29/12 HSLCC Club Ride- Ice Is Not Nice

David Earle Comes Out Of Retirement!

Steve Perseveres despite being In Pain!

Having had terrible wet and windy weather all week, many of us were looking forward to getting out on Sunday's club ride where the weather was forecast to be dry and sunny with light winds. What none of us had considered was the possibility of ice! First warning that all was not well was when Ivan sent me a text stating he was not coming because of ice, then a few minutes later Simon G rung me up telling me that there was ice all over Turkey road and that he wouldn't be coming either. To avoid the ice I decided that instead of heading inland we would have to do a coastal route instead so chose 'Reverse Beachy' . Only a few of us turned up at the Harrow but surprisingly David Earle was there, having come out of 'cycling retirement'. Along Bexhill road there was no sign of ice except on the bonnets of the cars. I was a bit apprehensive about Herbrand walk as I know it does get icy along there and would have chosen the marsh road to Pevenesy instead. The others thought it would be OK as long as we took it easy. Steve D had gone off ahead and out of sight. As we carefully negotiated the tight bend into Herbrand walk we were shocked to see Steve sprawled out in the middle of the road. He had lost his front wheel (presumably on ice) and had gone down hard on his side. Being made of hardy stuff Steve continued the ride with the rest of us. I don't think we have ever ridden the back road past the star and on to Pevenesy so slowly, we were all scared of coming off. Our wheels were churning up what looked like light snow but was in fact melting ice. It was a good job we hadn't come along this road an hour earlier! From Pevenesy onwards there was no sign of ice and as the light brightened it became an easy pleasant flat ride. Once we reached Jevington the terrain started to rise upwards as we rode at our own pace before regrouping at Friston. Steve was in quite a lot of pain by now with his ribs hurting every time he breathed in. This indicated a strong possibility that he had cracked one or two ribs?. He wasn't up to climbing Beachy head and so headed off through the centre of Eastbourne leaving the rest of us to enjoy what was a fabulous ascent of Beachy in glorious sunshine that was so strong I could feel it burning my pasty white flesh. Despite only recently returning to cycling Dave was climbing well and overtook me on the long drag. On the way through Pevensey most of us stopped for a very enjoyable breakfast at the cafe before a gentle ride home.

27/12 HSLCC Friday Night Ride

Taking Shelter Before the Rain Suddenly Stopped!

All the weather forecasts declared that the strong winds and rain would have come to an end by the late afternoon. So trying to encourage everyone out I made the unusual step of emailing everyone to let them know that it was going to be dry and that I at least would be there for the friday night ride. As the afternoon dragged on there was  little sign of the promised dry weather and by the time I left home and met up with Simon G it was still raining. Taking shelter under the trees we didn't expect anyone else to be crazy enough to ride. Sure enough it was just us two but  then suddenly the rain stopped, we had made the right call after all, the others were going to miss out ! Battery hill was particularly nasty as it was covered in lots of wet slippery road grit but just like last week the flat riding to rye was easy with a medium tail wind behind us. We kept a special look out for the pothole that nearly claimed Trevor's front wheel last week and were surprised just how deep it was but a few meters further on we found an even deeper one opposite the shops. Simon kindly gave me a tow all the way up to Broadoak . While shedding some excess clothes we discussed what condition the Stonestile approach would be like but in the end decided to give it a go. In the event the road conditions there were fine with no apparent flooding (maybe they have put some drainage in?), so another good call.

26/12 Boxing Day Early Bird

First HSLCC Ride For Martin

Dave HH Loves Fixing Punctures!

