Box Hill Four Peaks- Improver's Spring Special

The final (and best?) Improver's Spring Special of 2016 was another new one based on a heavily modified sportive gpx that I found somewhere.

All week I had been carefully checking the weather forecast hoping that it would be dry on Saturday. fortunately the predicted weather for the Box Hill area was dry (unlike Hastings) ,so it was on!

We could only muster a field of five riders but sometimes more is less as when there is a smaller group it gives a chance for everyone to get to know each other better.

It was quite a long drive (1.5 hours) to get to the start of the ride at Rudgwick but it well worth making the effort as the countryside in this area is simply incredible. I had randomly picked a pub as a convenient meeting point but there was no on street parking. Fortunately the pub had a large car park which the proprietor was happy for us to use once we had informed him we would be going to the pub for post ride drinks.

The first eight miles were easy flat well surfaced roads, this was ideal as it gave us time to warn up before the first of the four main peaks. With Peter Baker and Patrick with us , myself peter Brehme and Mick were worried the pace was going to be a bit outside our ability but Patrick is a very considerate leader and assured us he would stick to Improver's pace especially as he was also leading the Sunday club the next day .

Our first real challenge was the two mile 5% climb up to pitch hill windmill. This was followed by a rapid descent down to an amazing little village called Peaslake. This is a Mecca for mountain bikers as from here there are so many mtb trails branching off in all directions.

A Mecca for MTB

We now had to regain all our lost height as we headed towards the equally high Holmberry hill. I was slightly off the pace of the others so when Peter Bk punctured I told the others that I would carry on and they would catch me up. Unbeknown to me Peter Br decided to set off with me but a deer shot out in front of him and by the time he had got going again I was out of sight




With the warm sun now shining I was really getting into the zone and the old leg muscles were working great. The road surfaces were excellent and everywhere you looked there were roadies blasting down the descents and grinding up the climbs. Time seemed to fly as I passed the highest point on the route near to leith hill. With two garmins on board I wasnt worried about getting lost but at one point point one garmin said turn left while the other said go straight on, very odd!
While deciding which Garmin to follow I took a moment to check my phone only to realise that Patrick had left a voice message for me, saying that if I was lost and behind them (I am after all geolexic) , they would wait ahead for me. Feeling guilty about being so far in front I sat down at a convenient road junction and waited for them to arrive.

It was nice to have company once again as we dropped down down from the hills to the town of Dorking. From here there is a short but nasty little climb along a busy narrow road towards Ranmore common. Unfortunately peter Bk had his second puncture at the worst possible moment. We were in danger of blocking the road or getting run over so Patrick  waved us forward while he and peter Bk headed back down the hill to a far safer location to fix the errant tyre.

We rolled on towards the snakes of the  of Boxhill . This famous hill rises to a height of 700m but at no point can it be called hard due to the alpine switch back nature of the road and the still super smooth tarmac that was laid down for the 2012 Olympic road race. If  Peaslake is a Mecca for MTB then Boxhill is the Mecca for roadies. Bikes must out number cars about three to one on this magnificent climb. By now we were all hungry and so joined the queue for the National trust cafe at the top.The excellent sausage rolls and tea were well worth the wait.

Box Hill summit is always busy 

The land drops away on all sides from Boxhill so we plenty of practice to hone our descending skills before reaching the start of the next climb up towards Combe Bottom. This peak is lower than the others at 600 feet but I would say that this one was the toughest as you have to climb for 9 miles before reaching the top.

After a couple of short but steep little climbs it was 11 miles of  fast flat riding all the way back to the cars. Peter Br's endurance was beginning to falter slightly and was relieved to reach the end of the ride.

This was a really enjoyable ride and a fitting end to the Improver's Spring Specials. We plan to do this one again next year but will make it even harder by including most of the official leith hill road climb.









Steve C

Pre-BBR Special - Eastbourne Sportive ‘Lite’ Route via Horam, Littlington and Beachy Head - Geolexia is Real!

“Where am I?”

 “Littlington Peter, near the Long Man, East Sussex…”

“How did I get here, only I think I’d like to come again.”

We were recovering from a soaking at Littlington garden centre and cafe, a rather eccentric place, lost in a Victorian time bubble. We’d sheltered at Wilmington, but the rain was so torrential that the large oak we hid under could not keep us dry. The aim had been to ride the Eastbourne Sportive long route, missing out Bo Peep for the sake of time and our legs. The poor weather meant that we also missed out the Alfriston to Seaford loop and were heading direct to the foot of Exceat.

“That’s a lovely idea Peter” I said patronisingly.

“So, how did I get here, I mean, how WOULD I get here if I wasn’t already here?”

I hesitated, feeling slightly confused. “Well, you’d drive here the same way you cycled.”

There had been three of us, but Tom had gone directly back to Eastbourne from Wessons cafe in Horam. We’d chatted briefly to some riders from Tonbridge Wells who were impressed with the cafe and the prices, compared to their Velo Cafe. The chap sitting next to us was tucking into the ‘Big Daddy’ which had, I think, a piece of steak as well as chips, sausage, mushrooms and all the trimmings. He rolled a fag afterwards and sipped from a mug of tea, a contented man.

We started the ride at Normans Bay, as is traditional for any pre-BBR ride, heading up to Rushlike Green via Wartling, Tilley Lane and Bodle Street Green, against a blustery headwind. Tom was on his zero-hydration strategy as carrying liquid slows you down, apparently. I used to think he regularly forgot to fill a bottle, but this is a deliberate ploy to reduce energy expenditure and increase speed. Tom, your secret is out!

The route dives south-west from Rusklake to Amberstone, via Cowbeech and across the top of Herstmonceux. Having headed ‘down’, we turned north-west and headed ‘up’ the south slope of Grove Hill. But first, a puncture.

"Which hole do I put it in?"

Tom and I resisted the temptation to make puerile jokes (you know, of the 'Bishop said to the Actress' variety), and did our best to help. To be fair, the pump had three possible places into which the CO2 cylinder could fit.

"The one with the spike, to pierce the cylinder", said Tom. This did not help much as neither Peter or I had our glasses on. There was some writing around one of the holes but it might have been written in Elvish for all the good it did us. Peter tried the cylinder in all three ports - no joy. I tried - no joy. Peter tried again. At this point, watching and listening to two bumbling old farts, Tom’s patience wore thin.

“Have you EVER done this before?”

Eventually, the cylinder was mated with the right hole and the gas, somehow, made its way into the inner tube. Job done, we rode on as a loose and rather un-coordinated trio, freewheeling into Wessons at 09:30 (BBR ‘Di Paulo’ time). Breakfast was in full-swing, the tables groaning under the weight of full-english’s and the patrons’ fleshy forearms. I noticed that we were somewhat lacking in the tattoo department (sorry, I’m displaying the prejudices of my upbringing - my mother said that people with tattoos… Well, never mind what my mother said).

We waved off Tom and headed toward Golden Cross via Gun Hill, on a truly shocking piece of East Sussex tarmac. That said, it’s a lovely area and the weather was still bright at this stage. We rolled along at a pleasant wind-assisted speed, the route committed to my memory rather than the Garmin. This is because I can’t work out how to add a gpx file and because the memory on my Edge 200 is always brimming over, but it’s also more fun to ride without staring at a piddly screen.

We safely negotiated the A22 and enjoyed the fast, mainly downhill lanes, powering along with the wind at our backs. We turned left at Selmeston to avoid Bo Peep and that’s when I first saw it. Up ahead, looming dark and heavy, a mass of black cloud sat across the back of the Downs, a thick curtain of rain dragging along below. It was not heading towards us, but we were heading towards it!

The rain started in earnest as we crossed into Wilmington. I pulled over to wait for Peter on a patch of dry road under the oak tree. He arrived as the rain came on full-bore. Our island of dry tarmac shrank ever smaller as water ran from the road towards the gutter, joining the flow from the fields ahead. The drips from the tree became heavier and more frequent, falling like water bombs onto our helmets, shoulders and legs. It was miserable, the only consolation was that we were drier than if we’d carried on cycling.

Having waited out the deluge, we decided to dry off at the cafe in Littlington, the steady climb out of Wilmington rewarded with the long and fast descent down Chapel Hill, which is where we rejoin our story…

“Peter, you would drive here the same way as you rode here.”

“I would? But what about the turnings?”

“There were no turnings, only bends - you’ve just cycled straight here!”

“Ok, so run it past me - how WOULD I drive here?”

“Head towards Polegate…”

“Polegate? Oh yes…”

“…and then use the bypass…”

“The bypass..?”

I talked over him, raising my voice: “then turn left at the roundabout and head towards Lewes.”

“I don’t want to go to Lewes…”

“AND THEN, turn left at Wilmington and keep driving - it’s simple.”

I should at this point explain ‘Geolexia’, a newly identified condition whereby the sufferer has no idea where they are, how they got there and how to get back to wherever it was they started from. Peter is a sufferer and so are Steve Curtiss and Mal C. They deserve our support and our help. Every day is a navigational challenge, starting with getting out of bed without climbing out of a window, finding the bathroom without pissing on Grandma, and making breakfast in your own and not the neighbour’s kitchen.

I think I have Hypergeodesia - the ability to find my way without much trouble at all and generally to know where the hell I am at any given moment. I don't know how lucky I am. Peter thinks I have ‘Severiorum Spuria’ (that’s ‘Grumpy Bastard Syndrome’ in English), an accurate diagnosis to which can be added ‘Impatiens Asinum’ (Impatient Arse). But my new bike was by this time plastered in muddy water - I mean, come on! We had Exceat and Beachy Head to climb, and by now we were two hours behind schedule. This was clearly his fault as the whole ride was his idea.

Somehow, we moved on from grumpiness and bewilderment to restart the ride. Exceat is a good stiff climb hindered by a narrow road and heavy traffic. I got nervous as flatbed trucks scraped past me and short-tempered with an Audi driver who tried to give me a lift to the top on his wing mirror. We rode on and stopped in Pevensey for some photos, and Peter for a fry-up before parting ways.

“So, you’d be home earlier than usual, would you?” The clock was nudging 14:00.

“Er, well, it was Peter, he, er, had some problems.”

“Oh yes, of course, it couldn't be YOUR fault, could it? You have to blame poor Peter. You know full well that he’s Geolexic, he’s relying on you and this is how you treat him, behind his back, I expect you’ll be cruel in the blog as well, won’t you, eh? That poor man, really, I don’t know why he bothers…”

“Well, I did have a puncture on Cooden Drive…” I stuttered.

“That’s all well and good, but you know how to fix them, don't you? Did you help Peter? No? I thought not, just stood there laughing I shouldn't wonder, instead of helping out.”

I recalled Peter’s parting words: “I do enjoy our little adventures”. I paused, smiled to myself and thought ‘“what a load of b******s.”

Safe riding, Neil

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening Ninfield Oak TT 25 May

Good weather Wednesday afternoon encouraged 12 riders to ride the short Ninfield course in the evening, the traffic lights having been removed last week for the Rovers version of the course on Thursday then reinstated down the road on Friday  ……

Seven of the riders who rode last week’s short course went quicker, so it was a good evening, with just one rider from last week being seconds down on last week.

In Gear’s Pete Tadros (18.15) posted the quickest time again with his 14 year old son Theo (21.37) producing a very impressive ride to record the second best time.  Pete has been winning and getting top places in Open TTs in the South for some years but one or two younger riders are now pushing him hard, how many years before Theo is quicker than Dad ?!!?

Ivan Johnson (21.46) won the club event ahead of Jon Molton (22.03) and 14 year old Fabien Large (22.10).

 Ollie Chapman (27.52) rode his first TT of the year but had some problems with his bike.  Although still classed as a junior in CTT events Ollie has now turned 18.

Chris P

Tubby Tuesday Training 24/5 - The Missing Link

A solid turnout of seven riders for more Tubby Tuesday Training and first time for Nigel F who we haven't seen for a while. keri was supposed to be joining us tonight but he does have a bit of reputation for being late so I wasn't totally surprised not to see him there  Those damn traffic lights are still near the bottom of Battery Hill and as usual we got caught by the red light.

Zac finds the missing link

Released from Battery Hill we were moving along the flat road at a good pace especially considering the cold headwind that was buffering us. The pace was too fast for myself and Ricky but the Tubbies are well disciplined and were correctly waiting for us at the first regrouping point.

It was a relief to have the wind now at our backs as we headed out along the lovely float lane and up onto the Broad Oak drag. I was feeling pretty tired as I rolled up to the road junction with Ricky to rejoin the others.

