Torq 12:12 - 30th August

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 There was a poor turnout this year at Torq 12:12, the usual forecast of  Bank Holiday rain probably put quite a few riders off especially on this usually rooty and heavy course.  Alas this year the course had been modified missing out some of the more treacherous sections and surprisingly there was less climbing. This year we had 2 teams compete with Will T and Ollie F teaming up in the male pairs and John R, Andy G and John D male team of 3, Emma C took on the 6 hr solo and Fay Cripps was also riding in ladies team of 4.
The rain luckily held off for the race, and the course rode well for the duration and after a few slippery first laps the course soon dried under the many wheels. Our two teams were pitched next to each other trackside and gave each other plenty of support. Will and Ollie led from the gun and topped the podium with a laps lead at the finish, John R, Andy G and John D old gits riding in the over 18’s managed a respectable 13th. Emma put the hammer down for 6 hrs and coasted to victory with a over a lap lead to her nearest rival. Fay who lined up with the xc racer team as a guest had a great battle with the Torq team just pipping them by 8 minutes over 16 laps.
Another excellent day and many thanks must go to the Gorrick team for another successful weekend.

Southern XC Rd 6 - Checkendon 23 August 2015


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A truly fitting end to the Series at Checkendon with rain and sunshine which made the course a real test of handling skills and fitness.
As usual Will Taylor took it all in his stride and wrapped up the series with another 1st place the Expert cat only being beaten once in the 6 series race.
Unfortunately Ian Petherbridge had a mechanical on lap 1 and came home 4th enough to to pick up 2nd in the Series and only 4 points away from 1st in the Super Vet cat. We are all gutted for you Ian.
Ben Connor tried his luck at the shorter distance and managed a great 6th in the Open, Ollie Fenton came 9th in the Sport and Steve Calland 26th in the Veterans cat.
Well done to all, there was a lot of speculation that 2015 would be the last Southern XC Series but luckily another organisation has stepped up to the plate to continue this excellent series.
Good Luck to all next year.
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BC MTB XC Rd 5 Sunday - 16 August 2015

Will Taylor finished off the series with a great 2nd Expert Male at Cannock Chase

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Brighton Big Dog - 2015



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Everybodies favourite event of the year saw another great turnout of club and team members and another set of respectable results in most cats. Conditions were good, dry and warm with a slight breeze helping to dry the damp sections out on course which was the usual mix of lung bursting climbs, roots, drops and off camber sections that tested the skills of every rider on course.
The male team of Steve Calland, Will Taylor and Darren Rawlins(Strada Wheels) led from start to finish, winning by nearly 4 minutes and Will was just 2 seconds off the fastest lap of the day recorded by the legendary Jody Crawforth.
Harry and Hugo Underhill teamed up with a close friend and as last year stood on the podium in 4th place, great result guys.

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Our Ladies Solo Champion from last year Emma Craddock tried valiantly to defend her title but was beaten into second place my arch rival Iwona Szmyd.
Endurance rider Ben Connor managed 10th in a loaded 6hr Male cat with  consistent lap times between 36 and 39 minutes followed home by Peter Wilsdon in 26th and Alex Palmer in 32nd.
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John Reay rode an impressive 7 laps in Grand Vets 6hr to come 10th.
A new pairing of Olive O and Andy H  rode the mixed pairs and came a admirable 11th after an unfortunate 1st lap puncture for newbie Andy.
Two other podiums in the Vets team saw Ian Petherbridge and French Dave(Strada Wheels) battle for lead the whole race narrowly missing out finishing 2nd and Andy G and John D coming in 4th with an amazing effort by Andy to get in a 9th lap narrowly failing by 15 - 20 secs.

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Riders statements:-
Well that was an awesome day!  Course was fantastic although it felt 90% uphill...
I've no idea who the woman at marshal point 4 was but she just didn't stop shouting encouragement and jumping a foot off the floor:-
Tough as usual, will we be back? Of course, we love the pain...
Big thanks to organisers and marshals - it is a truly unique event because of you...