At last, a short period of dry weather with light winds before the next batch of storms were due to arrive. Joining us for the first time on an early bird were Barney's son Cameron and partner Susan. Also, welcome to Jon V's friend from running , Martin. This was to be a short 30 miler rated medium for hills. Dave HH was supposed to join us but had gone to the wrong cafe by mistake. After a quick phone call to Dave we were all assembled and started the route with the stiff ascent of Harley Chute road. The air temperature was lower than I expected and it made our lungs hurt breathing in all the cold air. Jon advised me to  breath through the nose but this is not easy to do when you have blocked synapses, lol. Continuous climbing up through Crowhurst and on to Catsfield followed. At this point I realised that Susan , Barney and Cameron were missing but it turned out that Cameron was suffering too much with the cold conditions so they had decided to break away. Myself and  Dave HH had no such problems, our layers of blubber do come in useful during the winter! There were a few places where the roads were quite badly flooded, it was tempting to  speed up and plough through these areas but that would risk hitting a hidden pot hole so we cautiously  passed through these flooded areas at low speed. More surprising than the flooding was the unwelcome appearance of a few patches of ice which Ivan on a fixie, found his rear wheel slipping about on. After more steady climbing up to Cripps Corner Dave was struggling with the hills due to a combination of weight gain and difficulty training following from his neck injury last summer but I reassured him that from here on it was mostly down hill. Having fixed a puncture we enjoyed the five mile decent down the Udimore road before turning off at Float lane. This lane is often in a bad condition but it does bring you at on a nice quiet section of road around Winchelsea station. This turned out to be a bad decision as almost immediately Dave punctured and then a few minutes later I hit a hidden pothole and suffered a pinch puncture. Stu, Martin and Jon had family duties to intend to so had to go off on their own.Now the sun had come out it was rather pleasant and with the buzz of being outside again we gently rode on chatting about future cycle trip plans to France such as climbing Mont Ventoux in 2016 (yes I do like to plan well ahead!) . To save time we stuck to the main road all the way back to Hastings, Dave was struggling again so we all road at our own pace with the others disappearing into the distance up Guestling hill with Dave bringing up the rear. More good weather is forecast for the Sunday club ride when we will try out a new route suggested by Mark, the 'Benenden Buster'.

20/12 HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Pot Hole claims Another Wheel?

Rare Friday night Appearances for Trevor And Stuart!

Despite strong winds we had a good turn out of six riders including Trevor and Stuart who we haven't seen on a Friday night ride for a long while. The ride commenced with the usual scary decent down Battery Hill in the dark. I took it easier than the others , allowing myself to get dropped but I knew that it wouldn't take much to catch up with Malcolm along the sea defences as he was riding a fixed wheel with a low gear. The wind was so strong that we were doing 30 mph with no effort at all. With us having all dropped Malcolm we decided we would wait at at the temporary traffic lights near some road works at Winchelsea. As soon as the lights turned amber we started to move again, by this time Malcolm had caught up with the group and shot past us at a tremendous rate of knots. Suddenly as the rest of us picked up speed, there was a loud clunk and Trevor had to pull over. He had hit a small but deep pothole and  suffered a blow-out on the front tyre. Knowing the others would catch me on the Broad Oak drag , I left them all  to fix the puncture and gave chase to Malcolm, hoping to catch up with him before the end of the climb. I must admit I really enjoyed climbing at my own pace in the dark with just the sound of heavy breathing for company. I did make ground on Malcolm  but arrived a couple of minutes after
 him at Broadoak. After waiting some time we wondered where the others were. We tried to ring them but no one answered so assumed they must be on their way. After some more time they appeared more or less together. Apparently the pothole had not just punctured the front wheel it had also punctured the rear as well. Also Trevor said his bike felt strange (rim damage?) so Stuart and Trevor decided to stick to the main road through Westfield while the rest of us made the usual ascent of Stonestile.

PS Many thanks to the kind lady who waited with he headlights shining on Trevor's bike while he fixed the punctures 

18 Dec HSLCC Chaingang - Seven Brave The Storm

If you've been watching the weather forecast this week, you'll know we were expecting a windy Wednesday.  And so it was that I set off for Bexhill seafront wondering if anyone else would be as daft as me.  I had some hairy moments and nearly turned back, but I pressed on to find six other 'bloody silly buggers' (thanks Stuart) gathered at the shelter.

