The Summer Sizzler, a hilly summer ride in the Chilterns which returned last year after an extended break, is running again this year, on Sunday 14th September.
It starts and finishes at Chalfont St Peter.
It is running as an informal event without an HQ but there will be official timing.
Entry is free, but we are limited to 200 riders.
Please sign up via the link below if you would like to ride.
Near the start there are are public toilets and car parks as well as a Costa cafe, which opens from 7am if you would like pre-ride coffee or snacks.
There are three distances: c.160km (100 miles), 110km and 60km. All include lots of quiet lanes and some challenging climbs, including Kop Hill, which features on each version. (Note for those who rode last year – this year we are not clashing with the Kop Hill Climb).
Start times are 8:00am for the long route, 8:30 for the medium one and 9:00am for the short route.
This is what one of the top Westerley riders who had also done Liege-Bastogne-Liege a few months earlier said about it last year:
“It was a tough day out, lots of small wooded lanes with lots of concentration on the road surface needed. I think not all LBL riders would have survived the day on the Summer Sizzler roads. The numbers were similar LBL: 159.91km / 2,599m vs Sizzler 163.92km / 2,363m. I really enjoyed both, although they were quite different. I felt more tired in the last 30 miles of the Sizzler than LBL. I think it is the intensity of the climbs.”
Full route details, start/finish location and GPX files will be available when we have finished route checking in the week before the event, but see below for a description of each route
Short Route
The short version follows an undulating route to Kop Hill via Speen, then rolls back, downhill virtually all the way, to Chalfont. For those not used to long distances it’s a challenging ride which combines some pretty, undulating lanes with one of the hardest climbs in the Chilterns. There is no shame in walking up Kop Hill if you need to!
The obvious place to make a half way stop is to continue on to Princes Risborough – where there are lots of options, allowing a rest immediately before tackling Kop Hill. There is also a Spar that you pass on the way out after 19km, and come very close to on the way back (42km), as well as shops in Speen and Lacey Green.
Medium route
The medium route largely follows the 2014 Summer Sizzler (other than for HS2 diversions and a new return route with a sting in the tail at Latimer Hill). It heads out to Chinnor, via Marlow and Freith Hill, before turning north-east to go along the main Chilterns ridge, taking in a succession of the big climbs, before heading back to Chalfont from near Wendover
It’s a lovely route with a succession of climbs that provides a hard, challenging but enjoyable ride. This is the best one to enter for most more experienced riders who want an enjoyable and rewarding day out on scenic and mostly quiet lanes.
The main climbs include:
- Dark Hill
- Freith Hill
- Fingest Lane
- Chequers Lane
- Radnage Lane
- Longdown Hill
- Kop Hill
- Dunsmore
- Latimer Hill
For facilities, it takes in Marlow, Chinnor, Princes Risborough (slightly off route) and Chesham) – see details above. Chinnor is an obvious place to stop at around half way, with a couple of cafe options as well as shops.
Long route
The long route is based on the classic Sizzler but heads out via Marlow almost to Wallingford with an additional, and completely unnecessary, tour of the Hambledon valley before taking on the main Chilterns ridge, with a succession of the big climbs.
Really, this one is a bit too long and hard to be much fun so you would most likely prefer one of the other distances. If you are an audax rider used to doing long rides you will probably find this too hilly so you will be slow. And if you are a club rider or racer, it’s going to be too long for you. If you are a triathlete you might have the legs, but the route is a bit fiddly and some of the lanes are a bit rough and need reasonable bike handling skills, so chances are you will get lost and / or come off.
Most people who enter this version will either realise they have made a mistake and switch to one of the other distances at the start, bail out and take a short cut home when they find it too hard, or just not show up at all.
If you really insist on doing this version, it includes some of the old favourites and a few lesser-known, but still interesting climbs, such as:
- Dark Hill
- Freith Hill
- Dudley Lane
- Nuffield Hill
- Watlington Hill
- Ashfield Barn Road
- Chequers Lane
- Radnage Lane
- Longdown Hill
- Kop Hill
- Dunsmore
- Latimer Hill
The route takes in several towns and villages with facilities, including:
- Marlow (cafes, shop, toilets)
- Stoke Row (shop/cafe)
- Watlington (cafes and Co-op, toilets)
- Chinnor (cafes, shop, toilets)
- Princes Risborough (slightly off route but lots of options plus a station if you’ve had enough!)
- Chesham (cafes, shops, toilets + tube station)
Watlington would be a good location for a lunch stop around half way. It has a couple of cafes, the Co-Op and a cyclist-friendly pub which serves good pizza on the way out of the village.