The Butts Lane Hill Climb

Saturday 12th October 2024 at 2pm

Our own local climb is not only a hideous beast of a climb, it’s also a road to nowhere; well it is if you’re on a road bike. After gurning and humping your way up it, you’re deposited into a car park, with a rutted flint track the only exit. So no reason to go up there, other than to say you’ve been up there, or have a particularly evil coach! Beachy Head Cycling club decided it would be ‘fun’ to run a hill climb up there. A nice little end of season event to bring their year of organising to an end.

This is The Butts Lane – stop sniggering at the back – and it’s vital statistics are as follows; it’s 1.18 kilometres in length, it climbs 116 metres at an average of 10.3%, with a maximum 14.2% grade. As it is a road to nowhere, Butts Lane affords plenty of spectating opportunities and with the HQ in the local pub, there’s no shortage of pre or post ride refreshment. All of which is vital to a hill climb. There’s nothing like being able to look into the eyes of a fellow human being, suffering the agony of lactate build up and oxygen debt, to really make you appreciate your pint.

If you’re completely crazy, you can take part in the whole 2024 South Downs Hill Climb Series, of which our event is round 6 of 9.

To take part, you need to be a member of a CTT affiliated cycle club, like BHCC