Some of us questioned the wisdom of doing the ride, but as we'd made the effort to get out we decided to go for it.  We agreed it was a night to ride more moderately, stay together and give each other space when passing.  With southerly winds of 30 to 50 mph, gusts veering around buildings and steaming out of side roads, this was a difficult ride that demanded full concentration and discipline.

It was a bit easier once we got away from the town centre but obviously still tricky with such a strong, gusty side wind.  We stuck together as a group until Herbrand Walk (Cooden Corner was interesting...) and then Kie and I formed 'Team Smith' whilst the others made more headway.  To stay upright on Herbrand I used opposite lock ie if you want to stay left, turn right, as leaning in to a gusty wind can be unreliable in such changeable conditions.  I was most intent on staying upright and cautious on the corners; my hip is still painful from the off the other week.

Having Fun Even In Atrocious Weather!

The turn at the wood yard saw the rain arrive - sharp, stinging glass-like splinters that lashed my left hand side.  The odd leaf flashed horizontally through my torch beam but mostly I was in a small, dark world of roaring wind and water.  Spooky Hill was not too bad and we pedalled on through the mayhem to make the roundabout.  We didn't hang about!  Back we came, with the usual split developing between the faster and slower riders on the way back up Spooky Hill.  Tom stopped at the top and turned back for home, shelter and sanity in Eastbourne.

'Team Smith' reformed for the descent, but I could see that Kie was too far left - he'd hit the big pot hole if he didn't move out.  I shouted several times but the wind tore the sense from my words and all he heard was noise.  Thump!  Straight through the hole and out the other side, losing his water bottle.  I was amazed he stayed on and he now knew why I was shouting.  'Do you want to go back for the bottle?' I bellowed, but again I made no sense to him and he twigged too late to turn back.  We caught another rider when the level-crossing barriers came down and then did more sideways riding down Herbrand, before turning into a fierce headwind on Cooden Drive that was then more with than against us for the drag into town.  There was time for a quick team photo and then we all headed home - really not a night for hanging around.

I presume everyone made it back safely.  With hindsight, conditions were rideable but marginal. Had the wind been a little stronger or gustier, I think most of us would've stayed at home.  But I knew I can't ride again until Sunday, so I was determined to get out.  Christmas panic is mounting as I see mountains of food ahead of me and reduced chances to ride, as family descend for festivities...  Next chain gang will be New Years Day, I think.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Neil Smith

14/12 HSLCC Early Bird- High & Over

First HSLCC Ride For Andy

All Together On High And Over!

The fantastic weather brought out a great turnout of ten early bird riders. This included on his first ever HSLCC ride, Andy Ashby. Andy commutes from Bexhill to Eastbourne every day , so as you would expect he turned out to be a strong rider. Also on their first ever early bird were Pete Buss and Malcolm Carr. Pete felt apprehensive and things did not get to a good start for him when the front dérailleur bolt broke off, leaving him without use of the outer chain-ring . We set off at a steady pace along into Bexhill, and up towards Hooe. The route took us along 'Horse walk', this road seems to have its own micro climate and was a good few degrees colder than elsewhere. Great care had to be taken over the frosty and mossy surface. Derek's hands were completely frozen meaning he couldn't change gear forcing  him to drop way back as he tried to do the climb in the wrong gear .Rather than take the proposed Sustrans route through Rickney, Jon proposed that we take the B/C roads through Stonecross, as with all the recent rain, the condition of the Sustrans route was very poor. This was a very good call and we made fast peloton style progress into Hailsham. So far the ride had been flat and easy. This was all set to change once we got to Alfriston and tackled high and Over. This was a good chance for the faster ones to really stretch their legs and gave Andy chance to show off his climbing skills while the slower ones plodded  their way up. Newbie Malcolm C coped really well with the climb but Peter did struggle up this first test. Next up was the Cuckmere Haven climb, so much easier since they resurfaced the road last year. After this all that was left was the climb up reverse Beachy. Normally this is a stiff test but today it was easy as we had a strong wind behind us all the way up. With the wind at our backs the ride down into Eastbourne was exhilarating and the wind blew us all the way home, making it easy to gain lots of STRAVA achievements. It was great to have such a good turn out,everyone enjoyed it, Peter found the hills a bit of a shock but is determined to join us again.

