Everesting Swain's Lane: 134 times up the 18% climb (videos)

A cyclist in North London took on the challenge to raise awareness of his charity, Only Connect

Everesting Swain's Lane: The Ascent 

Two new films have been released showing the preparation and execution of an attempt to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest on Swain's Lane in North London.

'Everesting' is a relatively new phenomenon where riders aim to ascend a total of 8,848 metres, the height of Mount Everest, in one ride (rest stops permitted!).

>>> Everesting on Alpe d’Huez… on a Raleigh Chopper

Attempts have been made all over the country, notably on Box Hill in Surrey and Cheddar Gorge in Somerset.

Everesting Swain's Lane: The Preparation 

Mat Ilic set about the challenge back in 2014 to raise awareness for his charity, Only Connect. The charity works in a crime prevention capacity in London and aims to provide training and support to young people.

>>> 13 Tour of Britain climbs to conquer on Strava

Helping people turn away from crime, Only Connect says it wants to make these peripheral young people "assets rather than liabilities".

With gradients hitting 18%, this isn't an easy climb to ascend over 100 times. Profile courtesy of Veloviewer

With gradients hitting 18%, this isn't an easy climb to ascend over 100 times. Profile courtesy of Veloviewer

Ilic also wanted to show what a rider must go through to plan, prepare and conquer an endurance challenge on this scale. His chosen hill was Swain's Lane, in Highgate, North London.

Now, thanks to the films the rider made with Gorilla Face Prodcutions and Wodehouse, we too can get an idea of what it takes to achieve something as gruelling as an Everesting challenge.

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Jack Elton-Walters hails from the Isle of Wight, and would be quick to tell anyone that it's his favourite place to ride. He has covered a varied range of topics for Cycling Weekly, producing articles focusing on tech, professional racing and cycling culture. He moved on to work for Cyclist Magazine in 2017 where he stayed for four years until going freelance. He now returns to Cycling Weekly from time-to-time to cover racing, review cycling gear and write longer features for print and online.