Brighton Ride 23/05

[TimNick]

Have a great ride down to Brighton and back - wish I could be there to get a few more miles in the legs (and some fish & chips!). Am still on 'baby wait' at the mo....he's now in the home straight so to speak so in Giro/Cav terms hopefully about to come off Mark Renshaw's wheel to sprint to the line!!!!!!! Blimey, all this waiting seems to go on forever as we're past his due date by a couple of days.

Ride safe all,

Tim

[Marky Mark]

Best wishes Tim, shame your not coming.. Good luck with all matters baby to all 3 of you.

Marky Mark

[Rob Q]

Shame you cant join us and hope all is well with you. Take care

[Marek]

What a difference a bit of sun can make. 4 of us left Lingfield at 8am and headed out to Ashdown Forest. The climb up to the top of the Forest made Gareth realise that he was not in the mood for a trip to Brighton so he decided to turn off and do a few laps in the forest instead. Steve Shaw, Chris C and myself carried on out of the forest and headed on down to the coast. We took a real nice route that went over the top of Ashdown with views out for miles this morning was gorgeous. Headed on down to Lindfield where we joined the traditional London to Brighton route. We started to up the pace a bit and before long the downs were looming. A beautiful view as you got close to the downs with the sun blazing down.

We stayed together up Ditchling, but I managed to just about pull away from the others with a dig towards the top. We then blasted down towards Brighton getting up some great speed on the steep downhill past the speed camera.

Got to the Regency by 10.30am and had a full English. We then headed out of Brighton and back over Devils Dyke. A rolling route and on the way out we saw Amy and her group of Brightoneers battling up one of the many climbs, looked like there were a few tired legs in there. Chris C is an iron man contender and is competing in a few weeks time so his fitness is coming on and he put in some real long good strong returns on the front which was great, but it was nice and steady and Steve and I sat in and got dragged along. As we came back over Turners Hill we could smell the coffee and started to up the pace further, the final road into East Grinstead is a slightly drag and then a slight downhill for about 2 miles. I sat on the front and whacked it up to 55km and lead the boys out for the final furlong. Great weather, great brekkie, good roads and company, what more can you ask for?

Hope the ACC massive had a good ride, the Regency were ready and waiting for you as they were asking us whether we were with the 'Monty' group.

Cheers

Marek...

[Sylv]

Yep a top ride for me too. Met up with George for a capuccino at Regalinos at 9.15 with our TT bikes ready to roll, and were joined by Stu on his road bike. The sun was shining and it felt like being back in South France again, where all you had to worry upon getting up was what kind of ride we would be doing that day. Somehow Ajay didn't think much of our invitation to join our team time trial, so he opted to go with the last of the groups to leave CSS. Within half a mile George's rear tube exploded with a mighty bang, when he replaced it the tire was bulging so badly with a damaged bead we had no other choice than to go buy a replacement, so we headed for Redhill and I picked up a tire in a shop near the market, which George complained was heavy, but it was the only one they had (can't have been that heavy at £25).

We then had a great blast all the way to Brighton, Stu somehow managing to hold on despite not getting much of a draft behind Mr +30w and me with my powertap wheel on for the occasion, and even managing to take the odd turn at the front whenever the climbs got too steep for our TT bikes to handle well. The guy who sold me my TT bike had said the Rotor ring was a 58t and I never bothered to check the teeth count, but on some of the downhills I noticed even on my biggest gear I was pedalling faster than George - I checked when I got home and it's actually a 53 (just as well mind).

George and Stu were getting a bit tired on the climbs before the final stretch of dual carriageway (we avoided Ditchling) so I made a bid for freedom but was caught 5 miles later at traffic lights. We raced against another group in central Brighton, we looked at our watches and couldn't believe it was only 11.40, I thought my watch was still on French time or something, Stu said we'd made it in 1h40, average 21mph into the wind, and turned out the other group was the first to reach the pier with us. My legs were hurting.

So we got first seats at the Regency, by now the sky was just clouds and it was getting pretty chilly. I tried the hot water taps in the toilets to warm me up through the hands but they were so powerful I ended up with water all over my shorts. The hand driers weren't much cop either as they were the first ones I've ever seen blowing cold air. Stu was disappointed to only have a handful of mussels in his spag, as opposed to the all-you-can-eat he got accustomed to in France. They don't have banoffee pie over there though. Loads of ACCers began to turn up, even shortly before we were about to leave.