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11 December- HSLCC Chaingang

Good conditions prevailed for the Wednesday chain gang: cool but not cold; clear sky with some moonlight; no wind other than a slight north-easterly tickle; wet roads but freshly salted.  Now, could I keep it 'shiny side up' tonight after the weekend's unscheduled lie down?

It wasn't a great start.  I'd only ridden 100m when I had to brake and swerve around a badger blindly bustling across Little Common Road.  How it didn't get hit by the cars I don't know, but it made it safely across and into a gap in a fence without making me brake too hard.

I rode past the shelter but no one was there, so I scooted up Galley Hill.  Jupiter was again shining clearly to the east, whilst to the south the moon was over half-full and bright enough to cast a silvery path across the waves.  Malcolm and Kie were in residence at the shelter and eventually a dozen of us set off at a good pace for the exotic climes of Pevensey...  Barney was strong at the front and amongst the other riders were two Simons, a Peter and a Stuart (curiously dressed in a white top, of which more later).

My strategy for this ride was to stay in the big ring and try not to over-spin.  I can ride at a high cadence but I'd wondered if a lower cadence might recruit stronger muscles and achieve more speed.  If I got tired I would go up the gears and spin for a while.  It seemed to work quite well as I managed to stay with the fast bunch a bit beyond the turn onto Cooden Drive, and on the return leg I managed to stay in touch until the descent from Spooky Hill.  By the end, Kie and I were not too far behind the lead group and overall I did my best average chain gang speed to date.  And I'd stayed upright.

The highlight of the ride for me was the return leg on Herbrand Walk, along the stretch that's open to the shore.  The only sounds were the waves, the wind and the bike sweeping along the road.  At the Sackville Road lights there was lively banter about BMX saddles (Barney's saddle clamp had broken leaving him with a very adjustable seat) and Stuart's white top and helmet, each spattered with winter salt and slime, which clearly upset a few fellow riders.  "What was he thinking, coming out dressed like that?" I think they said.  Each to their own.

There was also chat at various points about recent road conditions, with many chain-gangers reporting 'unplanned dismounts' by themselves or people they know.  Dare I say that we need a good downpour to wash the roads clean?  I think the rain arrives Friday night.

Dec 7th- Bacon Butty, Neil takes A Tumble

Five bacon butty riders assembled at the Bridge Cafe more or less at 10:00.  I met the famous Toby Field, whose Strava escapades I have followed for nearly a year now.  Also in attendance were Peter Buss, Paul and Malcolm.  After a brief route discussion - "We'll go the long way" - we set of at a steady pace under grey skies and with light and reasonably warm airs from various directions...

It was my first time out on this ride and very pleasant it was too.  I saw some bits of Bexhill I've not seen before and revisited some roads perhaps better ridden in the summer!  But it was good bike handling practice and Jacob's Ladder (which most if you know as Horsewalk) gave our legs and lungs a good stretch.

On we sped and met a very spic and span elderly lady who turned out of a side road and came towards us.  Red hat, coat, lipstick and gloves, scarf flying in the breeze, sensible shoes and a cheeky 'hello boys!' greeted our polite waves.  That made us all smile.

We rattled through Herstmonceux and then entered the boggy badlands of Rickney Marshes.  Recent floods had subsided, leaving the early turns and stretches of the road covered in wet, black mud.  This gave me serious stress - I'd cleaned the bike!  Look at it now!

The stretch across the marshes is one of my favourites.  I love the simple landscape of reeds, sky, road and water-filled ditches, especially in the sun.  Pressing on, we turned towards the farm and Toby warned me about the 'bull turkey' (!) that might have a go as we went by.  I announced that my strategy would be to go faster.

