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London to Brighton…

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  • June 16, 2014 at 12:13 pm #21701
    parksey

    So, I managed to complete my first London to Brighton ride yesterday. Finished with a moving time of 4.5 hours but an actual time of more like 6 hours. Definitely the biggest ride I’ve done to date in terms of climbing.

    A few thoughts…

    First few “urban” miles away from the start were hell, literally only turned the first corner to meet the back of a big queue being marshalled out of a junction.

    Surprised by the amount of normal traffic on these early roads too, would have expected more closures, or at least restrictions in place, literally tens of thousands of cyclists plus cars and buses don’t mix…

    Lots of very impatient or aggressive drivers in this part too. Not like they wouldn’t have been aware that this was happening so as to plan their day/journey accordingly.

    Taking three hours to do the first 18 or so miles… So many forced stops, queues and, sadly, walking. Couldn’t ride up any of the first hills due to the sheer numbers of people off and pushing up the narrow roads.

    Lots of clearly once-a-year cyclists, with no particular spatial awareness (or manners, frankly), veering all over the road and stopping without warning, particularly on the hills. A girl I was riding with for a few miles politely called a middle-aged woman out for doing this to her hallway up a hill, just to get a load of abuse in return.

    Stupidly placed rest stops right at the top of hills rather than just beyond, further exacerbating the whole stopping without warning/walking situation.

    So many BSOs, clearly bought just for the event and probably to be resigned to the shed immediately afterwards!

    Never heard so many tortured gear changes or seen so many underinflated tyres! Offered to help a girl riding with an almost completely flat tyre, to which she looked at me like I’d abducted her child…

    Quite a few fat guys in too-close-fitting Team Sky kit!

    A disproportionately high number of upturned bikes at the side of the road, possibly (but I couldn’t be completely sure) linked to the number of BSOs.

    BUT, after that first 20 or so miles the nature of the event completely changed. The numbers thinned out massively, seemingly as less regular riders began to flag, and it became a genuinely enjoyable ride through the Sussex countryside. I got into a good rhythm along with 3 or 4 other riders and the following 20 miles sailed by, including the hills inbetween.

    And then came the Beacon… It was a relentless, 34/30 crawl, but the etiquette between the walkers and the riders was there this time, and I got myself up it fuelled on gels and Star Mix! Really pleased with myself for that as I thought I might crumble at a couple of points.

    The remaining half a dozen miles down into Brighton were a massive high, lots of people out cheering, not least along Madeira Drive itself. Cruised to the finish high-fiving the outstretched hands of the kids in the crowd, to a well-deserved burger and pint a short while later.

    Would I do it again? Not sure yet. The frustration of the first few hours doesn’t ruin the rest of the ride, which is a genuine challenge (to me at least). As has been said on here before, the earliest start time possible would definitely make for more enjoyable riding in the early stages, and an opportunity to a) tackle all the hills properly, and b) set a decent time.

    Still, all for a very worthwhile cause, and the work team I was in have so far raised over 2 grand. That side of it can’t be denied.

    Anyone else do it this year and, if so, what were your thoughts?

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  • June 22, 2014 at 8:44 pm #799571
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    CXR94Di2

    If you decide to enter a
    If you decide to enter a charity event then you must expect and adjust your riding to accommodate all skills of riders. Expecting less powerful speedy riders to keep out of your way is a bit selfish to say the least. If the event is over subscribed don’t enter.

    I will be entering the London Prudential 100 with 25000 riders which equates to 250 per mile, which is a he’ll of alot of riders to navigate with. If it’s too much I won’t ride it again.

    Looking at ditchling beacon, it looks Ok with its dips ever 500 metres to give you a break. 🙂

    June 18, 2014 at 8:59 pm #799569
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    benclark88

    OPs story pretty much
    OPs story pretty much reflects exactly my experience. I signed up with my (not really a cyclist) brother and some of his friends, and having not done it before went for a 9.30am start – big mistake. I wasn’t exactly concerned about the distance, most of my weekend rides are longer, plus ~80odd miles in the week with commuting. However the busy roads, idiotic riding and sheer numbers made the first two hours hell, to the point I considered binning it off and riding back home to north london.

    But once the roads cleared a bit I managed to get a good hour in at 36-38kph rolling speed, (with a fair few calls of ‘on your right’ and some narrow misses) catching 7.30-8am stragglers in the process. Made it up ditchling, just – the main concern being clipping wheels with wobbling mtb riders and straying walkers. Descending into Brighton was great – 75kph coming off the top of ditchling.

    Would do it again, but an early start is an absolute essential. Rolling time was 4hrs 40, I think earlier in day I could knock an hour off that at least.

    June 18, 2014 at 8:44 pm #799567
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    Anonymous

    Rode it for the first time.
    Rode it for the first time. And the last time. The ride is all things to all riders. Some just bimble along for charity, some want to race it, and all in between. The number of riders just swamp the organisers. As has been said way too many riders for the roads to cope with.