We were not totally sure of the name of the connecting lane between Brede and Sedlescombe, so carefully scanned the partially hidden road sign as we entered it. The name turned out to be 'Pottery Lane' although myself and Patrick thought a more fitting name would be Pot-hole lane!

There are a few sharp little climbs on this lane. One of them proved too much for Zac's chain which unfortunately snapped. Unusually but also fortuitously , it was the connecting link which had broken. Zac wasn't sure what to do and was going to ring 'International Rescue' (his dad) but the others rallied round and Derek dug out an 11 speed 'missing link' . These can be awkward to snap into place but a well timed kick down on the pedal by Patrick did the job.

We all took it pretty easy on the cottage lane climb up to Westfield with some of our party planning an all out assault on Stonestile lane. Their plans worked out brilliantly as our party scored four PBs on stonestile (Patrick, Zac, Derek and Ricky)

Awaiting us at the top of the climb was keri. He had indeed been late and had missed the departure but at least he had done most of the route, having got ahead by cutting out the Sedlescombe part of the route. Hopefully he will be there at the start next week?

Steve C

17/5 Tubbie Tueday Training- The Caveman Effect

Another successful Tubby Tuesday training this week with a different mixture of riders. This week we were joined for the first time  by 'The Caveman' , Ricky and Peter Brehme. Peter has not ridden over this side of town before so all the roads would be new to him. last to arrive was Andy C who had already completed 22 miles.On the way over he came across a solitary rider from Rye called Tom who decided to tag along with us.

Near the bottom of Battery Hill the traffic lights were again back in action . Even though I noticed them in plenty of time, its surprisingly just how much force needs to be applied in time to brake on such a steep incline.

As usual we rode the rather wonderful float lane but no so wonderful was the cold headwind we had to endure (when is the air going to warm up?). Tom left us at this point to head for Rye while we ascended the Broad-Oak drag, glad for the muscle heat this generated

Andy left us at Broad oak while we continued towards Brede lane. The lane did not seem so intimidating this time, as long as you take it easy and are aware of the need to check for potholes and irregularities, its fine.

Having lost some weight recently I found the climb from Sedlescombe to Westfield a bit easier this week although my climbing ability is poor compared to Peter's who has improved tremendously since he joined the club last Febuary. Once he gets his new super light weight Canyon there will be no stopping him.

We were looking forward to seeing Peter's reaction to Stonestile lane. Peter took it in his stride and was soon out of sight of myself and Ricky who were last men up the hill. Peter enjoyed the route and the chance to ride over the eastern end of our range so hopefully the Tubbies will see him again.

Stonestile is easy peasy for Peter 

Our pace was quite a lot higher (16.2 mph) than the previous excursion (perhaps this is a caveman effect?) but 'Improvers' should not be put off by this because the ride is the same route every week and there are regrouping points at : top of Float lane, Broad-oak, Sedlescombe, Westfield and Stonestile lane.

Steve C

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening Ninfield Oak TT 18 May

Ivan is going well on his fixie

 Yesterday afternoon was rather grim and grey , with some bright spells and rain.  Nine riders turned up to sign on for the first event of the year at Ninfield despite the heavy sky.  Stuart had been round the circuit putting up warning signs and reported that short term traffic lights were in place between the public entrance to Herstmonceux Castle and the Lamb Wartling.  Since we had plenty of timekeepers and help to hand we decided to have a warm up run before starting a short course the other side of the lights.  The first part of the new Pevensey 10 course to the Lamb on the Marsh and up to the usual finish at the Ninfield village sign still made for a good mid week work out.  Times were:

Business as usual for Pete T

Peter Tadros (In Gear)     18.26

Ivan Johnson                     21.49

Jon Molton                        22.17

Neil Smith                           23.14

Gareth Purves                    23.36

Simon Grogan                   24.17

Greg Blackwell                  25.18

Chris Parker                       26.32

Keri Purves                         27.07


We made it to the Red Lion Hooe for drinks and cheesy chips before the rain started again.  The Wednesday Wheelers were not so lucky and arrived shortly after us looking rather damp.

 The road works and lights were due to completed today and the lights gone so all should be OK for next week.  Next week I will confirm all is back to normal and send round a table of times from last year.


Chris P

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening Broad Oak TT 11 May

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening Broad Oak TT 11 May

I had not picked up the results from the previous week at Broad Oak until yesterday.  It must have been a very good evening with 10 PBs, 3 going quicker than their ride the previous week and three others producing quick times in a field of 16 riders.

Ivan Johnson (21.19) won the club event with 14 year old Fabien Large (22.14) setting a PB with second place again ahead of Steve Butcher (22.21) and Jon Molton (22.22) who were separated by just one second.


13 year old Tyler Chapman (30.08) set a PB by 16 seconds and no doubt will break 30 minutes when we return to the course in August.


There were more extra quick times in private time trials including:  the fastest by In Gear’s Peter Tadros (18.06) 25 seconds quicker than the previous week, Rye’s Damien Ford (19.03 PB) 50 seconds quicker than the previous week, VC Liberte’s Trevor Deeble (19.43) joining the sub 20 minute elites with a 20 second improvement on his PB and In Gear’s 14 year old Theo Tadros (21.42) improving his PB by a massive 1 minute 13 seconds.

 

Chris Parker

H&StL L Cycling Club General Secretary

PART DEUX - BBR Sat 14th May "MORE THAN WHITE - RED, BUT NOT QUITE

 10:12 : Left turn after Cooden Beach - (waiting for others to catch up)

"It's pink, Darren", I exclaimed

"No, no, I can assure you it's purple"

"I mean I'm  quite open minded and not in any way prejudiced against the colour , but it's definitely pink!"

With that an elderly lady walked past wearing a very pink puffa jacket.

The saddle

"That's pink!", I then leaned the purple of my bike frame against his new saddle for contrast, "..and that's purple"

He had no choice, but to concede.

"Well it's only a prototype anyway", he said


07:42 Normans Bay Crossing

As the 07:43 pulled into the station, I waited in eager anticipation behind the barriers to see if anyone was joining me on the Pre BBR - the last carriage passed me and revealed that nobody was there.  This, at first, seemed surprising, considering the record turnout last Saturday, but there was a lot of alternatives on offer this weekend.

"Oh, well", I thought "I'll enjoy the solitude"

Sometimes a solo ride makes a refreshing change from a group ride:  you don't have to bother about pointing out potholes and other obstacles, you can go at your own pace and you can 'shoot snot' freely without fear of showering some other pour soul.  Adding all these reasons together though, I must admit it didn't really compensate for the lack of banter and load sharing and I must admit I was glad to see some familiar faces when I arrived at Di Paoulos .

