Tom Parry's Halton Hilly Hundred

The following commentary is provided by Bud Jorgensen

Bud operates Cycle Canada and is founder of Tour du Canada.

Halton Hill Hundred — An Ontario Classic Ride

Halton Hilly Hundred, a 100-kilometre hill climb route organized by the late Tom Parry. Tom was a bike-ride organizer with a wry sense of humor. He was a leading force in the revival of cycling in North America during the 1970s. This particular route is a southern Ontario classic.

Climbing the Niagara Escarpment

The Niagara Escarpment is a range of hills created by the last glacier and is characterized by steep hills. Niagara Falls, on the river between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, is the most spectacular feature of the escarpment. The start of the Hilly Hundred is north of Burlington, between Toronto and Hamilton. Look for Guelph Line off the Queensway, the highway connecting Toronto to Hamilton.

The five climbs on Tom's route are:

Appleby line, heading south just past the checkpoint on No. 3 Sideroad. (This section of the route ends with a steep descent on Appleby Line. Riders need to exercise extreme caution on this switchback downhill. An elite veteran of the Halton Hilly Hundred will have reversed course temporarily at the bottom of this hill to add a sixth, and most difficult, climb to the route.)
Bell School Line heading north. (When Tom first staged this ride he had a bagpiper playing a funeral dirge at the top of this hill, which gets steeper and steeper as you get closer to the crest.)
County Road 8, heading west towards Appleby Line. (This one is just long.)
Dead Man's Gulch, heading north on 6th Line. (This is one of those undulating climbs, where you think you're near the top and suddenly there is another hill in front of you.)
Mount Nemo, heading south on Guelph Line past Britannia Road on the way to the finish. (Mercifully, this is the easiest climb of the five. But by now you're knackered and any bump in the road looks formidable.)Since Tom did this map in the early '80s, the short stretch of gravel on First Line has been paved. The hills haven't changed.

Bid your sanity adieu . . .

commentary by Bud Jorgensen, sweep@CycleCanada.com

Halton Hilly Hundred Map

Bud Jorgensen participated in Tom Parry's Halton Hilly Hundred in (in the 70s or 80s - he can't remember exactly!). The map was a bit damaged by moisture during the ride (sweat of course!) and Bud had a professional graphic artist touch it up. Bud treasures this map. Bud has been in contact with Tom's family about this archive.

Halton Hilly Hundred Route Sheet

The following commentary is provided by Bud Jorgensen

Tom Parry's most famous ride

The Halton Hilly Hundred was probably the most famous (infamous?) of the rides charted by the late Tom Parry. When Tom first did the ride he hired a bagpiper to play a funeral dirge for riders struggling to the top of the Bell School Line Hill. Since he first laid out this route, Guelph Line has become busier, so take care with traffic. (But there is a shoulder now on parts of it, notably the climb to Mount Nemo). The short stretch of gravel shown on the map is now chip and tar.

Bud Jorgensen's Route sheet

This route sheet was created by Bud Jorgensen using Tom Parry's hand drawn Halton Hilly Hundred map. Bud Participated in Tom's ride (in the 70s or 80s - he can't remember exactly!) and kept the map. The map was a bit damaged by moisture during the ride (sweat of course!) and Bud had a professional graphic artist touch it up. Bud treasures this map.

Bud's Route Sheet

Km	Directions	Km	Directions
0.0	Head North on Guelph Line	44.0	R on Appleby Line
2.5	R on No. 1 Side Rd	47.2	R on No.5 Side Rd (also County Rd #9)
6.7	L on Appleby Line	48.6	L on sixth Line
8.2	L on No. 2 Side Rd ( at Trinity Church)	48.8	Hill#4: Dead Man's/Woman's Gulch
10.4	R on Walkers Line (past stop sign)	54.8	L on No.15 Side Road.
11.4	R on No. 4 Side Rd (by golf course)	62.2	L on First Line
14.0	L on Appleby Line	68.6	R on Campbellville Rd. (also County Rd #9)
14.7	L on Britannia Rd	73.0	L on Centre Road (by the school house)
16.4	L on Walkers Line. Climb hill then R on Britannia	80.0	L on Carlislee Rd (by the Village Store in Carlisle)
18.4	R on Guelph Line towards Lowville	81.6	R on Progreston Road
26.9	R on No. 3 Side Rd. Look for Dad's Restaurant	82.5	L at dead end. Go under RR bridge, then veer R.
29.8	R on Fifth Line (becomes Appleby Line)	83.4	L on Eighth Concession
29.8	Hill #1: The Easy Appleby Line Hill	84.9	R on Town Line (also Milburgh Rd)
34.2	The Difficult Appleby Line Hill: But you're going down and it's treacherous so go slow on switchbacks. (This is the toughest hill in Ontario, so if you want to test your mettle turn around and go back up before continuing on route.)	85.7	L on Britannia (it's the first lL, by Milburgh Rd Sign
35.0	L on Derry Rd	87.0	L on Cedar Springs Rd
36.4	L on Bell School Line	88.8	R on No.8 Side Rd
37.0	Hill #2: The Mad Piper Hill	89.3	R on East St. (at stop sign)
38.2	R on No.14 Side Rd	91.5	R on Guelph Line
39.6	L on Tremaine	93.0	Hill #5: The Lowgearville Hill(Not a serious hill, actually just a long steady climb to the top of Mount Nemo)
41.2	L on Steeles (also County Rd #8)	101.6	Boot Hill
41.2	Hill #3: The Half-Done Hill(the easy half)		For a few, the Finish

Tom Parry's Halton Hilly Hundred

The start locator is provided by Erkan Sarioglu

Locator Map for start of Halton Hilly Hundred

HHH start

Thanks to Erkan for providing this map. It's free and please use at your own risk. You can obtain more copies by writing us at: sweep@CycleCanada.com, by visiting our webpage at: http://www.CycleCanada.com or by telephone at 705-434-1100 Copyright 1996 - 2016