London to South Coast, 26th Sept

paully617

1st 63 miles to checkpoint 4 were ok. Shame about the distinct lack of water at the checkpoints considering the weather.
The 1st section of downhill was looking good until i got snared up by about 20 riders trying to squeeze down this left hand narrow but lshallow slope without considering the steep drop to the right of it. I took the loony route on the right and made about 20 places in 10 yds.

The 2nd downhill off road section was awesome and the trance wanted to go like a steam train. i got into a bit of a downhill race with one guy from a group and the rotors were burning by the bottom!!

checkpoint 4 to the the harbour area was utter dog egg!!!
That hill totally drained my legs but, by the time i got to the top, i was sooooo welcoming the downhill which was not too bad, if you dont mind frikkin glue-on-legs riders giving you shitty looks as you blast past.

The harbour bridge was in operation when i got to it so a 5 min wait was in order. just enough time to cavitate my camelbak before hitting the final 7 miles along the seafront with the sounds of dance music on the ipod in my ears.
All looked like a winning formula until 50yds from the finishing straight, some poncy prick with his "look at me" massive pram decided that he would randomly start swerving across the cycle lane without looking.
TWAS Nearly curtains for me until I encouraged him to "move aside" with some expletives that roy chubby brown would be proud of.
In my defence officer, i was in 27th gear and pedalling like a man posessed and it IS a cycle lane after all.

Anyway, made it safely to the line in 8hr 10 mins which included a total of 50 mins stoppage for food, drinks, pi"" breaks etc.

would i do it again. maybe... i want to do the night ride as well next year.

To the guy i started off riding with who was from portsmouth, how did you get on?? also the same to the air conditioning guy who works in crayford......

afcbian

Well done mate. We finished in 7hrs 30 mins, and I have to admit to struggling with the pace of my riding buddies at about 50 miles. Couldn't get up Thunderbarrow Hill for love nor money. Great day out and will be doing it again next year.
Met up with a Guy called Simon who rode with us for most of the route but his brakes went pop !

singletracksurfer

I liked the last section - I made the climb up and it was nice to have good views & descent to the sea. downs link was good way to get the miles in & quite pretty, you needed to get yourself in a roadie mindset and ride in a group - on your lonesome would be a bit dull.

Paul was the 2nd descent the one to Shere (checkpoint 2)? I loved that.

They did have 'emergency' water at the checkpoints, bananas or something would have been nice though. I just filled at the pub (with burger, chips and beer) and the couple of taps along the way. Mostly to wash the dust down from behind people on the Downs Link. Perfect weather mind.

paully617

The one down to checkpoint 2 was the 1st proper downhill bit that I liked apart from the bunching up. After the switchback it dropped into what seemed to be a dried up riverbed which took you through a tunnel. A group of us are off to Sherwood pines for the day in a week or so if anyone wants to join us!
The BBQ wasn't even ready at the pub when I got there at 1035. I was gutted!

singletracksurfer

ah. I had a late start and we messed around along the way so BBQ was ready when I arrived.

Did anyone see the mini deathbowl off the road just before the 1st big descent to checkpoint 2? That was awesome (dizzying) fun.

was the 2nd descent you mention the one after the long rooty climb through winterfold wood before the downs link? that was nice. the rutted bermy left hander was fun at full tilt.

afcbian

singletracksurfer wrote:

ah. I had a late start and we messed around along the way so BBQ was ready when I arrived.

Did anyone see the mini deathbowl off the road just before the 1st big descent to checkpoint 2? That was awesome (dizzying) fun.

was the 2nd descent you mention the one after the long rooty climb through winterfold wood before the downs link? that was nice. the rutted bermy left hander was fun at full tilt.

That'll be the one I dropped my chain on half way down !!

mcbazza

I rode it along with martyn748 (sort of!).
Set off around 07:45. Finished around 4pm.
1 big stop for lunch (at a different pub, the *official* one was a shambles as it was shut!). And a couple of little stops.
Pedalling time was just over 6hrs.

Really, really enjoyed it. Great day out. Everyone was wonderful. Weather was spot-on. My bike (Stumpy FSR - with Racing Ralph's) was perfect. No mechanicals. No trouble at all.

It was all rideable (for me, at least). The only time I had to get off was at the bridge over the M25, as I had too many people pushing their bikes up the little steps!! Never mind.
That last climb prior to Brighton was rough!! But, managed it. Just told myself, "I've ridden worse", and got on with it.

Me, Martyn & co stayed in Sluggies backpackers hostel, as the rest of the town was overrun with Labour!! Thanks to finding that, had dinner at a nice little Italian (which almost cost £40 for the 5 of us with 3 courses + drinks!), and then a night out on the beer.

Thanks to all that made it such a wonderful experience.
And, a special thanks to Martyn's Dad - for acting as support vehicle/driver.

I might well have to do it again next year, and see if I can beat my time.

NB: And my ride was in memory of my Dad, Frank McCauley, who died suddenly on 18th June 2005 due to (undiagnosed) heart disease.

martyn748

HI bazza fancy see you here.

Yes it was a great day. 6hrs 15mins riding, and just over 7hrs in total. That is including 1 wheel rebuild, 1 snapped chain, and one HUGE puncture.All on the same bike.And a good pub luch and beer :P

Would deffinatly do it again and this time reall go for it and get well under 6 hours.

My legs are only starting to stiffen up a bit today but nothing like I was expecting.

tricky69

was a great ride... was the first time i have done it and finished in 6 hours 20 minutes, including one of our guys getting a puntcher and of course a few wrong turns ! It did not start well for me though, i managed to crash going through richmond park !! Down one of the gravel tracks and a runner coming the other way - tried to avoid him but was carrying too much speed into the corner so went over the end and straight over my handle bars and landed in thorns and stinging nettles.... as a result my arms and legs were complete agony for the rest of the journey

But still great weather and good ride... well done to everyone who did it !

paully617

hi all, i have just been sent this website link from BHF which shows you your times to each checkpoint!!

http://bhfsouth.ridecontrol.co.uk/checkpoint/

mcbazza

Cool!!
I like stats!
I won't complain about the 15min gap between 1st scanning, and actually crossing the start line @ 07:45!!

Really, really loved that ride. Although, looking at the stats now I want to do it again, only faster!!

If the stats are correct, then only 454 riders started. Bit of a shame, since the numbers were upped to around 700.

If anyone was thinking about this ride, but, worried they weren't up to it, don't worry. It wasn't a technical ride. Pretty much any old MTB would have done. It was all rideable (given enough power/stamina!). All you needed was to be able to sit in the saddle for many hours & peddle!!

afcbian

I agree. We are all doing it again next year and can't wait.
We all felt that it was a genuine cycling challenge in terms of endurance and fanastic fun. Would have been much much different though if it had been 12 degrees an raining :shock: