1/6 Eastbourne Festival Sportive

Excellent conditions prevailed for the Eastbourne Cycling Festival sportive. Hastings & St Leonard's Cycling Club were there in good numbers, bringing both quality and quantity to the proceedings. The forecast was for an increasingly bright day with light winds - what more can a cyclist ask for?

Most of us worked in a group that reportedly dwindled only when the long grind up High & Over finally sorted the strongest rider from the bunch. In-between times, we made good progress across the Marshes, up and down to Bodle Street Green and on to Rushlake Green. This is where I was dropped, settling into a steady solo rhythm of around 32kph along roads I know really well. The first half of the ride would be the fastest as all the big climbs were after 55km or so.

A hardcore group sped onwards, doing a good impression of the Wednesday night chaingang, but without the wind and rain. I knew there was another group with Steve Curtis and others behind me, and that Wednesday night feeling was then complete - I was riding between the two groups, as usual. But it felt good - I knew I needed to keep a consistent good pace to get round the course in under 3 hours 40 minutes. I hunkered down and spun my pedals as smoothly as I could.

Various others joined in along the way, coming and going according to the angle of the road and their relative strength. One such gent rejoined me near Cowbeach, riding with prayer-position TT bars. Mr TT sped past me on the descents, but fell behind on the lumps and bumps on the road to Magham Down. Just as he was starting to get on my nerves, seesawing back and forth, he took the turn for short route and I was finally alone - just me, the bike and the road, rolling through East Sussex's glorious fields and woods.

Our Illustreous Author Is ready For The Off!

Other riders were few and far between from Grove Hill to the turn at Horam. There followed from here a generally fast section of short rises and drops that took me south to the A22. A quick left and right at Golden Cross took me onto similar roads and over the 50km mark, through some of the county's best countryside. I stopped with a motorcycle marshall at the Selmeston level crossing, before reaching the A27 and wriggling through the traffic for the lane leading to Bo Peep.

This was the first of the four big hills on the day and, in my opinion, the toughest! Bo Peep - sounds sweet and innocent, doesn't it? An image of a young lady in a bonnet with a shepherds crook looking for her lambs, hiding behind a hedge from her.

Why on earth did they name this beast of a hill after a soppy nursery character? Wolf Hill would be more apt - sharp slopes and turns bite your legs hard, rip your lungs from your chest and your kneecaps from your legs. It's hills like this that make me wish I had a compact chainset; I was at the limit of my strength, honking uphill in a 39/28 gear. The sun was hot and all i could think about was taking my arm warmers off. Keep going, don't get distracted! I arrived at the top, panting like a bulldog, slumping over my handlebars and shaking from the effort.

"Pah, Gold Is Too easy for Me!"

The feeding station was a very welcome sight and here also were some of the fast group. Would I join them again? Maybe... I needed to eat. 60km and nearly two hours in and I was ravenous. Cake, flapjack & jelly babies were stuffed into my mouth and pockets, before making a careful descent of a gravel-strewn upper section, hairpin bends and rutted lower section. One down, three to go.

Safely over the A27 again and I was into a lovely, swift, sugar-fuelled blast to Arlington, past the only horse riders I saw all day. Back over the railway line and thankfully I crossed the A27 for the last time, before pressing up through beautiful Wilmington. This lumpy section gave way to a fantastic descent of Chapel Hill, before ramming the brakes on to follow the understated sign to Alfriston.

I was preparing for the next big hill - High & Over - forgetting there is a short, sharp slope before this and then a lovely steep dive down, hard right at speed and sweeping left before mashing up to the sharp right turn. From there, it's apparently only 0.8km to the top and the fast drop into Seaford. It felt a lot longer, the final kick upwards getting me out of the saddle, but I was safely up and onwards. I passed a police speed check on the edge of town, before worrying I'd missed a turn. All was well and I was heaving up Exceat before I knew it. More cyclists appeared, one just ahead of me managing to go backwards for a couple of feet on the first and steepest ramp, before making a big effort and heaving forward, to my relief.

Further on and I was behind traffic. A couple in one car were having a row. Windows down, she was crying her way through an explanation of why some bloke had been in her bedroom... She and her (ex?) boyfriend paid me no heed at all. Perhaps we really are invisible to some drivers.

Kie And david About To Set Off With The Fast group!

Then I was behind another cyclist who with legs of iron was pushing the biggest gear on the cassette. What was he doing? It was our Simon Grogan, riding with a broken dérailleur cable. True grit, the man of the ride and recognised as such on the festival organiser's Facebook page. The cable had broken on High & Over but Simon carried on.

The drop to East Dean led on to Birling Gap and into a light headwind. This was good news - I'd get some assistance as I turned and cranked up Beachy Head. And I reckoned I was on for a gold time if I could make it up in one piece.

Tired legs pressed on. I saw a rider without a helmet. Not a good sign, I thought; this rider was struggling. It was a fellow club member, 'bonking' badly. I passed him a trail bar and carried on; it wasn't my fastest ascent but I wasn't bothered. With the pub in sight, I knew I'd made the last big hill of the day.

Good Introduction To Group Cycling For Duncan's Pal

Then some bloke caught me up, saying he'd been chasing me since Bo Peep... He'd finally caught me after more than 20 miles. I waved him on - he had more energy left than me - and settled back into a fast rhythm along the top. I made good time down the zig-zags and along Holywell to the finish. There waiting were the fast boys, recently arrived, hanging around for other Hastings finishers. Our bonking friend arrived, looking better and relieved to finish. Simon Grogan came in after his gruelling but determined effort. Malcolm, Tom, John and a couple of others had gold times; Malcolm was, I think, first rider home for the club.

Sportives bring Out The Best In people!

What a great ride. Four really good hills, fabulous scenery and perfect weather. The sportive was well-run, as was the overall event. There were loads of attractions - I loved the penny farthing race - a good competitive races. I hope the event was a financial success and I'd recommend the sportive for next year. Most enjoyable sportive I've ridden, in my admittedly short sportive career!

After food and a shower, I noticed on Strava a large variation across the riders I follow in the metres climbed on the same route, from 1,057m to 1,302m. What's that about?