The newbie

The 'Fun Chums' were there, Mal C (on his shopping bike and saving energy for tomorrow), Darren, Andy and newbie Gareth - who arrived with a puncture.  Patrick and Andy gave assistance, whilst Pete B paced up and down waiting for the gents to be 'free'.

"I'm going to have to use the other one soon if he doesn't hurry up", he said

His face was beginning to contort and after a few minutes more he made a made dash into the 'Ladies'

Outside Pete immediately thrust his new bike into my face.

"Oh, its the same as Pat's - quelle surprise".

I must admit to feeling a pang of jealousy, those Canyons are a bit 'tasty'.

We set off on time and agreed we would do the 'BBR Classico' route.

After turning into Cooden Drive Pete spotted a really fat bloke on a bike and collapsed into hysterical giggling.

"Did you see him - blimey he looked like an elephant on a bike!"

The Fun Chums

"I thought you were in a caring profession", I rebuked.

I think Gareth was having problems still, but whilst waiting for the rest of the group I took the opportunity to take a few snaps  (after I had got bored with discussing the colour of Darrens saddle).

'The Fun Chums' immediately embraced and posed for the camera.  Although I did have to keep 'shooing' Darren away who kept trying to get in the middle.

The ride was very sociable and most enjoyable, but I did have a couple of 'man-offs'.  The first one was with Patrick who had the audacity to try and beat me on my favourite segment - I don't think it is actually a segment, but think it might be part of Kiln Lane - the up and down stretch before the right turn that leads to the B2095 and then into Horsewalk.

'Look out! - here comes The Baron"

Pete B shouted out to Patrick and alerted him to the fact that I was going to 'stealth' him.  We raced up the final dip shoulder to shoulder but he just stole it.  Still, not a bad effort from the older man.

The second 'man-off' was with the other 'Fun Chum', Pete.  On the final stage (for me, anyway), I pulled alongside him at the foot of Spooky:

"I'm gonna do you, Baker!"

Try as hard as he might he couldn't prevent me from passing him and I eased past.

The Osmonds 

I'm sure he will dispute this as he then passed me, but I had taken my foot 'off the gas' by then.  Either way this is my blog so 'suck it up' Baker.

Our stop-off for refreshments was Chilley and I was pleasantly surprised to see Matt Schubert with his three siblings arrive shortly afterwards  - what a fine looking bunch of young men - if they can sing they could definitely become the new Osmonds.

The sausage rolls

I ordered my usual egg and bacon bap and 'Americano' and sat down to enjoy the usual banter.  Before my order arrived the waitress bought out a chilley sausage roll for Pat and a Chilley sausage roll for Pete - ahh - how sweet.  We then discussed Pat and Pete's hairdos - we all agreed that if Pat just 'frizzed' his up a bit and Pete applied some Grecian they would looked very similar.

This was all good clean fun and we all agreed that the BBR is without equal in terms of sociablity and banter and depending on who is taking part, quite a bit of serious riding.

Peter Buss

And Then There Were Five - Annual Crawley To Hastings MTB Ride

With only the two of us at Bexhill station we were wondering if we would qualify for our group ticket (minimum of three) .We need not have worried due to a rare appearance of the lesser spotted  Baxter. In what is now becoming an annual event, Paul has come out of winter hibernation but has been even later this year (May) perhaps this is due to the unseasonably cold spring we have all had to endure?

Engineering work meant we had to travel on the Victoria line but the train was in the station ready to go. Jamie got on the train at Polegate but Andy T had arranged to meet us at Three bridges, having decided to ride all the way up on his own before riding back with us (even Nigel the caveman should be impressed by this!)

Great to ride with Jamie for the first time on an mtb ride

The train was packed but of course all the London football teams were playing their last games of the season and the faithful were going up. Steve managed to annoy some of the other passengers by showing Paul some of our club home grown videos at a rather loud volume (what a yobbo)

All the arrangements went perfectly to plan. The four of us disembarked at Three Bridges (Crawley) where we all gathered round making appreciating noises about Jamie’s brand new Jamis  carbon Adventure bike . On escaping from the station, Andy was there to greet us on his Colnago Gravel /Adventure bike, looking surprisingly fresh after already riding around 60 miles.

Why are we all so terrible at navigation? Despite having five garmins between us, and having done this route before there was still the usual faffing about until we discovered the first sign for the Worth way which is a converted sustrans railway track.

Is this tubeless idea really worth it?

We had only gone a mile or so when Paul had a puncture ,he was tubeless so it should not have mattered but the latex decided to squirt out all over him so the tyre  did not seal. Eventually he discovered this was due to a valve unscrewing itself. Fortunately Paul was well prepared and went old Skool by placing an inner tube inside instead.

The Worth way is easy riding with a good quality surface (much better than the Bexhill to Hastings route Steve uses for commuting) The air was cold but there was warmth is the spring sunshine
The terrain is easy and of course no problems with angry drivers so this was very pleasant riding.

Steve was fascinated by Jamie and Andy’s adventure/gravel bikes as by coincidence he has been doing some research into this new type of bike and has considered getting one for the daily commute. Apparently they are the next big thing, there is even a new style of sportive called a CX/gravel sportive that contains a mixture of road and easy off road. Some riders do these on 29er mtbs but about half the riders now do them on gravel/adventure bikes. Steve is keen to try one of these events in the autumn but Derek thinks it’s a waste of money (£25) and that he should plan one himself , advertise the ride for a  tenner and throw in a complimentary piece of grandmas bread pudding!

The cross bikes coped admirably well on the Worth way and then Forest way (another railway track) but they did struggle to find sufficient grip on the three mile stretch we had to do across a muddy field/farm track , although the only rider to slip off was Derek who was riding a hard tail mtb shod with tyres more suitable for the road. Unfortunately he landed in a patch of brambles and would spend some time pulling thorns out of his back side (much to everyone else’s amusement)

After the Forest way there was an 11 mile section on the road following sustrans route 21. Despite being on the road , in some ways this was the best bit as the roads were exceptionally quiet with outstanding views of the countryside. The route was also pleasantly lumpy, which gave the legs of the mtb riders a good workout as they hefted 26lbs plus up and down the undulating terrain

Andy' still smiling even after 90 miles of trails and 30 to go

By the time we got to Rotherfield, Steve, Derek and Andy were badly in need of a sugar fix. Several choc bars later our blood sugar levels were restored and before long we reached the start of the third railway track, the Cuckoo trail !