And so it was that I came to the bridge, jinked left and then right, seeing a large area of brown muck covering the whole road.  'I'll warn the others' I thought, but then quickly changed my mind as I could see I would need both hands on the bars.  Instead, I decided to warn them by losing the front end and crashing.  Smack!  The bike went left and I went right, landing on my right hip and arm.  It bloody hurt.  The others gathered round and said, kindly, that they wouldn't take the piss as they hadn't seen me come off.  I was touched.

The bike was ok and I had recovered enough to carry on.  Chilley Farm provided the refreshments, gave Toby a chance to fix the puncture he got at the farm gate and gave me a chance to survey the damage.  On the bike, some scrapes to the levers.  On me, lots of that brown muck, a hole in my new coat and a sore hip were the worst of it.

You know that moment, when you could come off but hope you can retrieve it, but then you quickly find out you can't and you're going to hit the deck...  Crap isn't it?  It's going to hurt AND it could be expensive.  Thankfully, no real harm done.  Made me think I ought to refresh my first aid training.

Refuelled, we rode a bit quicker across the Pevensey Marshes and went our separate ways.  I enjoyed the chat at Chilley Farm - winter tyres and the saga of the the Normans Bay automated level crossing - and the ride.  Well, mostly!


Neil Smith

Dec 7- Hack Bike Ride To brighton

We Finally Got To Meet 'Mile Muncher' Jason

This year we had a record turnout of 13 riders on our annual hack bike ride to Brighton. This included first timers Nigel, Nick and legendary mile muncher  Jason Kind. It was brilliant to finally meet the legendary Jason, who was doing this ride on top of the 400 miles he has already done this week! Having assembled at Glyn gap we rode up through Sidley meeting up with Pete B and Steve S on the way. Pete T is not very good at shepherding riders and before long myself and derek had been dropped,with the ever thoughtful  Nigel staying with us. We knew roughly where they were going and expected to see them waiting for us at the top of Boreham Street but they hadn't waited and we didn't finally catch up with them until the first stop at The Golden Cross pub at Hailsham. This was a new pub stop for us and turned out to be excellent with a roaring fire and some very nice friendly (and attractive) young barmaids.After a quick first pint and the obligatory group photo, myself and Nigel looked round to see that Pete had shot off again with the group.Yet again I had got left behind and it took some while before myself and Nigel caught up with Derek and Steve D who had fallen off the back of the group. The next pub stop another excellent pub 'The Green Man' at Ringmer. We were all feeling a bit peckish by now so Steve D treated us to an enormous 0.5 kg of salted peanuts, which we soon demolished. By the time we left, dusk was falling and it was time to switch on the lights. This time the whole group did stay together and before long we arrived at Lewes for our usual pub stop in the town centre. So far the ride had been pretty flat but now we had the steepish climb up from Lewes and onto Plumpton. It was now pitch black and I was very grateful to have the road light up by my moon 500 light.Although we were all very spread out due to our wide range of abilities, there was no fear of getting lost as wherever you looked ahead you could see a string of red lights bobbing up and down in the pitch dark. Our favourite pub stop at the half moon pub at Plumpton did not disappoint , we could easily have stayed there longer. Pete launched a new competition where each of us had to predict the order of the top five riders up the Ditchling beacon climb. There were no