Return was pretty good too, we joined a much bigger group, which got split at times, and ended up on the clubrun route, where we stopped at Rusper for much needed refreshments and food. Rob H seemed to be enjoying an unusual bout of training group pace riding, and despite something like already 5h in his legs, was proving super strong. Stu despite saying he was knackered got a second wind and attacked (not quite devastatingly it has to be said ) before the Merstham drag, I let him go thinking the Shadow who was a couple wheels ahead of me would want a fight on his favourite strech of road, but he was cooked so I went after Stu, managed to pass him for the top then waited for him, he was determined to inflict pain on himself for the final few miles though so he went for it again, we had a good old ding dong all the way to Coulsdon, I was so knackered I was beginning to wave all across the road, at some point Stu wasn't too sure whether to pass me on the right or the left , in the end I was so fried and getting cramp I had to let him go for the Coulsdon roundabout, he wasn't half pleased about making it first there. Finished with 151km in 4h30, totally spent, what a good day.

[Steve B]

OMG what a day . I've never been so tired. After racing tues and thursday, and then today's ride, my body said it had had enough by the time I got home. I got in the front door and crashed on the bed, I just needed to sleep.

Running slightly late, I turned up at CSS with no one there. A man told me the group had left 2 mins earlier, so I set off to chase them down. Chase no.1 . Riding that hard, that early, is no good for me, and my legs were shot by the time I caught the group. After seemingly riding backwards up the first climb, I decided to turn back but was talked out of it, thankfully . Nearing Turners hill, I started to feel better and so enjoyed the run in to Brighton.

After spag bol and coke, 6 of us left the restaurant for a brisk ride home. Unfortunately for me Mark and Rich, Sylv Stu and George were just too quick, leaving us trailing not long out of Brighton. The three of us told them to go on, but Stu stayed back with us to join the next group through, leaving Sylv and George to beat each other up all the way home.

Monty's group came through shortly after and we jumped in. On the run up to Devils Dyke, the group got strung out. I was toward the back enjoying a nice easy spin up the climb, thinking everyone would regroup the other side. Oh how wrong . Unbeknown to me, George and Sylv had waited somewhere for the group, and now, the 15 or so riders up ahead were getting dragged along at warp speeds. I'm still thinking I'll catch them down the otherside of DD. So, chase no.2

I was confused . On the Dyke, the riders ahead of me were only just up the road. I'm now chasing like a mad man riding for his life but I cant see anyone, at all, no one. Around every bend I expected to see the group in sight, but no matter how hard I rode, I saw no one. Mile after mile, nothing, they must have taken a wrong turn or something. But then finally after riding flat out solo from DD to nearly Handcross, I caught the tail end of the group, who then told me what had happened, it all became clear. I felt ready to drop, but George and co had stopped up ahead, I was given a gel and an energy bar (thanks guys ), and we were off again. We got to Rusper, refuelled and had 10 mins sit down ready for the final battle to get home. Somehow this gave me a boost, my legs came back to life, I felt good. We pretty much hammered it back from there, shelling riders all over the place. The good feeling didn't last though, with my legs finally giving up on the climb out of Reigate. Mark was in the same boat as me, and once S,S 'n G had blasted off up the Merstham drag, we were more than happy to pootle home at a more sedate pace

Great day

Steve

[Rob Q]

What a great day. I joined Phil Nash’s group out of Coulsdon with about 11 others including Connor, Alan, John, Jeff, Sam and his dad (can’t remember all the names ) Well done to John for chasing us down to join the group. A most agreeable bunch and a well disciplined group with everyone taking it in turns up front setting a steady pace, but enjoying the sun and pleasant scenery. After a couple of stops to check numbers and refuel, we hit Ditchling which I haven’t climbed for a few years now and was reminded painfuly how many false dawns there are. Watched Sam shoot off ahead, but kept him in my sights whilst trying not to blow. I was passed by Sam’s dad to be piped into 3rd spot just before the top

