate weeks.

-Steve

Granby Hill: last descent

2010-05-15T07:05:00.000+01:00

After climbing up most of Cliftonwood, the descent down Granby Hill will come as a relief.

For anyone planning to run this area, there are some really good on-foot options you can't explore by bike -do your research! The Polygon is an on-foot-only option, and there are various flights of steps to get you up or down things.

Speaking of steps, Granby Hill finishes going over the portway and then you can walk or cycle down the steps.

Then its out the A4 bike path, towards Bridge Valley Road.

That road should be more fun to ride up when its closed to cars. Quieter.

Ambrose Road, cliftonwood

2010-05-13T07:50:00.004+01:00

Very pretty, the houses on the left probably get a good view of the harbour. The trees in the distance: Ashton Court.

The route plan is to descend here. tuck left and do Church Lane bottom to top.

Cliftonwood is a very quiet part of town, doesn't get much through traffic, and the signs "residents access only" encourage this. For walking: its great, there are even paths full of steps to make things more interesting. For cycling, it's hard work, but quiet and with great views.

Church Lane: Steep, quiet, scenic

2010-05-11T07:54:00.007+01:00

Possibly the toughest climb in Cliftwood, certainly it's in the top 5;

Constitution Hill may have edge in length, Ambra Vale in steepness,

But as we plan to climb both of those too, you get to make your own mind up.

What this road does have is lovely views

And very pretty buildings. The heart of Cliftonwood -something the Lion pub may be to thank for.

Constitution Hill

2010-05-10T16:40:00.000+01:00

Long and Steep.

Not the steepest in the ride, but long, so long.

When we discuss the planned ride, a lot people say "and constitution hill?". We reply: yes, but it's not the hardest. It's just better known than Marlborough Hill or Church lane.

May 23: Three Weeks Away

2010-05-02T19:44:00.001+01:00

Quick reminder it is three weeks until the big day, the now-infamous Bastard Hills of North Bristol event. This one, St Michael's Hill, is obviously part of it, but it is not as steep as some of the others. As the first person to complete the route in one go noted

Once I had traversed the true bastard that is Marlborough Hill (right) and sped down Horfield Road, climbing up St Michael’s Hill didn’t seem half the challenge that it normally is.

That said, the route plan will do it both up and down -the descent can be a bit tricky as you have to give way at the bottom. There is a draft route plan online, but note that this is provisional, and we may throw in some surprises. Certainly Nugent Hill provides more suffering than turning off at the first opportunity to get to Ninetree Hill offers -surely the second or third exit should be used instead. Similarly, around Park Street there a couple of detours which make things harder. We will see as the day goes on. One goal is to avoid killing everyone in Montpelier within ten minutes of setting off, so we will avoid the York Road descent followed by a Richmond Road ascent. As York Road is likely to be closed for roadworks, this is a wise choice.

Bridge Valley road may be open by May 23, but the shared use pavement/bike path is open today, so anyone who wants to train can check it out now.

Some of us plan to combine a bit of route rehearsal and obstacle checking by doing the entire route early one evening as a preamble to the main group event. If that kind of thing appeals, get on the Bristol Cycle Campaign Yahoo! group and its mailing list. Before that, get your bike working, check its brakes and gears are as expected, get climbing!

Bastard Hills of North Bristol: May 23

2010-04-06T22:35:00.000+01:00

We were forced to cancel the original, January date for the first Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride on account of the snow ice.

Only the very brave were out and about on bicycles on that day.

The new date: Sunday May 23. 10:30 am, Picton Square/Thali Cafe in Montpelier. There should be no snow there.

Hopefully, just hills and sun.

Many hills.

It's over six weeks away, so start training. Now. If you are riding single speed, sort out an uphill gear option.

Cliftonwood Road

2010-01-15T17:18:00.000Z

When the postponed ride takes place, the Cliftonwood section will probably include this uphill; with the hairpin it has a hint -just a hint- of an Alp

You get a nice view looking back -this is an interesting part of the city which, without any direct through roads, is very underexplored. Not for us though, we will cover many of the ups and downs in the area.