We diverged from the trail to enjoy an all day breakfast at Wesson (hairy biker) café. Andy T was now (understandably) feeling tired and so decided to give the café a miss and keep riding for home. Derek had somehow managed to bring a long lock with him although it wouldn’t quite go round all four bikes so we left Steve’s pink 29er unlocked, figuring that no one else would be seen dead riding it (a small girl on the trail was heard telling her mum, ‘that bike is the same colour as my dress’)

Re-energised ,we got back on the Cuckoo trail. With the trail fully tarmacked and being slightly downhill all the way to the Sovereign harbour we had to be careful not to go too fast as we always had to be mindful of the local dog walkers that inhabit these parts.

Reaching the coast we were very fortunate to be beneficiaries of a tail wind which pushed us all the way home and complete just over 60 miles (pretty good when you are on 2 inch knobbles)

This was a brilliant day and reminded us just why we love riding off road so much.
Steve has been inspired to plan an even longer (and tougher) train and ride for July

Derek/Steve

13/5 HSLCC Friday Night Ride- The Return Of Malc D

Malc is back!

last night was a great turnout of eight riders for the HSLCC Friday night ride. This was a pleasant surprise but even more surprising was that Malc C turned up to ride. Following his recent hip replacement I didn't expected to see Malc riding until July but his doctors have actually encouraged him to get out and ride, so thats great. Malc is still in rehabilitation mode so would do Dumb Woman's lane to reduce the mileage of the route.

I was also surprised to see Paul Butler on his first ever 'Friday Night Ride'.

This week we all set off together down Battery hill . There were still signs up for roadworks but thankfully the traffic lights have now been removed. Waiting for us at the bottom was Mark who had ridden over from his home near Rye. This almost gave us a double figure turnout, so different to a few weeks ago.

 During the day it had been quite warm but now it was chilly and we had a nasty head wind all the way out towards the Harbour. Myself and Derek found this particularly hard and were well and truly dropped buy the others.

We all regrouped at Rye and began the long drag up to Broad-oak. Despite the toughness of this climb it was such a relief to get out of that cold wind. Derek is really climbing well and beat me to Broad Oak (I cant remember the last time this happened)

Having bade farewell to Mark we set off for the usual descents towards Brede and Westfield. I am still loving my new CAAD 8, it feels so stable on the descents and the new shape 105 shifters are even more comfortable that the old style Tiagra ones.

Very enjoyable first 'Friday Night Ride' for Paul

Paul was really enjoying the route and made it up Stonestile easily . I haven't got round to fitting my 32 tooth cassette yet so thats my excuse for making it up in last place. So different to Dan who was on top form last night and achieved a Starva PB on the climb.

Four of us headed straight to the Robert De Mortain pub to meet up with Malc . I am pleased to say that Malc got round the truncated route without any problems, and actually bagged two Strava achievements, great news.Three pints later we stumbled out of the pub into a freezing cold wind. I was the only one who had brought tights out with me, much to the envy of the others.

Steve C

Le Quattre Jours a Dunquerke. (The Four Days of Dunkirk)……………….

Le Quattre Jours  a Dunquerke.   (The Four Days of Dunkirk is a five day  “pro” bike race that takes place in the Nord-pas-de-Calais and Flanders regions of Northern France with excursions into Belgium.

 This is the nearest pro race to Hastings/Bexhill, nearer than the Tour of Yorkshire and better weather. If the Tour de France is Barcelona/Real Madrid  than the 4 Days is strictly 2nd division.
  First raced in 1955 and with a great roll call of winners over the years the 4 Days has suffered a bit over the last few years with other new races entering the calendar, maybe hillier with better weather and bigger prize money but it has it’s niche and is well supported by all the top French and Belgian teams. The stages all take place fairly close to each other and it always end on the last day in Dunkirk.

    I travelled over from Dover to Dunkirk last Friday as a foot passenger with my bike and small rucksack, it’s now £20 each way so the ferries are following the planes/trains in starting to charge cyclists big time. The crossing takes 2 hours and the port is 9 miles from Dunkirk, so a little bike ride to the hotel.

  I stayed at Malo-les-Bains, seaside resort and suburb of Dunkirk with a hotel balcony overlooking the beach. The beaches are wonderful along this coastline, superb sunsets, great bars and restaurants on the promenade…..just don’t look to your left unless you like steelworks or magnificent sunsets over steelworks.

  Saturday was a 25 mile ride to the start of the 4th stage in Wattens and this is why I like these smaller races, the riders are accessible, no barriers, less pressure on them, they are willing to talk, answer questions, have photos taken.

  After watching the start depart it was then a 28 miler to Cassel for the finish (for the race it was a lot more).

    For those of you who know about  “The Grand Old Duke of York” marching his 10,000 men up a hill, well the town of Cassel is where it is supposed to have happened. A truly atmospheric and historic town perched on top of a big hill with great (and strategic) views over the flat plains below.
 The days stage arrived at Cassel and had 10 ascents of the cobbled climbs up into the main square, these climbs are about 1 and a half miles each so 10 times really split the field, I found a nice vantage point and shouted at them to work harder every time they came past, then into the square to watch the finish.

Leaving Cassel it was a pleasant 30 miler back to Dunkirk with a tailwind, to honour this fortune of the wind (and forget the earlier headwind) I celebrated with a bucket of mussels and frites, washed down with a couple of carafes of wine, slept well…….

 Sunday and more glorious weather, still 26 degrees, today it was off to Hondschoote to watch another start (20,000 euros if you want a start).  So for a small town like this maybe that is not too much if you get a few thousand people turn up to spend money in your shops and cafes, I bought a couple of cakes from a pattissierie just to help the local economy you understand.
  Here I came across the One Cycling team getting ready for the start, I asked the manager if it had been a hard day in Cassel yesterday…..” they are all hard days mate” he replied and walked off,  very friendly….he knew what I meant and when I looked at the size of him I could tell he had probably never rode in a race in his life.