First Pub stop at Hailsham

Pete Triumphant On Ditchling

prizes for guessing who would be first but the other placements would be much harder to predict. Jason was feeling a bit apprehensive as surprisingly despite all his mammoth mile munching he had never had the pleasure of ascending the beacon. We all agreed that we would stay together until the start of the climb to give everyone a far chance. On reaching the start Malcolm and Dan launched a savage assault to bypass Pete T, Pete responded but as he did so his right foot pulled off the pedal and by he time he was rolling again they had created a bit of a gap. Despite this, the inevitable happened and he was able to reel them both in before the top. At least Malcolm and Dan had the pleasure of knowing that they had made pete really work for the first place submitter this year . Also storming up the climb was dark horse Nigel who is so strong that despite being on one of the heavier bikes and carrying panniers and a rack still managed to come fourth behind Malcolm in second place and Dan in third. Steve S was a very creditable fifth place. Steve D had correctly predicted all placing and so had one the £13 prize but graciously decided to keep the money in the kitty. I found this climb really tough and it took me over nine minutes to make it to the top. Having got our breath back we realised that Jason and Steve D were missing. Eventually Jason appeared, he had suffered a puncture near the bottom but rather than try to fix it there in the dark had decided to press on for

Even 'Tractor Tyres' Can Puncture

Jason' s 'Wine Bar'

the top and fix it with the help of all our lights. Steve D soon appeared as well, his foot had come out of the pedal and not being used to spd-r cleats he couldn't get his shoe back in the pedal and and had trouble getting going again.We all found it ironic that Jason was the only one to get a puncture as he was using very wide 'tractor sized' touring tyres! Pete T switched to freewheel for the decent and to get up some reasonable speeed had to tuck into a super aero position for the decent, we all dutifully followed behind him on what was a much safer decent than previous years when we have had to descend in howling wind, rain or fog.On safe arrival in Brighton we enjoyed a massive blow out curry in a curry house near London Road before heading to the station for the journey home. Amazingly, both Nigel and Malcolm were not with us as they had decided to cycle back to Hastings. With so many of us using the same train there was a real problem getting all the bikes on board. Fortunately the train guard was a friendly sort who agreed to let us all on as long as we took off some of the wheels. Jason and nick had their own 'wine bar' with them and it was a good laugh on the train until some agressive 6ft 5inch gorilla got unpleasant with us on the way home.He was getting off at Hastings so we decided it would be prudent for all of us to get out at st leonards instead.

This was great fun day out, thanks to everyone who came and made it a day to remember.

6/12 HSLCC Fri Night Ride- Cycle Path Washed Away!

Our beloved Cycle path Is Washed Away!

It was just Joseph and myself who turned out tonight. We set off and found our way blocked again on the nature reserve path by barriers. Thinking it was just stones across the path again we walked around and continued on. At the turn towards the harbour all seemed fine and no stones. It was then I noticed that there were huge sections on the left hand side where the shingle was missing. Just a few meters further and we came to an abrupt halt as the path was broken and a section about 10m square was lifted. Beyond this there was nothing as the whole path and shingle bank had washed away with the surge tide last night. There was extensive flooding on the nature reserve and no way to continue. It will take a massive rebuilding programme to put the path back with a large section gone and the whole bank washed away. It was quite epic in the dark and we had to turn back and take the long way round via Winchelsea beach. We decided to take a different route back and time trialled it along the main road back to Hastings. There was surprisingly little traffic but White Hart hill does not get any easier. So for the rest of the season we will have to stick to the road and avoid Rye Harbour.

 Jon Stainsbury

HSLCC Chaingang- Dec 4

Up at 06:00, out to London for meetings, back home for Doctors appointment, log back on to work laptop, phone calls, emails, papers, hassle, deadline of 17:30 met, prepare evening meal for wife and kids, bung it in oven, wash up last nights dishes - aargh!  Can I go now please?

A manic day; we all have them.  It's tempting to flop on the sofa and watch the telly, or grab a four-pack of beers, but I know that I'll feel a million times better after a hard ride in the cold, sharp, night air.  So, tyres are pumped, lights charged and clothing decisions made.  It's going to be a chilly ride, just 2 degrees C, but there is very little wind and the roads have been gritted.

'Team Raleigh' Reunited

Crackle and pop went my tyres as I flick off the pavement and cut across the salt, heading through the evening traffic to the chain gang rendezvous.  There are already two or three riders waiting and 19 eventually make it out across the marshes.  It was suggested that it was too cold for some of the Eastbourne-based riders to come out, otherwise we could've had a higher number.  There was at least one honourable exception (nice one Tom).

