Above a Sussex Nomads Cycling Club member climbs Ditchling Beacon.
Ditchling Beacon in East Sussex is a popular (for want of a better term) hill for cyclist to ride up to test their ability against the forces of gravity.
In 1995 I was present at the National Hill climb where Stuart Danerfield of the leo RC rode up this climb in 3.45sec.
For most motal cyclist getting up Ditchling Beacon in anything less than 7min is a very good ride especially if you have already many miles in your legs. And anything less that 10 mins is still respectable.
One thing that has to be said of hill climbs is that they are more a race of truth than flater course where a disc wheel or a perfected modern day time trial position can save you minutes.
Mr Dangerfield is reported to have won this event on a fixed wheel racing bike and one can presume the frame wasn't carbon fibre but more than likely aluminium or even steel!
Things have moved on in the bike world where £6000 bikes aren't seen as unusual and where bikes are every closer to being literally as light as a feather or at least a small bag of feathers.
Could Stuart Dangerfield's record ever be beaten ? ?
Well records are set to be broken but only time will tell if we will ever see someone ever beat Danerfields Record. We might have to wait a while for a club to organise the National Hill Climb on Ditchling Beacon again. But when it does happen are there the riders that can achieve or beat Stuart's ride. ? It will be interesting to see.
In the 80's and 90's in the UK cycling had a very competitive hill climb circuit with the likes of Dangerfield, Wright, and Henderson usually fighting for the top honors.
Today Cyclosportive and Charity rides use the hill as the final test before Brighton.
The BRIGHTON to BRIGHTON Cyclosportive on the 8th October 2011 is a bit different not only do the riders have to climb Ditchling Beacon but also a few other hills within Brighton itself before finishing on the seafront.
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | 110 | Stuart Dangerfield | Leo R.C. | 3-45.2 |
| 2 | 120 | Jeff Wright | North East R.T. | 3-54.2 |
| 3 | 95 | Chris Newton | North Wirral Velo | 4-02.6 |
| 4 | 70 | Chris Myhill | Chesterfield Coureurs | 4-09.2 |
| 5 | 100 | Rob Harris | Optimum Performance R.T. | 4-12.6 |
| 6 | 86 | Brian Green | Oldham Century C.C. | 4-12.9 |
| 7 | 105 | Simon Bray | Team Energy | 4-16.2 |
| 8 | 40 | Richard Taylor | V.C. Venta | 4-17.8 |
| 9 | 111 | Tim Lawn | Kingston Wheelers | 4-17.9 |
| 10 | 56 | Stuart Green | Oldham Century C.C. | 4-19.1 |
| 15 | 103 | Jim Henderson | Oxford University C.C. |
4-25.3 |