Bike Park Wales - 29th July

Two car loads ventured to Bike Park Wales in Gethin Woods, Merthyr Tydfil late July to try our hand at some downhill riding. £30 for the uplift ticket meant no climbing today quite a strange feeling and we were hoping to get at least 8 runs in. Showers greeted us in the morning and we found the going a little tough but as the day wore on the sun came out and dried up the trails. No Expert trails for us today but we managed all the Intermediate and Advanced, only a run of tight hairpins forced off the bikes, we probably would have managed them in the dry. We all had a few moments though and had two OTB's but no serious injuries just leaving some skin and blood on the Welsh mountain side. A long but great day, it took  4 days for my upper body to recover from the pounding it took, would I go again, perhaps on a steed with more travel than my 100mm tallboy, many kudos to Ross Phillips who did most of the trails on his hardtail!!

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2015 BRITISH CYCLING MTB XC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 18TH - 19TH JULY 2015

The National XC MTB champs are the pinnacle of domestic level cross country racing and Southdowns Bikes/Casco had 4  riders competing in this years event at the 2012 Olympic course at Hadleigh Farm all trying to take home the British Champs Jersey.
The course is brutal as it is either climbing hard or descending through technical, rocky sections. You have to concentrate the whole lap as any mistake could result in a dangerous crash, so it was some achievement for all competitors just to complete the race. Even the elite racers were caught out by certain sections with some nasty consequences.
In the non championships events on Day 1 Oli Fenton finished 15th in the sport male cat enjoying the dry dusty conditions.
Day 2 saw all of the championship events take place. Ben Connor finished 17th in the Masters race very happy with his performance especially after having a crash on the same course two years ago. Ian Petherbridge won silver in the 60+ race and to see all the riders in his age group racing such a technical course was amazing.
After a slow start Steve Calland moved up 4 places on the last lap to win Bronze in the 40-45 race finishing 4th in the 40-50 race.
Finally Will Taylor lined up in the U23 race (his first year in the age group) and really pushed hard to finish 5th ahead of some quality riders showing he has a lot more to come in that cat over the next few years.
The event was really well organised and a good sized crowd and sunshine made for a fantastic days racing.

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CX Sportive 100

4th July my 25th wedding anniversary, how best to spend it with the wife, well get her to get up at 4am and drive John Reay and myself(John Davies) to Winchester for the 6.30 start of the inaugural CX Century Imperial and Metric.
150 riders signed up; 140 to take on the the full 100 miles, and 10 to ride the kilometre century. Nearly all had chosen to 'do it right'; on a full on CX, drop bars, skinny(ish) tyres, the works.
We had signed up for the 100km which finished on top of Truleigh Hill, JR took his Chas Roberts road bike with a few minor modifications(wide tyres) and I was on my cx specific Trek Crockett 5 Disc

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The first few miles were a slow procession but once out of  Winchester the field thinned out and we ended sharing gate opening duties with 2 South Africans, a guy from Luton and Jo Burt who have we have met in events before. The first 20 were not to difficult and the descents smooth especially the 30mph drop down from the highest point of the SDW, Butser Hill to QE Park.
A quick stop to replenish our bottles and food and we were back on the trail with the first loose descent down to Buriton Car Park survived, we cracked on up the singletrack to Harting Down and on to Pen Hill. Photo shows the nasty drop before the short but steep climb up Pen Hill.
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We had some nervous descents especially the drop to the A286 at Cocking but we were enjoying the climbs and grassland flats above Heyshott and Graffham which kept or average speed at a respectable 10mph.  Crossing the A285 and up to Bignor then over the A29. Local knowledge left us a little anxious of the next section the infamous dog leg down to the Arun which we descended with extra care and then everyone's favourite climb Amberley Mount which we managed rather slowly.  We were starting to tire now and were grateful of the relatively flat section to the A24 and then the up Chanctonbury, phew another one down just Truleigh to conquer and the finish. We were pretty relieved to finish at Truleigh we both agreed we wouldn't  have made it to Eastbourne. Respect to those 53 who did and the 19 who got to Truleigh, only 72 of the 150 managed to finish. Next year we will try the 100 mile.

