6 December- Bacon Butty and Pre-Bacon Butty

Frosty But With Spectacular Sunshine!

It was the usual 7:30 start at the bottom of Filsham road where I met Malcom Carr.  Even at this time it was a beautiful clear morning with plenty of light, though bitterly cold – winter has definitely arrived.  We set off for the 8am rendezvous by the Normans Bay railway crossing, taking care as a heavy frost on the ground warned of possible slippery roads ahead.  Despite this the gritting lorries must have done their job with no shortage of grip noticeable, even along Herbrand Walk where some of the larger puddles were topped with a thin crust of ice.


At Normans Bay we met Pete Buss to make a grand total of three riders, some of the other regulars either avoiding the cold or saving themselves for Peter Tadros’ annual hack ride later in the day.  Heading toward the Pevensey roundabout we discussed which of our usual routes to take, settling on Beachy Head in the hope that a crisp clear morning would reward us with some spectacular views.

A combination of the low temperature and Malcom still recovering from the after effects of a recent cold meant we held a steady pace into Eastbourne and along the seafront before starting the ascent up to Beachy Head.  Upon arrival the views weren’t as good as hoped for with a light haze obscuring the horizon.  Never the less, the clear air and low sun caught the eye of Pete who grabbed the opportunity to take some rather arty photos with his phone.

Paul Feels The Chill!

A few minutes at the top was enough to feel the chill so we started back.  Now we seemed to be catching the full brunt of the cold wind and my face, hands and feet were really starting to sting.  The others had overshoes and better gloves than me so probably weren’t feeling it to the same extent.  I think I need to put some cold weather gear on my Christmas list!  I was glad when the descent took us below the tree line and out of the wind.  Pete behind me was calling out “Careful on the corners granddad!” as I made a very pedestrian descent down the winding switchbacks of Upper Dukes Drive, the prospect of ice still ever present in my mind.  As the road straightened out on the lower slope, the speed picked up and he went coasting past me shouting “It makes you good to fell alive doesn’t it!”.  He’s certainly right, despite the cold it was a perfect day to be on the bike, and a great reminder of why we all love cycling so much.

Needing to get back to family, I left Malcom and Pete at De Paulos on Bexhill seafront as they went order a  hot coffee, and to see if anyone else was going to turn up for the Bacon Butty run.  No one else did turn up, so Malcom and Pete made their way to Chilley Farm, wisely avoiding Horsewalk, for a well-earned bacon and egg roll.

Paul Butler