It was a starry night, the roads were largely dry and the lead riders set a good pace.  It was great to be out, although a motorist seems displeased with our presence as we turn off South Cliff onto Cooden Drive.  It was hard to fathom what the problem was as all he does is lean dramatically on his horn.  Jealousy?  Anyhow, the lead group stretches away at this point.  By Herbrand Walk, those of us who ride more steadily watched the rear lights grow smaller as the group make the right hand bend at the wood yard and cross the rails.

I fall into a group with some familiar faces and we rode in a small but perfectly formed peloton and picked up a straggler or two from the front group, before breaking up and making for the turn point.  The pause at Pevensey brings home how cold it is but we were soon on the return leg across the marshes.  This time, I managed to stay with the front group until Spooky Hill, but did stay ahead of the smaller rear group, riding solo along Herbrand and Cooden Drive, with Jupiter shining in the East to mark the route back.

No personal records broken tonight, I was just too frazzled to really push hard, but I felt a 1,000 times better than I had all day.  By the way, I met some bloke who said he was Stuart, but he didn't look anything like the bloke I met last week - he had loads of freckles.  He seemed harmless enough though.  I rode back along the front, keeping Tom company as far as the Cooden Beach Hotel, before heading home and logging back on to the work laptop again.

Neil Smith

30/11 Early Bird- Sandhurst Circular With Wooden legs

Dean Needn't Have Worried About Keeping Up

Nick swaps Ally For Carbon!

During the summer I plotted a new ride going as far North as Sandhurst. This route did not score well as there were some unpleasant dangerous road sections. I still thought that the ride had some potential but needed modifying. This modified version would  then be the route we would be following. Nick was there on his new carbon Willier, also present was Mike who has only just started riding again recently after three months off due to being knocked off by a horse box. Mike had brought along his friend, Dean. Dean was a bit apprehensive about keeping up but needn't have been as I was me who would struggle on this ride.Paul K completed our little group of five riders. Nick has been doing a lot of training lately in order to get ready for another epic ride into Europe next spring. It was soon clear that Nick's fitness was at least one notch above the rest of us but Nick was happy to stay with us as he would be branching off on his own once he got to Cripp's Corner. My legs felt a bit stiff but this is normal for me so I fully expected them to improve once we got warmed up. The hills on this route were relentless, there seemed to be almost no flat sections, not surprising when there is 4,300 feet of climbing in just 47 miles! I found the long drag from Robertsbridge to Brightling really tough, instead of improving , my leg muscles were aching more and more. After struggling up the long drag of Netherfield Hill , it was a welcome relief to fly down the three kilometre decent down to Battle. On the decent we passed a small group of cyclists, at first we thought they were 'bacon butties' but it turned out they were a local group known as the 'Cooden Casuals' . I got chatting to one of them and made contact via Strava so potentially we may have gained some new riders? Dean and Mike broke away from myself and Paul at Battle. There was only about 7 miles to go but on taking the dogs leg at Powdermill lane to ascend the minor road to Crowhurst my legs were refusing to work. This was the closest I have come in a very long time to having to get off and walk. I managed to keep going and when I caught up with Paul, he suggested I eat something. I didn't feel hungry but eating my one remaining snack bar did revive me a little. Thankfully there were more downs than ups remaining to get back to Hastings but we only had 25 minutes to make it to Witherspoons for our planned breakfast. Flying down the descents more recklessly than usual was shaving a few minutes off our time and was giving me more momentum for the next climb, but despite this, by the time we reached the old Grove school we only had around 12 minutes to get to the town centre. Rather take the flat road along the coast into town we cut through St leonards and got there with just four minutes to spare (which the girl serving us gleefully informed us). I was really pleased with how this route turned out , the roads were in surprisingly good condition and with all the hills its an interesting /demanding 5* route. I think my wooden legs may be due tot he fact that I have finally given up sugar and my body hasn't quite adjusted yet, I do hope so!