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Merida Summer Monkeys - Frith Hill 14th June

The course was excellent, given the very last minute change of venue and we had some amazing results. Here is Ben Connors take on the race:-

 After racing for 6 hours 41 minutes, completing 10 circuits of Frith Hill, I could probably ride the lap blindfold. Not that I could even consider contorting my aching limbs back onto a bike for at least a day or two!
The course was an absolute belter, 6 miles of constantly twisting and turning woodland trails. There was no rest bite and it was extremely challenging to find anywhere to take on a drink or a gel.



Off the start I tried to go with the front group, but became detached when the rider ahead of me went over the bars, blocking the path! Leading the chasing pack I took a wrong turn at the end of a fast decent, costing myself (and those silly enough to follow) 20-30 seconds. I crossed the line after 38 minutes in 8th place. Only 6 hours to go!
Apart from passing the backmarkers from the 2 hour race I spent much of the race riding alone. I crept up and slipped past 7th place at the end of lap 4 and moved into 6th on lap 7. The 4 hour leaders caught me later in the day, but despite my lap times dropping to 40 minutes I started re-passing them as the sun came out towards the finish.
I pushed hard to complete my 9th lap before the 6 hour cut-off, and then cruised round the final circuit knowing there was nobody chasing from behind, in the hope that I might gain a position.



It was nice to be racing again after a month off, and catch up with all the regulars. 60 miles of fun off-road riding and a top 10 result is always nice too!

Results:-
Ladies Vets 6hr  - 1st Emma Craddock, Male 6hr - 6th Ben Conner, Male 4hr - 4th Marc Clothier, Ladies 4hr - 4th Olive O,Leary  Male Grand Vets 3hrs - 2nd  James D'Arcy, 8th Ian Petherbridge, 12th Andy Goodyer, 13th John Davies, Male 2hr - 1st Will Taylor, 10th Ollie Fenton, 15th Alex Taylor, 26th Stewart Crooks, Male Vets 2hr - 10th Harry Underhill and Ladies 1hr F
un - 1st Amanda D'Arcy well done to all.

Dorset Gravel Dash 100 - 24th May

A one stage, one day, largely off-road 100 mile dash across the county and back, with stunning scenery, sapping climbs and tricky descents. Andy G,John R and John D were joined by Goring shop mechanic Rich and ex SDBikes manager Conrad.
The ‘race’
Firstly the ‘Dash’ was not a race ... lets make that clear, though it was however ridden as quickly as possible by all that rode it.  97 ish miles in distance , the course covered a lot of bridleway gravel, some road , some trail and the occasional push up some seriously steep climbs. There was a diverse selection of bikes lined up at the start … thin, fat, geared, singlespeed and  John R on his converted road bike.
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No marshals, feed stations or directions on this ride so a Garmin and plenty of food were important, before we left we scoffed down a couple of bacon sarnies and a cup of coffee for good measure.
The first climb out of Swanage certainly spread the 70 starters out early and we were soon grouped loosely with 6 or 7  riders, passing each other on either the ups or downs. This continued for most of the ride and we quickly made new friends from as far a field as Cannock Chase and Plymouth. A short stop for lunch at Shillingstone Railway Project  50 miles in was welcome before a wicked climb up  to Hambledon Hill Fort which only George Budd was able to climb followed by some great gravel, railway, river and forest tracks for 20 miles. At the top of the final climb we came across Rich and Conrad , descending a pretty tricky trail into Swanage and back to the Red Lion. Job done and what a great day, time for a beer.