On bicycle, though, not on foot. If you were walking, you could follow World's End Lane...

This leads to White Hart Steps, which bring you down past a little park to Jacob's Wells Roundabout. Not for cycling, unless there was an MTB event. But walking, that would be good. It could be interesting after rain too: that cobbled area to the right looks designed to take runoff from storms.

Again, vaguely reminiscent of the Alps; those mountain villages with empty stream banks in their middle, streams that turn into torrents after only a day's rain.

Bastard Hills ride postponed: snow!

2010-01-07T21:30:00.000Z

We, the organisers of the Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride, along with the Bristol Cycling Campaign, are sad to announce that the planned tour of many of North Bristol's steepest hills, from Montpelier to Clifton by way of Kingsdown, Cotham and Cliftonwood has had to be postponed from January 10 to a future date to be determined. Snow.

Lots of snow. Here is Cotham Vale, one of the shorter climbs. It has no tracks on it other than sledge, ski and snowboard.

It is possible to cycle round the city, you just need to go on the main roads and worry about the water freezing back to ice at night, water which can be just as lethal in the morning.

Our route wasn't just going to be on the main roads though, it was going to the steepest hills in the area, the obscure ones, and zig-zag up and down them, using quiet connecting routes wherever possible, routes like this one, which is nothing but compressed snow:

Get out there and enjoy an excellent winter, be it sledging or some mountain bike fun. If you are cycling around town, look out for ice, especially as you approach junctions or hills. Many of the classic favoured-by-bicycle routes haven't been gritted, and are pretty hazardous.

We will be rescheduling the ride to spring or summer. This lets everyone who overindulged over Christmas a chance to get slightly more in shape, which they can do by training: ride up as many of these hills as you can.

Keep an eye on the bristolbybike.blogspot.com web site; we will put up news about this ride and other cycling activities in the city. The future date will be published in a future edition of the Bristol Cycling Campaign magazine, as well as other channels.

We apologise to everyone for having to cancel this at short notice, but it doesn't look like it will be less icy on Sunday. If it had been a crisp winter morning without the ice it would have been a lovely day out -our route planning rides were in these conditions, and it was wonderful. Exploring Cliftonwood by bicycle on a sunny Boxing Day is a good use of a bank holiday. Now that we have some routes there, we will be getting everyone else up them, so that you can share the suffering too.

Adam and Steve

Snow status

2010-01-06T23:38:00.000Z

Some of the hills we've planned to cover are currently fenced off and only for use by skiers, snowboarders and sledgers.

This is making the Sunday event somewhat doubtful. The big concern is not just snow, it's ice. The Montpelier roads usually become safe quite quickly, as long as you only travel in the two grooves cut by cars. Nugent and Nine-tree hill ice up and as they don't get much sunlight, stay icy. the others, well, it varies.

We will take a look at the route and the forecast and make a decision on Thursday, announce widely. If its postponed, it will be until later on in the year, maybe make a big event of it.

Routeplan

2010-01-02T14:14:00.003Z

This is the draft route. Kingsdown and Cliftonwood are the hard bits; the rest are just glue

View The Bastard Hills of North Bristol in a larger map

Cotham Vale: a secret little bastard hill

2010-01-01T11:48:00.002Z

Hiding in Cotham is this short but steep bit of gradient, one with lovely views over Redland.

As a downhill, when it isn't fenced off after a snowfall, the primary problem is the sharp corner at the end. You cannot take the turn with speed as there may be something coming in the other direction.

It has fairly little traffic though, not even school-run parents, just people hoping for somewhere to park. As these cars are moving slowly or waiting for someone else to pull out, they are slow moving: no sprints to get to the school before 8:45 here!

As an uphill, well, it's a bastard. The gradient is between 20% and 25%, no letup. But short, wonderfully short. After Ninetree and Marlborough Hills, this one will be over before you've even noticed that you are suffering. That is, assuming your legs are working after the St Andrews and Kingsdown bits of the ride.

Bastard Hills of North Bristol Entry Forms

2009-12-31T17:50:00.002Z

Entry forms for the hill ride are now up online. It's free for Bristol Cycling Campaign members, £1 otherwise. If you join the BCyC in January, we will subtract £1 from the membership fee.

