London to Brighton... Done!

Last Sunday was London to Brighton day and after getting up at 4am, I was pleased to see it was clear skies and no sign of any rain!

Andy and Michelle were kind enough to let me stay over, and my day started with a 6 mile ride to the start line for our 6am start. Met up with the rest of the crew (Larry, Mark and Nick - Plain Lazy colleagues), and we started the ride. Hilariously Larry managed to fall of his bike making a bit of a mess of his hand 2 metres from his front door, but it wasn't enough to deter him from the challenge. Larry hadn't been on a bike in ages, and had worked impressively hard preparing himself physically and mentally for the ride.

The start was all pretty chaotic and slightly surreal, people on stilts, a tandom bike with the guy on the bike facing backwards, thousands of people all trying to get away at once, and heaps and heaps of bike traffic, and roller bladers! After sprinting through London city centre dodging all the other cyclists and trying to keep up with Mark, it got to a point where he broke away and I got stuck in bike traffic.

About 10 or 15 miles in, I realised I had no idea of what pace I should be doing. I had set myself a target of completing in less than 4 hours so was aiming for an average of about 14mph, but not having done a long distance ride, had no idea how long I could hold it for. Incredibly even after this long into the ride, it was amazing how many people I was still overtaking, and eventually I caught up with Larry. I was feeling pretty good, and my knee twinge which has pestered me and the brothers Gwynn for the last 20 years had stopped after it started on the morning warm up ride, so I left Larry to battle the crowds and headed off, increasing the pace slightly. It wasn't long before I caught up with Mark at about 20 or 25 miles, and the miles were slipping by. I was averaging about 16mph, and was starting to feel it, but still had plenty of beans left. For the next few miles I shared the brunt with another cyclist taking it in turns to lead, and then slipping in behind slipstreaming, all the time Mark sitting behind us both taking it easy! After a few more miles, Mark started to slip behind and I increased the pace again. Soon after I could see Nick, but it took longer to catch up with him, and I could feel my energy dropping. Luckily I packed some energy bars, and pretty much straight away they took effect. I caught up with Nick and he took a break, so I headed on. I knew that the last hill was a killer, and at 40 miles ate the last energy bar hoping it would kick in for the climb.

When you talk to people about this ride who have done it before, the conversation always ends in talk of the Ditchling Beacon, or the Green Monster. It is the third highest point on the South Downs and is the last thing seperating you from the finish line. It looms up slowly during the ride, and then you see bikes slowing down, and you know the time has come! To be fair it wasn't as bad as it was talked up to be, but it was steep and it was difficult. I managed to cycle all the way, and the great organisation from the BHF even went to somebody at the top of the hill shouting encouragement through a loud speaker. It was a great feeling getting to the top, knowing it was 5 miles to go to the end, and all downhill. I managed to clock just over 45mph on the way down, and with Brighton in my sights, there was no stopping now. Entering the town, there were a few more cyclists to overtake and a few sets of red lights to stop at, but coming round the last corner and seeing the finish line was a great feeling. There were even crowds lining the finish cheering you on, and I managed to cross the line in 3 hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds. I was stoked!

Mark came in a few minutes after, Nick was next about 15 minutes later, and Larry crossed the line about 30 minutes after. After breakfast and heading back to the car back in London, I couldn't help but look forward to next year, and perhaps a sub 3 hour ride?

Its not too late to sponsor me either!!!