We all regrouped at the top and took in some of the views and got our breath back and then a great blast down with my speed topping 49mph. With the traffic still quite light a good run to Brighton Pier we joined George, Sylv and Stu for a quick photo by the pier and then off to the Regency for some well earned grub.
Joined Monty and the bunch for a great ride back. The group started to break up about 20 miles out of Brighton, although we managed to regroup every so often but we finally split and I was with the first group led by Monty. By now the legs were tiring and thanks to Phil for the words of encouragement which kept me going. A refuel in Ruspur and with the final blast home the legs felt a bit better now and the pace picked up on the reverse cr back into Reigate. I decided to join 3 others up Reigate Hill where the legs finally went near the top, so a steady pace home and the most refreshing shower I have ever had

A big thanks to Phil for leading us down to Brighton and also saving me from falling over at the traffic light at the Regency and also to all the agreeable’s making it such a pleasant day out.
I will post all the pictures on the Addiscomber Flickr site.,

[Tamar]

Ah - ain't it great ridin' a bike? I joined the 15mph group, which ranged in age from 11 - 73yrs. Doncha just love that joyful feelin' you get when you're rolling along in the sunshine with a grin on your face? We had a large group and stopped to regroup several times (including coffee and cake in Haywards Heath) so despite being the first to leave CSS I think we were last to Brighton. It didn't matter though - more time on the bike in the sunshine. Can't fault that. It was great sitting atop Ditchling watching Mr Green Senior crest the hill having ridden it all without stopping - not a bad way to celebrate your 73rd birthday.

Riding back after filling our bellies we were somewhat reduced in numbers -just me, John Cz, Alan the Actor, Farid 2 and Tim Coales...on a fixie...respect!!! But the smaller group and more evenly matched paces meant we didn't fragment so much and had a nice spin back, stopping for icecream, bananas & fig rolls in Handcross, and then splitting just after rejoining the clubrun route at Charlwood...at that righthand turn off the dual carriageway bit of road where there's a pub on the corner...Tim's ar*e was sore (you can't freewheel to shift position on a fixie) so he stopped for a cup of tea with John & Alan, whilst Farid & I continued back to Croydy.

Big grins all round.

[Amy]

Phew, I'm glad to hear another group was sadly depleted for its return ride - only three out of my original group started back... and I lost one of them on the way back. Hope you found the station OK, Mark, at Crawley - still top marks for trying to make it to Brighton and back having never done anything like that distance. I think the pace probably didn't help on the way out.

I started it off with more people than I thought - I didn't count but it was about a dozen. A couple of people were only out for the morning so one peeled off at Partridge Lane and two more including Mark F turned back at Colgate. RobH was tapping out a brisk pace for the group ably assisted by Marky Sandbagger Mark - oooh me knee.... Unfortunately not everyone was able to keep pace so we had to regroup a couple of times with one moment of real panic for me when Ginnie said someone's missing... Steve thankfully turned up shortly after that. At least we didn't have any stupid driving instructors showing their pupils how NOT to deal with a group of cyclists and how to pass them dangerously

Devil's Dyke was what Ginnie was psyching herself up for - hope it wasn't too bad! My return to strength continued and I was second up behind RobH, even overtaking a couple of people on the way up including Nigel W near the top

As said ealier, most of my group disappeared in Brighton, mostly to get the train back though I'll acquit Antonio, as he was only going back because his gears were dying.

After spotting the sign post for Crawley and dispatching Mark (B..?) off to catch the train, three of us continued on, Nigel, Dave and me. We were all pretty tired by now but Dave seemed to slip into some kind of trance (after Nigel and I stopped to wait for Mark at Turners Hill, we didn't see Dave again till we caught up with him the other side of Crawley Down).

Coming back up the hill from Coulsdon, I thought I saw the Camdens - two riders in ACC kit turned right in front of me into Woodcote Village then Brian Nolan caught up with me at the lights at Wallington Green.

It was a good ride all in all but I think I might aim for somewhere else next time - apparently there's a tea garden at Rottingdean..

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

well it wasn't us Amy! We've moved up market and now live in Redhill so Wallington wasn't on our route.