Here is the form: please print and fill in in advance, if you can, as it will save on paperwork on the day.
If you aren't a member, bring a pound, preferably exact change. Money will go to the cycling campaign to support our campaign to make Bristol a better place to cycle.
The ride leaves at 10:30 am sharp. Get there early if you need to fill in forms, pay, etc. Then do some stretching before the tour of Montpelier opens up the day.
We also plan to hit a cafe in the city centre. Bring some spare change for that too.
And we finish by the Water Tower Cafe on the Downs: if you want to finish off with some food or drink there, bring some more money. Otherwise, you are free to go home -it should be a downhill for nearly everyone.

Having checked out the whole route, it's steep. This is not a speed event, it's a "will my inner quad muscles survive" event. Anyone who has ever toured Cornwall or North Devon will know the feeling.

Ten days to go: not too late to get some training in by picking a hill in Cliftonwood or Kingsdown and doing it 6-8 times in a row!

See you on the Sunday!

Montague and Marlborough Hills

2009-12-31T15:33:00.002Z

Before the infamous Dove Street redevelopment, Montague Hill would have carried on all the way to the top of Kingsdown -today there is a bit of it at both ends. Just a bit though.

Here at the bottom, we can go up it and take the first left, which brings us to the base of Marlborough Hill

This is probably the toughest climb in the area. A One in Four gradient, sustained for at least forty metres of up. It's one way, but on weekdays cars ignoring the no-entry signs are still a bit of an issue. On a Sunday it should be quiet, with no sound but the suffering of cyclists. There will be suffering, that we know.

Where to go at the top? A left turn leads to Horfield Road, which drops you down to the bottom of -wait for it- St Michael's Hill.

Ninetree Hill

2009-12-31T08:08:00.006Z

This is Ninetree Hill, or Nine-Tree Hill, depending on your spelling. Steep, sustained. And today, covered in ice.

In these conditions, walking holding on to the bike is the only tactic that makes sense. We really hope that it is not so icy on January 10, as this will be one of the uphills: all the way from the bottom to the top.

It's not as long as you think, only about 20-25 metres of uphill. It can be ridden non-stop by most people. What is nice about it as an uphill is the complete lack of passing cars, especially on the final section. With only a bike exit at the top, nobody is going to overtake you then pull straight in.

Check it out on a weekday morning: it's busy with pedestrians as well a cyclists, especially schoolkids walking up to Cotham School.

For our ride: up to the top then, after a bit of flat, down Dove Street to Dighton Street. Leading to another uphill. A worse one

Technical Kingsdown

2009-12-30T12:00:00.001Z

These hills aren't going to be part of our ride, as in the great 1960s redevelopment of the city, they took away the bottom half and put some fences in.

Somerset street is still there, and quite nice in the ice, as the cobbles drain well; only the gaps between them are icy.

Spring Hill, this hill calls out to the mountain bikers. Once you get past the fencing and Dove Street, there is a very steep and long flight of steps down to Kings Square. Were someone to organise an official MTB Downhill Event in the city, this would be the place. Space at the side to watch, a good finish location, and a lot of altitude to be lost, by turning it into motion.

The fabled Mountain Biker Boxing Day "Steps of Bristol" ride may have done this hill; we lack the specifics. It is nice to think they did.

Nugent Hill -the uphill

2009-12-30T08:21:00.003Z

Good cycling route, as it has little through traffic, especially now that they added a physical build-out to back up the no-entry sign.

The road was closed with the ice; looks OK now.

For the Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride, the plan is to go partway up then cut left, descending down to the start of Ninetree hill. The alternative option would be up to the top, turn right to get to Cotham Brow, then descend Cotham Brow a bit before looping back towards 9-tree. That would add more suffering, but it would also add a right turn onto Cotham Brow, then another one off it.

We're trying to avoid both right turns -they make it trickier to manage a group of cyclists- and the main roads. The goal here is to have fun exploring the hills of Bristol, and it's less fun when you have a bus or a minicab driving six inches behind you getting impatient with the group. Here, by skimping on a bit of Nugent Hill, we avoid lots of traffic for only a bit of lost climbing. And that we will catch up on elsewhere.