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Wiggle Surrey Hills Gravel Cross - 12th April Cranleigh

John Reay and I took part in this relatively new format , promising punishing climbs,twisty singletrack,fireroads and fast back lanes of the Surrey Hills and we were not disappointed at all .
Leaving the Cranleigh showgrounds on my trusty Trek Crossrip and John on his classic Roberts road bike yes road bike ! The 1st hill was a killer and was followed by Strava rated 4 climbs between tracks,fireroads,rooty twisty sections and even a river bed thrown in. A great route created by the guys at Trailbreak under the Wiggle umbrella. I even ended up with a spot prize of a rather nice Lezyne rear light I think for being the 1st finisher in the 50+ CX category.
 
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Southern XC Rd1-Black Pk

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Some great rides this weekend at Black Park,West Drayton in the first round of Southern XC,
5 members rode with the stand out result being Will Taylor in the Expert Cat coming 3rd with Ollie Fenton 22nd, Ian Petherbridge had another win in the Super Vets Cat, Alex Taylor 25th in the Open Male and Elliot Philpott 11th moving up a division in the Juvenile Male.
Great results guys good luck next week in the Spring Series Rd3 at Porridgepot Hill.

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Brass Monkeys - New Year Hangover


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This was the 3rd and final round of the Merida Brass Monkeys which took place at Windmill Hill in Deepcut.  A very big thanks to the Gorrick team who organise these events for creating such amazingly fun courses out of the woodlands in this area.
Doing well in the Brass Monkeys winter series requires stamina and speed on the bike, but also a helping hand from lady luck. The bikes take some serious abuse from the rough trails and the onslaught of torrid winter conditions. So a big hand to Ben Connor, Peter Wilsdon and John Reay who finished each round.
Peter was off first in the 2hr Male and probably had the worst of the conditions with Ben out in the 4hr next then the old timers Andy G, John R and John D in the 3hr.
The first lap was a little slippy but after that a racing line appeared and sticking to it was important as any mistake put you in trouble riding through some deep mud. The course deteriorated on a few descents but the ever vigilant Gorrick crew soon detoured you around these on adjacent drops.
Everybody finished this round no mishaps or mechanicals results below:-
Peter Wilsdon - 32nd in 2hr Male
John Reay - 11th, Andy Goodyer - 14th and John Davies 21st in 3hr Grand Vets
Ben Connor - 8th 4hr Male
Series Results :-  Peter 11th, John Reay 6th and Ben 7th

Brass Monkeys - Christmas Cracker

After the mud bath that was the first round, Sunday produced a perfect winters day for round 2 of the Brass Monkeys. The course provided some awesome swoopy trails mixed with long taxing fireroad clmbs. After a frosty start the sun shone and bikes stayed relatively mud free.
Well done to everyone from the club who raced, it was great to see the club jerseys out on the course. (I'll admit I hid mine in preference to spreading some festive cheer!)
santa  john
johnd   postie
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Gorrick Autumn Classic 2

After enjoying the hospitality of the NHS for a few days, followed by a much needed  week away recuperating and devouring Pasta in Rome, I had no idea what level of performance to expect this Sunday at the second Gorrick Autumn Classic. Despite the possibility of embarrassment I had no hesitation in going since it was the final XC race of the year and Gorrick always produce an enjoyable  course. Entertaining cycling was guaranteed!
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The organisers struck gold with milder weather than the wintery flavour of the week before and the sun shone all morning. The torrential rain from Saturday meant there were some puddles, and the majority of the trails were covered in a thin layer of mud, but below this was a good firm base, so racing was still fast and the grip was actually pretty good. Even the wet roots didn’t seem to be as scary as they can be.
Crowthorne is a Gorrick classic so parts of the course are very familiar including the famous corkscrew! There were also some new sections too to link it all together, creating a mixture of fast open trails and fun twisty bits.
Ian again decided to mix it with the ‘youngsters’ in the Veterans Plus race, enjoying a long duel with Nik Pullen to come home 15th. He attempted to do the double and enter the Super Vets but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time between the races.
 
