On Sunday 21st October, Rapha is organising a social ride from central London
to the legendary Catford Hill Climb on Yorks Hill near Sevenoaks. The ride will
start from the HOST Gallery in central London at 08.30.

“The
Catford Hill Climb is a true gem,” says Simon Mottram, Rapha’s Managing
Director.

“This hill climb competition ought to be an annual date in any cycling fan’s
calendar. It offers one of the very best spectacles that the sport has to offer”.

Graeme Fife writes; “There is fear in hills, their reputation like a gauntlet
you don’t want to run but know you have to run because once you’ve
heard the name – say, Yorks Hill – you’re left with no option.
That’s the way it is, the reality behind ‘Call yourself a cyclist?’
Yorks Hill is a pig. One of the lovely Kentish Weald’s nastier bits of geology,
it runs near straight up to Hanging Bank on the Greensand Way, a fast even start
into the first lift, a sudden dip in the rhythm to tease your legs and lungs,
then the final excruciating 1 in 4 masher. Bare statistics count for nothing,
of course, and the men and women of the Catford have for over a century, been
proving that in one of the most extreme, if blessedly short-lived, forms of punishment
devised for and by cyclists: the Hill Climb on Yorks Hill ranks with the cruelest”.

Ride
The ride will leave the Gallery at 08.30. The ride is approx. 35 miles taking
in South London before reaching Kent’s countryside. The route to Yorks Hill
is mostly flat and can be completed on a fixed wheel bike. Dedicated Rapha riders
will be leading the way, but maps detailing the route will also be available from
the Rapha website shortly. This ride is an informal, social ride and each participating
rider is responsible for personal safety, conduct, food and journey back. We advise
that all riders ride in an orderly manner and extend all reasonable courtesy to
other road users.

More
Further info and maps detailing the route are downloadable from www.rapha.cc.

The ride to the Catford Hill Climb forms part of Rapha’s Rouleur Exhibition
–a unique event running from 10th – 21st October in central London.
The event comprises a photographic exhibition, Rapha boutique and group rides.

Host Gallery
1 Honduras Street
London, EC1Y 0TH
Tel. 020 7253 2770