St Andrews Road Summit

2009-12-29T11:15:00.000Z

Coming up from Richmond Road, this is surprisingly hard work.

We plan to do that, then loop round and descend St Andrews Road, that being the end of the Montpelier hill section. There are a few more that could be done, but you have to pace yourself for what is to come

View from the top

2009-12-28T15:45:00.001Z

This isn't on the itinerary for the Bastard Hills Ride, but it was checked out anyway for completeness.

What a lovely view on a winter afternoon. To appreciate it properly: climb up from the harbour first.

Granby Hill

2009-12-21T21:35:00.002Z

Probably do this one as a downhill, walk over the footbridge to the far side of the A4 portway, en route to Bridge Valley Road

Steep. Visibility OK until this junction here. Cars pulling in from the Portway have to be moving fairly fast or something hits them from behind; they don't always expect cars to be coming down the hill as they turn in.

Clifton Vale

2009-12-19T08:38:00.000Z

Committing Corner at the top, used to be pretty hairy at night before bike lights got decent.

Now the lighting has got better, but there are cars on both sides of the road, so it's trickier to get past things coming in the other direction.

Plan: downhill

Its good for the constitution

2009-12-17T21:30:00.001Z

Coming up from the left: Constitution Hill: 1 in 6 and long.

the right hand fork: Clifton Wood Road brings you out of Clifton Wood, on something steeper.

Which are the options here?

1) Constution Hill

2) Clifton Wood Road

3) Both?

To find out, meet at Picton Square Montpelier, 10:30 am, January 10, 2010.

St Michael's Hill - it's a bit of a bastard

2009-12-14T10:00:00.000Z

Here is one of the climbs in the planned Bastard Hills of North Bristol event: St Michael's Hill.

Rest assured, it's a bastard.

If you haven't done it yet, get out and do it five or six times in a row. Turn round where it levels, off, by the zebra crossing, and descend.

It's a good descent too. This is the road someone was skiing down in February.

The current plan is to do it both directions, somehow.

The Bastard Hills of North Bristol

2009-11-15T18:58:00.005Z

Constitution. Brooks. Marlborough.St Michael's, Nine-Tree. A few words, words with no meaning, no emotion. But add "Hill" to the end of them and something happens. They get a meaning, they come with emotions. Pain, yes, but what else? Fear? Excitement? Anticipation.

A lot of people laugh at the idea of Bristol being a cycling city because of the hills. Why cycle there? It's all hilly!

We say the hills are what make it fun. Copenhagen? Flat. Amsterdam? Flat. London? Mostly flat. Bristol: hilly. Hills that give you a feeling of accomplishment when you get up them, hills that let you glide down them. The only time they aren't so much fun is on a windy evening, when you have to work to pedal down a hill into the rain, a descent you "earned" in the opposite direction in the morning. That is always a bit demoralizing.

It's time to come out and enjoy those hills. January 10, 2010 will be the inaugural Bristol Cycling Campaign's "Bastard Hills of North Bristol" ride. It's going to start in Montpelier, warm up there -Brooks Hill, perhaps, before crossing over to Kingsdown, and so tick off Nine-Tree Hill, Marlborough Hill, St Michael's Hill, one or two others.

Then we'll descend right from the top of St Michael's Hill down to the city centre, try to grab a snack, then it's up Park Street.

Why Park Street? It's the way to Cliftonwood, of course -and the hills there, starting with the one in six gradient climb that is Constitution Hill, and exploring a few more between the harbour and Clifton. Finally: up Bridge Valley Road to finish at the Downs, at the watertower. From there: every way home is downhill.

If you don't like your hills, this is not the ride for you. But if you do like your roads sloping, if you want to go up something steep, turn and go down something equally steep, this will be a fun day going up and down what is known to geologists as the Clifton/Kingsdown escarpment.