I met Will sitting on the start line and immediately noticed his slightly unusual stead with rigid forks! At least it wasn’t a cross bike! I’ve no idea how he coped with the roots. Regardless of the bike he again produced some stunning lap times in the Expert race, but he lost a few minutes on his fourth lap. Not sure what happened, I just hope it wasn’t a front wheel meeting with slippery root type of incident!
Oli rode the Sport race coming home in 12th place.
I decided to man up this week and raced in the recently renamed ‘Masters Plus’ category. This basically means an extra lap compared to the regular Masters (30-40 years) race. My thinking being that the longer race should provide a bit more training for the Brass Monkeys series which starts in a  fortnight. I enjoyed a tight tussle at the end to finish 7th .  Another top 10 finish was a nice way to complete my XC racing for the year. The Gorrick course was cracking as ever, producing another brilliant days cycling.
 Ben Gorrick
Next up are the winter marathon races. We’re expecting to see more club members out racing in a few weeks at the Brass Monkeys!

South Downs Way Overnight 2014

On June 13th 2014 at 7pm four keen young riders gathered under the King Alfred statue at Winchester. Their mission: to complete the glorious 100 mile long South Downs Way end to end in time for breakfast at Eastbourne the following morning. We were those four, this is our story, and it was fun.
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Young Guns (left to right): Harry Underhill, Rob Lenharth, King Alfred (top with sword), Jon Reay, Andy Jarman
The idea was hatched in the depths of a particularly wet and windy winter dreaming of the short balmy nights and easy riding dusty trails of mid summer to come. How to get others to agree to ride? Answer: mention post a Wednesday night ride in a heady atmosphere of post ride endorphins, curry, peer pressure and bravado. It worked. Lots of good planning chats ensued over the months that followed. We would aim to make this a relaxed, enjoyable and safe ride conducted in a spirit of adventure rather than a race. We would stick together at all times and try to complete without having to dig so deep as to shorten our future life expectancies. Just to be on the safe side though the pre-ride forum post included the following official disclaimer statement: “you might not regret it”. So on with the adventure...
It had been a long hot summers day and was indeed a warm balmy evening. The moon was only a day or two from its fullest, and the forecast was good. Overnight temperatures were predicted to drop no lower than 17c, with just a chance of the odd light refreshing shower. The good King appeared to know better however, as with sword he pointed out the first storm clouds gathering overhead – was he warning us of darker times to come..?
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Grand Depart (what no Red Arrows?) - Pre flight checks and ready to roll...
At last, we were rolling – the rhythm of those first few pedal strokes soon calming any pre ride nerves and equipment choice angst. We were full of optimism; we had the sun at our backs and our machines were running smoothly. And, following a last minute search for some pre-ride dinner; our stomachs were full of Ronald MacDonald’s finest - so much for our carefully planned nutrition strategies!
The first leg bathed in the warm late evening sunshine through the Meon valley to Queen Elizabeth Park (QEP) was splendid and comparatively undemanding - well, the Hampshire section isn’t really the South Downs proper is it? We rolled easily through golden fields in the company of barn owls and skylarks. And quite a few rabbits too, some of which attempted to jump through our wheels on the 40mph descent towards Exton. Thankfully they somehow bounced off apparently relatively unharmed. The incident did give pause for a bit of “reflection” though.
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Sunset and “effortless” adrenaline fuelled early miles across the Meon Valley
Then, being shining knights of the off-road, we stopped to help a stranded young lady road cyclist who had found herself deflated with daylight fading. Three of us relaxed whilst Jon expertly repaired the puncture. Then one of us (not Jon), received a thank you in the form of delicious rhubarb and custard energy gel. The young lady then wonderfully asked us the one question we begged to be asked; “how far are you going?”
The day started slipping away rapidly as we raced down the grassy descent of Butser Hill to QEP at 23 miles in. A twilight snack and hunt for the water tap in the courtyard of the visitor centre and we were on our way again, carefully navigating though the most confusing part of the route that is the QEP - so many trails and signs to lesser tracks but none to clearly mark the mighty SDW. Still full of energy and chatting away (all deeply intellectual and profound stuff of course); we had a bit of a “moment” together as we saw the pink moon loom large over the horizon.
