Another solid training ride today focusing on endurance and climbing. I had three main objectives for today’s ride: 1) I needed to clock at least 60 miles, 2) Hit some hills but at a sensible pace, and 3) Be back home by midday. This meant skipping the Sunday club ride to get out the door early and crank some solo miles through the Surrey Hills.

I’d never ridden up Leith, Whitedown or Green Dene before so didn’t hit them quite as hard as I could have, but I think I paced myself quite well. They’re not huge hills in the scheme of things but Leith and Whitedown both feature in Simon Warren’s 100 Greatest UK Climbs books. Leith is also the second highest point in south east England.

A respectable 70 miles with four main climbs and over 4700 feet of total elevation gain, arriving back home by 11:45am. Happy days!

View from the top of Leith Hill, Surrey (photo by Photator, Flickr)