It's not a race. We'll regroup at the top of each hill, and aim to enjoy it.
Fix your bike up. Brakes and low gears. Or low "gear", if your bike is singlespeed.
Work on your hills. One or two. This won't be a distance ride, but you will be working hard for half the ride. Unless you are a fixie rider, in which case you are going to be working hard all the way.
Avoid putting on weight over Christmas. You can't improve your power output in a few weeks, but you can at least avoid making you power to weight ratio worse by going for the extra helpings of brandy butter with your Christmas pudding.
Make sure your Bristol Cycling Campaign membership is up to date. The new CTC ride insurance is strict about the number of non-members allowed, and this is going to be a busy ride. You can always join on the day, just turn up early.

Because the ride is all in town, it isn't going to be that committing. You can push your bike up -and you won't be alone if you do. If you decide partway through that you'd rather pootle home on the flat, just tell the ride leaders before you back off. Of course, we'd rather you continued to the end, to say "I did it!"

If this event turns out well, we will try and make it an annual event. Also, we could plan another ride, later in the year, where you can enjoy other words that go well with "Hill": Windmill, Rownham, Dundry, along with Vale Street, Totterdown. Yes, South Bristol has its Bastard Hills too.

The Bastard Hills of North Bristol ride begins at 10:30 am from Picton Square/The Thali Cafe Montpelier, on Sunday January 10, 2010.

Start preparing now!

Why cycle round Bristol?

2009-05-14T23:59:00.000+01:00

You can drive round the city, if you like sitting in traffic jams, and paying lots for the privilege. If you commute between S. Gloucester and the city centre, you are paying 40 pounds a month or more in fuel alone. Leave the car at home for a month, and that is now saved money.

You could get a bus, but if you have to rely on FirstBus for your bus service, well, you are paying enough to afford a new bicycle ever year.

You can walk, if you live close to where you are going. But it is slow -because you are going at walking pace. On a bike, you can nip out to the shops, buy fresh bread for breakfast and be home almost before the kettle's finished boiling.

You could get a train -these are fast and can have predictable journey times. Funnily enough, bike and train go together very well for longer distances, but in Bristol, there isn't enough of a suburban train system for it to be that useful. Some people do mix train and bike for their commutes, and very happy they are too.

If you commute by car, that thirty to sixty minutes of every day spent sitting in a traffic jam, or sitting at the lights staring at the cars from the other half of the junction that are now blocking the no-blocking part of the junction you cannot enter yourself is a waste of time and money. And it is not exercise, so you need to find a different time of day to get fit, or get used to being unfit and unhealthy. Once you get to work -or to be precise, get near work, you have to start circling round the "secret" roads you've learned about, where there may just be somewhere to park if you are patient enough. Then there is the ten to fifteen minute walk from the parking space to your place at work. And if that secret parking space you have found is not quite legal -it's blocking a dropped kerb, partially blocking a driveway, on a wide piece of pavement- you are left wondering if today you get a ticket -or worse, a towing.

If you have to do the school-run, you are not merely driving your children round the city, getting them used to sitting in traffic jams as a start to the day, you are doing at what is the worst possible time to drive across Bristol. Because every other parent driving their kids to school is also trying to cross the city to arrive slightly before the school day starts, usually 8:45 or 9 am. When you get to the school, you are left trying to find somewhere to park that hasn't been occupied by other parents, then rush the kids in to the playground, casting an eye back to see if today is the one day per term when the traffic wardens issue tickets outside the school. Then it is out of the playground, and into the commute to work. As this is at exactly the same time as every other parent driver in the city is trying to get home or to work, the traffic jam you are now in is even worse than the one to school

Welcome to Bristol by Bicycle!

2009-05-05T14:10:00.004+01:00

Welcome to the Bristol by Bicycle blog, bristolbybike for short.

It aims to be an ongoing blog/feed of cycling events in the city, including work-in-progress content of a new guide to cycling in the city that is being put together by the Bristol Cycling Campaign.

Not: politics -go to Bristol Blogger or Green Bristol Blog
Not: satire or criticism of car drivers: go to Bristol Traffic
Not: photos of cyclists in the city -go to Bristol Cycling Chic

This is advice, and upbeat pro-cycling articles. Usually.