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QEP and onwards into the night
We pedalled on in our own cosy bubble of LED light; onwards and upwards to the “Whales Back” proper as we left Hampshire behind and met Harting Down. Its rapid series of short and rolling sharp ups and downs being welcome after the farm tracks of the west. That early chalky descent towards the gate with the horrible gullies gave further pause for “reflection” however. Then onward to our next planned short stop at the Cocking water tap (36 miles). As we topped up our reserves we cautiously started to admit for the first time feeling the first signs of fatigue (or were we just getting warmed up?), and slightly in awe of the distance still to travel.
The next stop was to be the big one – a proper picnic – our planned half distance re-fuelling stop at Houghton (48 miles) where we had left a fully stocked support vehicle. There we enjoyed a slightly surreal 1am feast. Some interesting mid ride fare was consumed; all manner of things including cooked sausages and cheese and mayo sandwiches – the slimy savoury snacks a welcome respite from all that dry sugary stuff. The flask of coffee went down well too. We chatted of how bodies and bikes were fairing (all good so far), and of fuelling, lighting and clothing requirements for the second half ahead.
The immediate climb of Amberley Mount that followed did not aid digestion. But we were soon rolling along our most familiar trails past Kithurst and Chantry Post. We observed the warm glow of Storrington asleep well below. By Washington we were all back in a nice rhythm again. Tempted as we were to recline on the old green “draylon” sofa in the car park at the bottom of the climb we decided to press on. The familiar sight of Chanctonbury Ring and odour of the pig farm flew by next.
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2am top up at Bramber tap
Then, after a quick water stop at Bramber tap, we ground silently up the long drag of Truleigh Hill (the profound discussions on hold for now). On the climb the first drops of rain had started to fall. But soon the winds picked up, and by the Youth hostel and radio mast a full on storm had descended upon us. With thunder and lightning out to sea and cats and dogs from above us we hastily donned our jackets at the gate in the next valley. The wet stuff had now become so forceful that after hitting the hard chalky ground below it was bouncing back up to handlebar height. With no other option in this exposed section we decided to press on, hoping the worst would soon pass, and with a plan to shelter in the National Trust Barn at Saddlescombe Farm if it did not. At Devils Dyke the visibility was so poor that only the line of buttercups marking edge of the more worn grass of “the Way” kept us on track. By the barn (69 miles) the storm showed no sign of easing, and with conditions now almost un-rideable, we decided to shelter there.
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Riders in the Storm - Shivering at Saddlescombe; most grateful of the shelter but it would have been nice if this barn had some doors and a coffee machine...
As the storm raged on and on and on, we distracted ourselves by reading the excellent display material on the ecology of the South Downs and agricultural machinery of yesteryear. We also tried to close our eyes for a bit. Sadly no soft hay bails to recline on but with Andy finding the best kipping spot in a nicely cosseting grain shoot. By now we were feeling very cold and wondering just when conditions would improve and what to do if they didn’t. Eventually the storm let off a little, and having mercifully stopped just short of resorting to a group man hug to conserve precious body heat, we decided to press on in the knowledge that our next pre-planned stop at the Pyecombe 24/7 services (72 miles) was only a climb and descent away.
Shivering and struggling to see through the driving rain and hail, the tracks had become like river beds. But we pressed on dreaming of warming up with hot drinks and shelter at Pyecombe. By the time we arrived there we were seriously cold and genuinely concerned. What followed was the definite low point of our adventure when our “lifeline” was abruptly cut off. We were met outside by the service station attendant who promptly announced he was closed. Apparently the storm had caused a power cut affecting the tills (although all inside was glowing brightly including the tills). We would not be allowed even to take shelter in the warm shop let alone raise our body temperatures with warm drinks. This seemed very harsh to us at the time even though we didn’t look like ideal customers, being soaking wet, covered in mud and with wild staring eyes. As we stood on the forecourt discussing the various scenarios concern levels were ramping up significantly as we got colder and colder. For the first time we started to briefly entertain thoughts of abandoning due to the now very real hypothermia risk. But we still had plenty of resolve, were not going to give up now, and were stranded anyway.
