What was the organised event on the SDW near Truleigh Hill?

David-Witts

Dear All,

has anybody any information on the organised event on the South Downs Way passing near Truleigh Hill on Sat 25th Sept? Besides having ~ 10 riders hurtle past me in the opposite direction, ( stopping for chat was out of the question ) I saw no information about the ride. Thanks for any info. David

amt27

it was the British Heart Foundation - Hearts First Bike Ride - London to South Coast Off Road,

David-Witts

Thanks, sound interesting. Anybody got the route or a write up about the ride? David

iainwebster100

Hi, I took part in the ride on Saturday & as someone said it was the BHF London to South Coast ride. There are some details on the BHF website but not the route.

It started at Roehampton University, & basically followed the Thames down to Weybridge, at which point we went over the North Downs via Shere to Cranleigh. At Cranleigh we joined the Downs Link & followed this all the way to Upper Beeding where we joined the South Downs way for a while before coming down to Shoreham & then along the seafront to the finish at Hove.

In total the route was 75 miles, however the section over the North Downs was a last minute detour from the origninal planned route & this was not particularly well signed or marshalled!

As it was the 1st time this event was organised they limited it to 500 riders, but I understand there will be no limit next year.

Overall it was a fantastic day & took us around 8 & 1/2 hours to complete.

Hope this helps
Iain

David-Witts

Iain,

sounds fantastic, But BHF I assume want sponsership. I've done my bit and can't keep asking people for more money.

500 where were they? I only saw a handful.

What always worries me about rides ( i think Evans are the main cuplrits ) on the SDW and other tracks down south is that the track get very cut up. Takes the Downs about a year to recover from the damage.

I can see that this type of ride is going to cause trouble for us locals

Cheers for the info.

David

iainwebster100

Hi, Yes the event was one which you were asked to raise sponsorship money, you still pay an entrance fee on top, so its still a personal decision as to whether you raise any money.

The event was a staggered start, between 8-10am so by the time everyone got down as far as Brighton I'm sure the field was pretty strung out. Which would be why you only saw groups of 10 or so people.

As the event was an official event, I'm sure the proper permissions were sought before alllowing riders to use the South Downs Way. We only used a very small stretch of the South Downs Way & the section was wide & seemed to have been used by farm vehicles, which I'm sure would do more damage than a few cyclists. So I wouldnt unduly worry about us 'out of towner's' ruining the track for you.

Iain

Horta

I rode it with a mate who'd been hit by a car a few weeks before and so no riding before the event! It took a mammoth 11 hours! That does include a couple of sandwich stops though. Good fun though, nice weather once the fog burnt off.

There was loads of flat riding, which means we'll definately beat that time next year! The North Downs had a couple of nice downhills which made up for it and the climb onto the South Downs was excellent, a real leg burner.

This is the route that someone sent me, don't know if it includes the diversion, we didn't know about the diversion as we were riding unofficially. I missed the cut off for registration! Not sure about £75 minimum donation that was expected, seems a bit steep. I know it's a good cause, but you're already handing out £20-£30 for entry. Maybe I'm just tight!


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