Where In Sussex

Well, I did it, without incident or accident!  My first ever London to Brighton bike ride!  Yay!  (see below for the GPS track!)

To be honest, and without wishing to brag, it wasn’t anything special distance wise, although I don’t usually do more than 40 miles in a day, 53 isn’t anything too bad, after all, when I went to Wales in April, I did fifty plus miles three days on the trot!  However, having said that, the London to Brighton Bike Ride is something “special”, in that you are doing it with 27,000 other people, as well as various roller-blading skater “bois” and ladies, being hit by super soakers and trying to avoid accidents.

The start was very well organised, six gates where you queue to get your card stamped and take your route card.  Three gates for the next or current start and three for the one after that.  As I was there early, there were still 0700 and 0730 up, so, being cunning, I noted at half-seven that the 0700 was changed to 0800….. so I made sure I was near one of the half-seven gates at eight o’clock, so that I was right at the front of the queue for my half-eight start!  We were all let through at half-eight on the dot, and moved into a big “pen” just before the start line.  There are three of these holding pens, everyone is given a small talk by a marshal and then you are away.  I got away at 0837, so the whole system is quite efficient.

You start off, heading away from Clapham Common through the streets of suburban London, past Wandsworth Common, and then turning right, just before Wimbledon.  From here you head down to Tooting Broadway, which is a slow old slog through the morning traffic and buses - I can see why people like an 0600 or 0630 start - and then down to Mitcham and alongside Mitcham Common.  It took an hour to reach here, with an average speed of about 7mph, about half of what I would have liked to average.

From Mitcham Common you bend right by some kebab shops and head to Carshalton military college, and then left and out towards Woodmansterne.  Through some semi-countryside, over the A2022 and then down to Woodmansterne, where you have to bear left and down a steep hill to a valley.  A left and a right takes you under the railway and up the first real hill of the day, which was a nightmare, because a lot of people chose to get off and push!  This surprised me, being we were only about ten miles into the ride.  I got nerfd from behind by someone who didn’t spot the person in front of me had stopped and several people toppled over at slow speed because their feet were locked to their pedals (I don’t use cycle shoes!  Now I know why!).  Luckily for them, there was a rest station at the top, by Chipstead Golf Club.  I was bursting for the loo at this point, but my route planner said there were several stops in quick succession, which was cool, because lots of people were stopping at this one.

A quick stop about a mile on, at a loo with no queue, and then down the road which leads towards J8 of the M25, turning right down “Markedge Lane” and then under the M25 and immediately right.  This is where the big delay of the day occurred.   I’m still not sure exactly what caused the delay, but we had been overtaken by an ambulance and an emergency car a few minutes before, so I guess it was a crash.  It meant though, that we were stuck at the bottom of a hill, next to the M25 for half an hour, in the shade, which was pretty chilly.  Suddenly though, everyone was moving again and we turned left, up the hill, towards a school at a place called Gatton and up to “Rocky Lane” and then a zig zag left/right over the A23 at Mertsham.  After crossing the A23 at a very heavily policed junction it’s keep left, under the railway (twice) and down to a mini-roundabout with a church next to it.  This is where I saw my first “falling off at speed”… not sure what happened but suddenly someone almost next to me was on the pavement and rolling about.  He seemed ok though.  We turned right at the mini roundabout and through the suburban streets of Metsham and left to Nutfield Marsh, which was quite pleasant.  By now we were all quite well spread out and speeds had increased.  We were doing quite well between Woodmansterne and the M25, but then the thirty minute delay and the massive traffic caused by that meant that everyone was bunched up and we all had cold muscles.  It took until Mertsham before I was feeling comfortable again.

Over the marsh, up a hill to a crossroads, where the marshals seemed quite angry for some reason, over the A25 and then down the other side and under the M23.  Then it’s clear air to Smallfield and then the juction with the B2037, where we turn right for a mile or so and then right at Effingham Park towards the A264 roundabout.  Straight on and then more or less clear air to Crawley Down, where I made a quick stop for a drink and cereal bar, and then off to Turners Hill, which was another chaotic hill, especially at the top, where it suddenly narrowed and all the pushers made it hard for those of us still trying to cycle (it’s a ride, not a walk!) to get through…..  down the other side, past the South of England Showground, sorry Centre, and then through Ardingly and down to Lindfield.