So we reasoned we would press on in the hope that the rain would relent, buoyed by the first signs of dawn, and with the hope that although not 24 hour the services at Newmaket (75 miles) would soon be open. Up on past the golf course then to Ditchling Beacon where the disappointment of the absent ice cream van was more than compensated for by the rain easing significantly, the views opening up and even a glint of sunshine. We were going to make it - even if it rained hard again, an hour or two’s respite to warm up a bit was all we needed!
Great- Newmaket services were open, welcoming and friendly. Their hot coffees were never so warmly welcomed and they even let us use their staff microwave.
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Newmaket Services and “we’re on our way from misery to happiness aha...”
After apologising for the wet muddy puddles on a clean floor we were soon crossing the A27 and up over Newmarket Hill, steam rising from the wet ground and our warming bodies as the morning sun and lifted the moisture and our spirits.
Then a quick pause at the lovely flint church at Southease and over the river and railway, and past the Youth Hostel there, our next planned stop would be Alfriston.
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Up over Newmarket Hill and on to Southease
Before Alfriston, on up past Firle Beacon, where, with the storm having scrubbed the atmosphere and the skies now clear and bright, we enjoyed fantastic views far out to sea, observing glinting waves beneath blue skies, white cliffs and the distant Newhaven ferry gleaming in sunshine towards the horizon.
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Fantastic at Firle – still a bit damp but with the early morning sun lighting up the landscape and lifting our spirits
By Alfriston (90miles) we were feeling really chipper again as we paused awhile on the benches in the village centre. There we ate warm croissants from the post office in the lovely early morning sunshine 10 miles or so and the last couple of climbs to go.
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“Smelling the roses” at Alfriston with the end now firmly in our reach - a moment to savour
After a photo shoot courtesy on some young hikers (who wonderfully asked us: “how far have you come?”), we headed up the long climb towards Jevington where rewarded by the expansive and welcome views of Eastbourne far below. Past the golf course and soon we were rolling easily and swiftly and the smooth tarmac of Eastbourne promenade (102 miles), and enjoying a sunny celebratory alfresco breakfast on the sea front.
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A quick swim and time for breakfast...
So that is our story. We did it, it was well worth getting the bike out of the shed for, and it was fun!
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Some Stats
Total trip time - approx 14.5 hours with around 3 hours of stops including the long ones sheltering from the big storm
• Punctures (-1); - none for us and one repair for another
• Other mechanicals – zero
• Fatigue induced emotional arguments – zero
• Bikes – all 29ers, 2 Ali, 2 carbon, 3 hard tail, 1 full sus
• Lights used – approx 1.5 batteries each (change over at half way point)
Some Awards
• Most critical equipment decision (for persuading Harry to not ditch his rain jacket at the half way stop to save weight) – Jon, Andy and Rob
• Most alternative nutrition strategy (1 bar of dairy milk and one energy bar every other hour) – Andy
• Most consistent cadence and pace – Jon (after his usual three hour warm up)
• Scariest moment involving a long eared mammal (I hope that rabbit is ok and is that my life flashing by before me?)-Rob
• Points Jersey (like a coiled spring - fastest and freshest to the end with multiple sprints to open gates all along the way– must have been the cold sausages) – Harry
• Most spectacular blow up (just past Ditchling Beacon after doing some impromptu interval training to try to and warm up - and we are talking almost crawling along on hands and knees) followed by an equally spectacular and recovery - Anon
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Anon
And a “Big, Thank You” to:
• Michael (top man) Workman and Sally (Jon’s good lady) for stepping up and solving our get to the start transport problems – Thank you both
• Bob Cross of Cross Link Taxis for collecting four muddy and very probably less than pleasant smelling old boys and very muddy machines from Eastbourne at very reasonable rate
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Next Year
• Maybe - who’s in? (lets discuss again around January time after a curry)