On Gold Hill
Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset is famous for being the location of this Hovis advert from the 1970′s. It is the first ride listed in the excellent 50 Quirky Bike Rides by Rob Ainsley. Rob suggests cycling down Gold Hill as in the advert, I wouldn’t recommend it. Far less risky to try cycling up. If you do try, I suggest:
1. Attack the hill on the tarmac section, so you have enough speed to keep going on the cobbles – this is where I think I went wrong
2. Aim to put more than 23 mm of rubber on the road – this also did not help
Anyway, chapeau to Tim who made it despite a wrong turn near the top.
Of the 50 rides in Rob Ainsley’s book I have done only two others: cycling across the Humber Bridge (boing boing) and through the Ashbourne tunnel on the Tissington Trail (echo echo). But I will be trying some of the others. A book well worth getting.