  Moving on to the Marseille/Provence French 2nd division team and they could not have been friendlier, chatting about how they want to get into the top division, the work involved and also the Paris-Nice race that I had watched earlier in the season, they understand it’s the amateur cyclist like myself that keeps this sport alive, we stop sponsoring them, stop buying the bikes and gear and they have no income, a good bunch of chaps.
  As the race departed the town I waited for the One Cycling team car to pass and could not resist a cheap, obscene hand gesture.
  Back to Dunkirk for the finale of the fifth and final stage, the race goes south then turns back to Dunkirk and does a 10 lap circuit of the town before finishing in the centre, I chose to watch these laps on the Malo-les-Bains promenade with a couple of beers to help the local economy out.

  The race and three stages was won by French rider Bryan Coquard, a sprinter who can climb, he is young and with a big future.
   Steak/frites and some local Belgian beers that evening as my recovery food/drink.
  Monday and home, my ferry was at 4pm so I managed a ride up into Belgium and back along the seafront before whacking the rucksack on my back and heading for the boat.
  Got a total of 253 miles in during my own “ 4 Days”, saw some great racing and got sunburnt, probably put a bit of weight on as well, must have been the mussels.

Terry

7/5 Sadistic Saturday - Box Hill & some others we found on the way

It was 8am on Saturday and four riders gathered at the Harrow – no we weren’t a day early we were there for our own reasons:
Jon – tapering ready for a 600km Audax in Wales next weekend. I say in Wales loosely apparently it starts in Chepstow goes to Anglesey then return to Chepstow, so that’s most of Wales then.
Nigel – Looking for a recovery ride after his Sportive last weekend. Apparently it was damp and misty for the first 5 hours, the scenic bit through the Tramuntana mountains, so those of us who stayed at home to do the Pre BBR Brighton Special and enjoy the glorious sunshine on Ditchling Beacon made a wise choice.
Gareth – Training hard to try and get back the 6 seconds that Steve Butcher beat him by in the first Broadoak TT.
Patrick – Avoiding mowing the lawn again.

Some of the more seasoned readers of the blog may have already spotted something unusual – Nigel arriving on time for a morning ride. This however hadn’t been without its tribulations. His bike of choice the S-Works Tarmac was still disassembled in a bike box after it’s travels to the damp & misty continent. So on going to bed he had set his alarm for 5am to allow time to reassemble. Unfortunately not being the most technical chap, and only being a young wiper snapper at this programming electronic devices  lark (I think he needs to go old school and get out the paper tape and punched cards) he’d mistakenly set it for 3am, so when he awoke he felt far to tired and switched the phone off without resetting the alarm. But miracles do occur and he re-awoke naturally at 5am so was able to resume Plan A.

Having waited the customary 10 minutes, as if anybody else was going to turn up, we were ready for the off, apart from Nigel who taking on Gareth’s role of faffing decided now would be a good time to spend 5mins fiddling with his Garmin loading the route. Finally we off towards Battle, and in order to be able to offer some comparison to the more famous Surrey hill we plotted a course up Netherfield hill, up Brighling Hill and then up again to Burwash. Meandering through the glorious Sussex Weald we continued on through Mayfield to Crowborough.

At this point not normally a man of great emotion Jon began to quiver. ‘Could we divert just a little off the course and make an unscheduled stop?’ It turns out that Jon is having his dream bike built up near by and it’s heart a Kinesis titanium frame had arrived this week. Oh how he longed , to inspect the tube angles the quality of the welds and the feel that is unique to frames constructed from this unique metal. But alas although the diversion would be small we feared the stop would not, so we pressed on.

It wasn’t long before we were rewarded by the joyous roads through the Ashdown forest and of course more hills.

It’s very noticeable that the further one cycles into the commuter belt the bigger the cars get (a 4x4 being essential for a trip to the Pantiles) and a complete dis-respect for other road users becomes the norm. We continued gamely on giving ‘Creepy’ Crawley a wide berth (people have been known to come out in an unsightly rash just by passing through), and crossed the M23 north of Gatwick. Passing through the flat farmland on the south side of the M25 the imminence of the North Downs was always in the distance and our objective insight.

We arrived at the foot of the famous zig-zag climb at the same time as a group of 20 riders from a Surrey Cycle club. Next time we do this ride, I’ll try and persuaded them to cycle to Hastings and experience the joy of Battery Hill, as it was frustrating to have so many cyclists to pass on the way up. Needless to say it was Nigel who arrived at the café at the top first. It wasn’t until this point that I spotted the similarity in his racing jersey to the livestrong (now rebranded livewrong) colours made famous by a certain Texan cyclist in the 90s. Whilst thier training regimes may have similarities, Nigel has replaced the EPO with his infamous Ricecakes giving similar performance gains. For those who haven’t asked Nigel the recipe for these, my advice is make sure your sitting down, order a coffee, with a refill to follow in 10mins (you’ll have time to drink both), then casually drop in the conversation ‘So Nigel how do you make those rice cakes?’

Having gorged ourselves on a mixture of Bacon Baps, Sausage Rolls, Treacle Tart, Cakes, Pepsi, Coffee and of course the obligatory Ricecake for Nigel, we were ready to start the Homewood journey. Greeted by glorious views from the Top of the Downs we were disappointed to find ourselves shortly afterwards ridding for five miles down a dual carriage way (the A217 if anyone is interested – Note to self redo this part of the route) for several miles to the top of Reigate hill. From here we headed east to join up with Sam’s London to Hastings route which conveniently delivered us at the Velo Café in Tonbridge Wells as our Garmin’s clocked up 100miles (Note: shorter routes to the Velo Café are available at other outlets).  There was a difference of opinion on how to refuel at this point with Jon and Nigel opting for coffee, Patrick beer and Gareth sitting on the fence with one of each. We watched the end of stage two of the Giro, is it just me or does Marcel Kittel look lie a younger blond haired version of Nigel?

Sticking with Sam’s route we carried on through Wadhurst and Stonegate before heading further east to go through Robertsbridge. Poppinghole lane was next, and I mused if this was the inspiration for one of the features on Assos’ Cento shorts. KuKu Penthouse for those not familiar with Assos speak I’ll quote there description: ‘The front part of the insert features a round-shaped pattern insert made of skin contact textile, no foam. Not only does it create a "nest" into which the male's genitals are properly "stored", but also keeps them "cooler". It's the evolution of "kuKuDeluxe". You only got 3, protect them!’. It was during my musings that Nigel decided enough of this gentle recovery ride and went on a mission to set some PBs the rest of the way home.
The remainder of the group joined the Tubby Tuesday route at Sedlescombe , before Jon diverted to his house just shy of Westfield. Gareth  and I then had a brief conversation about the merits of Westfield Lane v Stonstile, before Gareth let slip that he’d neglected to swap out his time trialling cassette (26t max), and so it was set, it had to be Stonestile after all it was Sadistic Saturday after all.

