London to Brighton ride??

X81

Hi,

Myself and a few others from another forum are considering entering this.

Long story short.................is it as crowded as current info is leading us to believe?

None of us are going to be looking to set records but equally i think being forced to walk due to the whole road being blocked by really slow people will just pi55 me off.

So is worth doing or not?


thanks awfully

Sonny73

I haven't actually ridden it myself and probably never would due to what I hear about it, year before last I know of a couple of chaps that did it and they said crowds and walking were part and parcel, especially up Ditchling Beacon.
I am from Brighton originally and I've always heard the same from others who have seen or been in it, it's fun, a good day out, but not for the serious cyclist unless you make it to the front.

I'm sure others on here will give a clearer picture but I hope that helps a bit.

afcbian

I have done it 4 times including 2009.
The queues at junctions can enfuriating. I spent at least an hour or more standing still last year !!!!
My friends and I have said we will stick to the sportives this year and will be entering the L2B in 2011 as a fun day riding on Choppers and stopping at every pub on the way down
If you want to ride, it's a pain, If you want a fun day out it is fine.

Monkeypump

Well worth doing as it's a brilliant day out, but it is crowded and you will have to be patient at some points (getting out of London, the Beacon, pretty much anywhere in Brighton).

Something like 27,000 people do it so be prepared, but just enjoy the day for what it is - a fun day out, not a race.

Also, don't assume you'll get in - the ride is massively oversubscribed every year.

X81

cheers folks,

this sort of backs up what i've been hearing. shame they can't split it up into groups based on skill/fitness level.

I'm no budding boardman but equally i don't want to be stuck behind a group from the local scout group all doing asponsored cycle in jelly underpants ride :shock:

Gonna look into this further i think.

Any more advice or experiences out there.

Also consdiering the dunwich dynamo, any info on that would be appreciated

cheers

snakehips

afcbian wrote:

If you want to ride, it's a pain, If you want a fun day out it is fine.

I think the statement above sums the situation up very well.

Snake

Heckler1974

People are split into timed departures but within a few miles you'll catch the tail end of the group in front. Very very crowded and crowded with people who seemingly never cycle with other cyclists as most stop quite happily on a hill get off and have a chat or cut between two other cyclists on an extremely steep downhill. Very scary but if you aren't in any hurry then I suppose it's a giggle

jrduquemin

I did the 2009 L2B and it was an enjoyable day out. The ride back was better though because the roads weren't full of assholes who can't ride bikes :-)

Seriously, if you can get an early enough start, you'll be ok. Once you get out of London and onto the main drag down to Brighton, it thins out a bit for the run in to Ditchling Beacon. Luckily I was able to ride up it with no problems. The descent on the other side was really good, 55mph down into Brighton was nice :-)

X81

jrduquemin wrote:

I did the 2009 L2B and it was an enjoyable day out. The ride back was better though because the roads weren't full of assholes who can't ride bikes :-)

Seriously, if you can get an early enough start, you'll be ok. Once you get out of London and onto the main drag down to Brighton, it thins out a bit for the run in to Ditchling Beacon. Luckily I was able to ride up it with no problems. The descent on the other side was really good, 55mph down into Brighton was nice :-)

55MPH!!!!!!! really??

Christ i better make sure my brakes are serviced and working properly.


It was a group of us from a motorcycle forum that i use. MOst of us cycle to stay fit etc so we all thought we'd do this, some do road riding some do MTB etc so we're not super unfit fat gits but neither are we all wannabe lance armstrongs.

I think we'll probably enter as a team and see what happens from there.

Any more info greatfully received.

what about the dunwich dynamo, anyone done that?

stevekosky

Google Fnrttc and see how you feel about that.

Much better than all that crowded stuff

weapons

I've done the Dunwich Dynamo, quite different and a lot of fun. No problem with bunching up of cyclists here, everyone gets pretty spread out after a while.

Or if you really want to ride the London to Brighton route without a load of slow people on bikes, why not enter the Pearson 150 sportive on 23rd May? The 150km route goes to Brighton.

crumbschief

I would love to go but only if Dinah Sheridan comes with me this year,if not forget it.

dobbo75

I did it last year, walked for about the first 20 miles due to the shear number of riders, once on open roads managed a good pace and was able to ride up the beacon as the numties had thinned out a bit, nice climb! If you are going to ride it, make sure you get any early start or be prepared to walk.

JLM74

dobbo75 wrote:

I did it last year, walked for about the first 20 miles due to the shear number of riders, once on open roads managed a good pace and was able to ride up the beacon as the numties had thinned out a bit, nice climb! If you are going to ride it, make sure you get any early start or be prepared to walk.

+1

bobtbuilder

It's a victim of it's own success, and far too big now.

I rode it 16 years in a row (I live on the route), but haven't ridden it since 2005.

I can't see the enjoyment of stop / cycle / walk / cycle / almost get taken out by numpty / stop / walk for 4+ hours. For me that's a miserable day on a bike.

Why not arrange to ride the route with your mates on a different date?

freehub

I might do it, be interesting to get another part of the country riden in.

SteppenHerring

I did it last time (it's what got me back into road riding). I would only do it again if I could go off in the first wave (6:00am). If you can get in front, it's probably OK - the closed road sections are excellent - especially descending into Brighton.

I am doing the Pearson 150km one on 23rd March. Partly because I can ride from home to the start line in 15 minutes and partly because I have a Pearson.

DonDaddyD

How do you get back from Brighton? I heard you can't take your bike on the train.

freehub

You can cycle it..

SteppenHerring

If I did it again, I'd ride back. But then it's only about 40 miles.

There is (or was) a park & ride at the racecourse. If someone can collect you, then that's probably the best option (apart from riding back).

bobtbuilder

DonDaddyD wrote:

How do you get back from Brighton? I heard you can't take your bike on the train.

Correct. You either need to ride back or arrange collection by partner / friend, etc.

gtitim

I did it in 2008 and clocked 50mph on the long downhill straight, great fun.

If you want to ride then get the early slot, we got the first slot but I got a puncture whilst waiting on the grass for them to set us off!!! So I did a quick change and got in the second slot.

It is busy but not so busy as to be annoying (if you get the early slot), definitely one of my favourite rides of all time.

markwalker

Its a crack if you approach it as what it is. a leisurely day out with bikes and beer. Its not a race or even a ride but it is a good day out.