It was as we were heading down to Lindfield I saw the big accident happen… I was going down a hill about 20-25mph, and minding my own business, we were all reasonably spaced.  Some people were overtaking me, a bit over-confident some were too, although I’m not sure if that caused the collision.  I suddenly found myself coming up behind two people, side by side, in the middle of the lane, doing about 15km/h slower than I was.  I was glad I had my brakes renewed on Friday, and got round them, without incident.  I was aware of someone quite close behind me going down that hill, and I guess he didn’t see them going slower.  I heard the sound of a skid, a yell, then crunch, ouch, crunch, turned around and saw someone flying one way, another person heading another way, bikes in the air.  I looked forward, as I was still going at some speed, although braking, deciding what to do, turned around again and there was one guy still falling and rolling down the hill, and more people piling in.  By this point I was about 15 metres away, so I carried on to the bottom of the hill and informed the marshals, as I knew there were many people already up there who could help.  If I’d stopped, I’d have endangered myself and others who had got through it.  I hope everyone was ok, bar cuts and bruises, but it did look nasty.

I carried on, glad I’d made the decision, after speaking to some veterans of the ride, that it was better to be cautious and to be really aware of where everyone around you is, as the number of bikes, especially in the faster sections, really is hard work.  Round the village pond at Lindfield and on to the big roundabout at the bottom of Haywards Heath.  Then left at the roundabout and on towards the Sussex roundabout junction with the A272.  This section was a slight hill and was pushed by many people…. I couldn’t help but think “you will die at the Beacon if you can’t manage this!”, but I guess this was the forty mile mark and a lot of people were starting to feel the strain.

Through Haywards Heath and Wivelsfield and a quick stop for hill fuel at the World’s End junction on Ditchling Common.

Over the Common and through Ditchling village, where you can see the giant Ditchling Beacon looming ahead!

Now, last weekend I “did” the Beacon.  It was hard work, and I worked up a sweat.  I had only done a few miles before I got there though, so I wasn’t sure how I’d find it after forty-five miles of cycling.  As you reach the bottom, you hear the sound of a hundred sets of gears changing, as everyone changed down.  I put the bike into a “sensible” gear an started, lowering the ratios gradually.  Almost immediately people started walking, I was surprised at the number still cycling, I guess everyone really wants to do “The Beacon” so I think they try hard.  I had heard that only 1 in 5 make it to the top without walking, but only about 1 in 5 were walking!  We carried on up the hill, and more and more people were dropping out.  The number of walkers was making it hard to cycle.  Why can’t they all stick to the left?  More were dropping out and by the time we reached the top, it was only 1 in 5 of us left.

I reached the top of the Beacon, but, amazingly, I didn’t feel nearly as tired as I had the week before.  I guess it was the general pace being so slow, I was only using about 60% of my usual riding energy, I wasn’t going at my own pace, I was going at the pace of the walkers and those around me.  Another observation I had made at the start was that I was in the minority, not being clad in Lycra, but having “normal” clothes on (long shorts and a t-shirt).  “Oh”, I had thought, “everyone else is a serious cyclist!”.  At the top of Ditchling Beacon, it was interesting to observe that, out of those who made it to the top, about 75% of us were in the “normal” clothing category.  I guess for me, although I’d really been looking forward to this, as someone who does 50-100 miles a week, it’s “just another day at the office”, and the people who dress up aren’t the people who cycle daily.  I don’t know, but I was dead chuffed to make it to the top 248m above the sea, which I could now see, blue in the distance.

I say “blue”, but the cloud was building and it was becoming chilly, so I made my way onwards, down to Old Boat Corner and down Coldean Lane.  Clocking up 38mph as I sped down the hill to the A270 at the bottom.  The final few miles was another inner city slog.  Cars were in the wrong lanes, bikes ended up in the wrong lanes, everyone was impatient but we made it to the Royal Pavilion and then could see the Palace Pier.

We were held for a minute or so at the pier roundabout and then it was over, into the crowds lining the side of the road as we went along Madeira Drive and through the finish line, to get our cards stamped and collect our medal and a bottle of water!

I was a bit tired, but not exhausted, I felt good and I noticed I was finishing with a lot of 0700 and 0730 starters, and hardly any 0830 starters, so that was good.  I learnt that people are right about how much care you have to take and I found that yes, the first and last stages are very slow and traffic ridden.

I arrived at 14:14, just over five and a half hours after starting.  Total “moving” time was four hours forty-seven mins, but I was stationary for about an hour, including the half hour delay at the M25.  I think next year I’ll go for an earlier start, because it is frustrating to be held up at every junction, for a few mins each time.

Download a GPX track of my London to Brighton Ride 2008! (Right Click/Save As)