Patrick

Box Hill – Epilogue by Nigel Tamplin

Some weeks earlier...
Someone had mentioned about a bike ride to somewhere some day of some weekend, but with a planned 0800 start time, I'd ignored the rest of the details.

Some weeks later...

Scanning my emails on a Friday night I realised it was Patrick's ride was to box hill and it started tomorrow morning. I liked the sound of box hill, but getting up in time seemed like a pipe dream, it was a long shot but I decided to bite the bullet, and that maybe, just maybe, I could get up in time.

I set my alarm for 0700, then remembering my bike was dismantled and still in it's aeroplane hard case from a few days earlier, I set my alarm for 0500, allowing me an additional 2 hours to build my bike. It doesn't take that long but I was compensating for the early-morning correction factor, the phenomenon whereby everything takes longer than expected (presumably as most brain cells are still asleep which alters the perception of passing time)

At 0500 my alarm went off, a few minutes later Lucy shook me awake, “turn that annoying alarm off its the middle of the night!”. I was so tired I immediately gave up on the idea of riding to box hill and went back to sleep.

Later in the night, I awoke feeling ill and with cold sweats, to my surprise it was 0500. Hang on, this doesn't make sense I thought, double checking my alarm it turns out I'd set my alarm for 0300 by mistake. I attributed Friday's evening's late night binge of 3 chicken burgers and wine to coincidentally having disturbed my sleep at the correct time. “Game on” I thought and set to assembling my bike. 2 hours to fit rear dérailleur, wheels, chain and seat post, fix slow puncture , inflate tyres, change brake pads should be ok. I made myself a coffee and looked for my tools, blimey 30 minutes gone already, ok 1h30 should be plenty of time. After a buzz of bike building activity reminiscent of an A-team montage it was ready, I even had time to sponge off the worst of the dirt and eat a bowl of porridge. I informed Lucy I was “popping out for a ride”, SMS'd Patrick, and set off for the Harrow where I surprised the already assembled motley crew, and myself, by arriving on time.

5 hours later we were sat at the cafe at the top of box hill, my phone rang, I'd forgotten my mother was visiting “was I nearly home?”, er, “I'll be back in 5 hours”, she wasn't there by the time I returned home.

Nigel T

6/5 Friday Night Rescued

Smile Ivan!

The HSLCC Friday night ride has been on 'life support recently'. Friday night stalwart Sargent Grogans has done his best to keep the flame alive , turning up even in poor weather. Unfortunately not everyone is as hardy as Simon and on some occasions it has just been Simon plus one other rider.

The arrival of warm spring weather (at last) meant that I was prepared to come out for the ride, and I know that to get Ivan to come out all I have to do is suggest the idea of drinking beer post ride. Ricky and Andy T also joined us, as did Ed for the first time.

As we were quite a small group we all descended Battery Hill together only to get held up by the  road works there which seem to have been going on for ages.

Once we got to the sea defences we were riding into a head wind which was surprisingly chilly considering the warm weather everyone had enjoyed during the day.

Easy first ascent for Ed

Fortunately the broad-oak drag soon got us warmed up. Ivan stormed ahead with Andy in hot pursuit, only for Andy to burn up somewhere before the top.

Myself Ed and Ricky went up at a more modest pace. Ed's rear light was in need of a battery change so Ed never strayed to far from myself or Ricky.

Ricky is now completely at ease riding with clipless pedals, his climbing has improved considerably and he is now significantly faster than myself on this climb.

Ed had never climbed Stonestile before and asked several times where it was. The obvious answer came soon enough. Having done the pre-BBR of Beachy many times, this first ascent was an easy one for Ed. Ed thought the Friday night ride route was great, so hopefully the Friday night ride has gained another recruit- it certainly needs them!

Steve C

3/4 Tuesday (Tubby) Training - New route a keeper

Our 2016 Tubby Tuesday training season got off to a good start this week . Patrick and Mick proved that you can be stick thin and still enjoy riding with the 'Tubbies'. This would also be the first Tuesday ride for Andy C who definitely qualifies for this ride!

Patrick proves that you don't have to be a 'Tubby' to enjoy Tues training

last year the Tuesday ride simply followed the same route as the 'HSLCC Friday Night Ride'. This was OK but this year I decided that it needed its own  distinct course. keri had informed me that Float lane had been resurfaced this year, so that was one option. Then looking at the map I decided that we could get to Westfield from Sedlescombe rather than heading more or less directly there from Brede.

In bright sunny conditions we all rode together on the main road to Winchelsea where we turned off towards the little used Winchelsea railway station and joined Float lane. This is one of my favourite bits of road. I haven't ridden it for years as it was in such a terrible potholed state but now it was covered with lovely smooth tarmac. This lane is so peaceful and feels remote with lovely views of sheep grazing on the flat farmland. The sun was low in the sky so everyone was covered in a golden glow (I must bring my go-pro to capture this effect). The flat riding came to a sudden end as the last section sudden turns vertical to join the Icklesham road. Myself and Andy were last up this section but didn't struggle too much.

Now we were back on familiar Friday night territory, the Broad Oak drag . Normally this road seems like an endless slog but having cut out 40% of it , we arrived at the top in no time at all.

Riding towards Brede, I had informed everyone that we would be taking the sharp right hand turn towards Sedlescombe. Unfortunately this road has got a bit of a bad reputation . Care is definitely needed as the road surface is in quite bad condition, narrow and with some steep descents. Regrouping at Sedlescombe I asked the others what they thought, should we cut this bit out? They all thought that providing riders were sensible it was OK to use this road as long as the conditions were dry and there was plenty of light. We all decided that if the roads were damp we would just stick to the Friday night route for this section.
My main reason for choosing this road was that we could now ride the steep climb up to Westfield. We had a choice, either ride up the wider road past the Vineyard or ride up the narrower road past Westfield place. Patrick thought that the narrower road was the better option as there would be less traffic, however having programmed in the route into my Garmin I wanted to stick to the 'vineyard route' , also this one is a bit better surfaced and safer.