Anyway, WOW!! We had a great day. We rode with the 16 mph. Thanks to Phil Nash doing such a great job as the group leader. And thanks to everyone in the group. Our fourth and definitely THE best ACC ride down to Brighton. Can't remember all the names - Rob has already mentioned a few - Phil, Rob, Connor, Sam, John,1 John 2, Jenny, Alan, Ivor? - their were a dozen in all. Really nice pace kept us together - we arrived in Brighton having averaged almost exactly 16 mph - nice one Phil. There was no daft ripping things up at the front like last years' and we all looked after each other and made sure no one was dropped for long. Not something that always happens I'm sorry to say.

As Rob says Ditchling was fun!! A one, two, three for Bianchi. Couldn't match Rob's dare devil decent. I could only manage 44 mph on the downhill. As Sam says 'more thrilling than any theme park ride...and more dangerous!!'

I'll flikr the photos and fill you in on our ride home later.

Cheers and thanks again

Jon

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

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Phil Nash's 16 mphers refuel and regroup outside the Crown, Turners Hill

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[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

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Those not wearing ACC colours were told to hide behind the sign board!

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Oi ! That man in white! Get behind the board!

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ACC's finest. Phil Nash's 'Dirty Dozen' 16 mphers. What a handsome lot! PS I'm taking the photo and Alan is still climbing on a 42x 25

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

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Antonio looks on in awe at KoM winner. Gets to the top 1 minute 15 secs quicker than anyone else - and does he look happy!

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Bridgette: Where's the rest of my group? Why, I abandoned everyone I rode with to get here first. I'm hungry.

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Why am I so happy? I'm going home by train. Two pints, please, waiter!

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Winner of the ACC THE coolest shades competition

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Only 50 more miles? yippee, I can't wait!!

[Wanderer]

How far can the 16s go in four minutes? A lot further than you think. Having decided at the last moment before leaving to add a second bottle rack, I arrive to find that you can't always rely on the customary five to ten minute departure delay and so started the attempt to make up the distance. That's hard when you haven't got the team pulling you along. Imagine the joy of seeing a swarm of wasps ahead when I got close to Smallfield and the disppointment - no, that's the wrong word - in finding its the 15s and not the 16s. "Only just passed us" says John. Two miles on I see more wasps ahead in the distance when I get to the lights. Why have they gone straight across? I'd have turned left. Better go staight ahead then. Curl around the bend into Copthorne, no sight of them. Keep going straight ahead, but that's signposted Crawley. Can't be right. Guy cycling towards me. "Seen a group of cyclists?" "Nah, mate". So, they must have turned left back there. Double back, two minutes further behind now in the chase, no idea where I am, but there's a main road ahead, and now there's a roundabout I know. Sod it, I'm going to have to cycle solo all the way, but then I suppose I could wait for the 15s to catch up again, they looked pretty determined, as long as they hadn't already overtaken me again, going down the route I would have taken. But then joy, there's a huge tailback of cars trying to get up the hill into Turner's Hill, can only mean slowing cyclists ahead, and there they are at the Crown by the time I get up the climb.

Jon's covered the rest of the trip down admirably, but it was a great bunch. No-one showing off, everyone helping, talking, making it fun. That's my fifth Beacon, I think, and they don't get any easier, but the downhill gets more fun. Last time it was in rain and a stiff breeze from the sea and I don't think I got to over 20 before the big drop.

Good photos of our bunch Jon.

Sensibly a number of the 16s in the 16s/17s group coming back dropped off into a separate group a few miles after the Dyke as the pace was probably just a little too fast for all of us. We all could have done without that hill in the middle of nowhere - Spronketts Lane, is it, going up to Warninglid? - but it was another good bunch, most of whom were in the 16s coming down, with the addition of Bridget and Robby (forgive me if it's an -ie), both of whom kept us all amused.

Alan and I turned off at Newdigate. The Beacon, the Dyke and Box Hill in one day, and my legs feel it 24 hours later. Thanks both to the down and up teams - you know who you all are so I won't embarrass you with a roll-call - and thanks to whoever had the foresight to arrange this for the first day of the year when you didn't have to wear woolies.

See you Saturday

John

[Jon C C on a Bianchi]

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Photos courtesy of nice Welsh bloke down for the day from Brecon. He was minding his own business eating his lunch with his girlfriend...then we came along! Thank you.