Care is needed on the connecting lane between brede and Sedlescombe

Arriving at Westfield, Stonestile was between us and completing our first traverse of this new route. This would be my first ascent on my newly acquired CAAD 8 compact double with only a 28 cassette rather than my old CAAD 8 with a triple 28! I didn't find it too bad although I was out of the saddle more than normal but Patrick reckoned that riding this higher gear would make me stronger up hills. However , in the back of my mind was the thought of doing the Mega Leg breaker Improver's ride later in the month and a few days later , in a moment of weakness , I ordered myself a new long reach dérailleur and a 32 cassette (what a wimp I am!)

Steve C

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening time trial series kicks off

H&StL CC’s Wednesday evening time trial series started with a fine sunny evening, moderate winds and 8 PBs in a field of 22 riders.  What a contrast to the foul evening that kicked off the 2015 season with horrendous gusts of wind so strong that the young juniors were not allowed to ride.

 The club event was won by Ivan Johnson (22.11) but ride of the evening must go down to a PB by two minutes for 14 year old Fabien Large (22:30) to take second place ahead of Jon Molton (23:21), Steve Butcher (23:24) and Simon Grogan (23:55 PB).  We had to triple check the times that riders crossed the line to confirm that Fabien had ridden that well, but may be not such as surprise after riding his first two 25 mile TTs these last two Sundays, the second a PB of 1:07:20 at Steyning

 There was a great turn out of friends from other clubs (some second claim with us), seven of whom recorded the quickest times of the evening in private time trials.  Very few riders have broken 19 minutes, the only regular being In Gear’s Peter Tadros (18:31) who did it yet again.  Hastings junior Joe Kingsman did a 18:27 last year but currently has knee problems so turned up to watch and has yet to ride competitively as a senior.  Rye’s Pav Bryan (19:14 PB) and PB Coaching Stuart Hodd (19:43) produced very quick times in 2014 and 2015 and are already in good form with Rye’s Damien Foord (19:53) joining them as an elite sub 20 minute rider on his first TT on the circuit.

Kim Brown (24:58) improved her PB by 1:10, the other six PBs being by seconds.

 Three other juniors were riding: In Gear’s 14 year old Theo Tadros (22.55) who recently set a 25 PB of 1:04:** at Molash, Finlay Pritchard-Brady (27:14 PB) and 13 year old Tyler Chapman (30:24).

 Many thanks to those that helped to run the event: Stuart Crabb for putting up the signs, signing riders on, setting the field and pushing off; John Vidler for time keeping with Malcolm Daly spotting, Andy Coulter and Patrick Piper, and supporters.  Thanks to the Rainbow Trout pub for car parking and being a good post event venue to chat.

Allcomers best times for H&StL CC's Broad Oak circuit (c.8.2) for the 2016 season

Chris Parker










CLUB EVENTS – one more Broad Oak Brede TT before Ninfield on 18 May:



Wed.     11 May  Broad Oak 8                                      Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Wed.     18 May  Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Wed.     25 May  Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

Wed.     01 June Ninfield 14                                        Meet 6.30 first rider off 7.00

30/4 Pre-BBR Ditchling Special - Such A Great Day

Discussing the Pre-BBR after the final chain-gang on Wednesday, the weather was looking grim. Sub 10 degrees and continual rain. The blouses were threatening to come out of the cupboard again especially for Steve C who had only just got over his fourth chest infection this winter.

No need for blouses with weather like this.

Miracles do happen and by Friday we had an email from Pre BBR aficionado , Neil, informing us we could all put our blouses away as the forecast had changed to dry and sunny, yes!!

Half of us rode from Hastings to meet the others at Normans bay border control. It was really cold and someone said their outdoor thermometer was only showing 2 degrees. As usual, last to arrive was the right honourable Baron Buss, although to be fair he did just make it within the 5 minute waiting time. We had a number of Pre BBR Special virgins including Shirley, Zac, Peter Breheme and Terry. They had picked the perfect day for their initiation. It was also only the second ride for Steve’s 2015 CAAD 8, a really nice bike for the money but with only a 28 tooth cassette, compared to his previous 32, how would he cope with the beacon?

Derek leads his own breakaway 

It has been a rare treat lately to ride in bright sunlight and slowly but surely the sun was warming us up. Before long, Steve’s pockets were bulging with all the layers he had removed and annoyingly kept getting stuck on the back of his saddle.

Our pace was steady as we rode without incident to the foothills of Ditchling beacon. Everyone was feeling good and most of us achieved a PB for at least some of the Ditchling beacon segments. This was Shirley’s first ever ride up the Beacon. With Patrick’s support she made it up without dismounting despite  still not having mastered riding out of the saddle.

Baron Buss scores a PB on Ditchling Beacon

We enjoyed breakfast at the University cafeteria. Its a bit basic there but there is always plenty of space and the sausages are really good. You have to clear your own tray here like MacDonald's . The staff were just about to put up a sign for no more cyclists but a quick apology saved us for the next visit. While some riders helped fix a slipping cable on Zac’s bike, Peter Breheme took the chance to ask everyone for advice about what high end electronic geared bike bike he should buy . The common consensus was that a Canyon gives the best bang per buck. After picking up his current (less than a year old ) steed we can well understand why he is in the market for a new steed, something tells me all his Strava PBs are going to trumble soon!

Its all downhill from here 

Heading out of the University there is an almost immediate steep hill. Very quickly our party fragmented into two groups. The slower group almost caught up with the faster group by the crossing over the A27 but this would be the last glimpse of them as they sped up the Kingston hill.

Terry enquired what the coastal road from Brighton was like. Our advice to avoid it due to the traffic was proved correct as once we got to Newhaven the roads were jammed with all manner of vehicles. Thankfully the lovely Newhaven cycle path cut out some of the traffic and things had eased a bit once we got back on the coast road.

The slower group had now disintegrated into a number of sub groups but we were all back together briefly at the Friston Forest  bus stop.

Derek is still riding hills really well but it was also great to see a big improvement in Malc C who seems to have overcome his allergy to hills following the Invicta audax last month. Shirley has also improved and declared this ascent of Beachy to be the easiest yet.

Some of us took time out for  a couple of beers and to sit in some warm sunshine in the garden of the Beachy head pub before  setting off for a nice casual ride home. When we reached Herbrand Walk the roads were very wet so we had missed a downpour so the extra stop at beachy head may well have saved us. We wondered if the non stop group got caught.

This was such a great day from start to finish.

Steve C/Derek