    June 18, 2014 at 6:56 pm #799565
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    tommytwoparrots

    Hm lots of stupid comments up
    Hm lots of stupid comments up there today…
    I ride the l to B and many sportive s…mainly for charity… the problem with this one is its far to big for the small roads its forced on to…should be half the size or smaller with multiple starts and perhaps over two days with elite and club riders on one day..
    Most of the crashes were on damp downhills with people being totally reckless and stupid… sadly the aggressive mentality seems to be taking over our wonderful sport with a lot of nasty people who think they are pros but have all the kit and no clue at all.
    I understand the ride has different team this year organising it and it must have been to save money as there was a lot of very poor road management and marshalling was in some cases appalling.
    Far fewer loos and yes the rest stops needed to be better thought out.
    As to the ‘fat’ comments.. get over yourself..i’m not exactly slim at 15st though i ride every day and cover about 500km a week… took about 5 hrs due to hold ups this year and I will probably not bother next year…oh and the louts in the trucks scratched up my new genesis custom build…glad i didnt bring the volare

    June 18, 2014 at 1:07 pm #799563
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    parksey

    surly_by_name wrote:I think

    surly_by_name wrote:
    I think they should institute a ban on bikes with drop bars and tyres less than 30mm.

    From what I saw on Sunday then, only about half as many bikes would be participating and, by association, only half as much sponsorship money raised. Makes sense…

    June 18, 2014 at 9:17 am #799561
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    surly_by_name

    The biggest problem with this
    The biggest problem with this event is that some people think it’s a sportive. It isn’t. It’s supposed to be about raising money for charity and having a bit of fun in the process. If you want to ride fast to Brighton, you can do that any weekend. Stop taking yourselves so seriously.

    I think they should institute a ban on bikes with drop bars and tyres less than 30mm.

    June 18, 2014 at 7:45 am #799559
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    MarcMyWords

    I’ve done it a couple of
    I’ve done it a couple of times and mirror what everyone else has said, the earlier the better. You also get very different types of riders. The first time I did it we went as quickly as possible, just stopping for water and toilet breaks and the second time we stopped for a couple of beers and bacon sarnies and really took our time. We managed to ride up the beacon both times but found that the people walking were a nightmare, they would just walk anywhere, 2, 3, even 4 abreast so you spend your entire time weaving around them, they should cut off half or even 3/4 of the road for walkers up the beacon and then let the rest of us do our thing!

    June 17, 2014 at 9:26 pm #799557
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    stuartp

    parksey wrote:
    Any

    parksey wrote:

    Any recommendations?

    You might enjoy the Palace to Palace rides, I have done the Midlands (circular) one twice and that was a pleasant enough, without the different start/finish logistics.
    I haven’t done the London to Windsor one but know plenty who have and they all enjoyed that.

    June 17, 2014 at 8:22 pm #799555
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    parksey

    It was that stop at the top
    It was that stop at the top of Turners Hill that caused me to comment. Ok, you can’t move the pub that’s there, but some better marshaling to encourage people not to literally stop right on the brow of the hill would have been welcome. IIRC, Turners was the first hill I was able to have a good crack at, but still had to stop before the top because of the ripple of people just jumping straight off their bikes.

    Sounds like even a 7.30 start wasn’t quite early enough then, looks like it would definitely need to be 6.30 if possible. We raised more than enough in sponsorship to get the priority registration for 2015, so maybe we could get a good run.

    June 17, 2014 at 8:06 pm #799553
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    dsdrussell

    I did it for the first time
    I did it for the first time this year as part of my training for London to Paris next month.

    I started on the 7.30 wave and the traffic through Tooting was abysmal!! It took me an hour to do just over 13km!

    The first hill just after Chipstead was very slow, with too many people walking all over the road and stepping off. Come to a standstill again on another hill as there were 2 accidents on the downhill section.

    I decided to push on and not stop at any of the refreshment stops until my water ran out as I started to pass the more recreational 7am & 6.30am riders to get ahead of some of the slower riders.

    Great to ride on some closed roads as the ride thinned out, but plenty of cyclists not doing the ride were trying to own the road by screaming at anyone daring to get it their way!

    The traffic through Haywards Heath was bad, as the police were managing the traffic on the roundabout, but then had a clear run to the bottom of Ditchling.

    I was surprised that I was able to ride up the hill on the right, with the majority of walkers sticking to the left by now. Still a few idiots walking up chatting 4 abreast blocking the road though…..

    Agree that some of the refreshment stops will very ill thought out at the top of hills, particularly at Turners Hill and at the top of Ditchling Beacon.

    Surprised at the number of people on the streets cheering on the riders the further South I got.

    I would consider doing it again, but would definitely plump for the earlier start times.

    Dean

    June 17, 2014 at 8:06 pm #799551
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    dsdrussell

    I did it for the first time
    I did it for the first time this year as part of my training for London to Paris next month.

    I started on the 7.30 wave and the traffic through Tooting was abysmal!! It took me an hour to do just over 13km!

    The first hill just after Chipstead was very slow, with too many people walking all over the road and stepping off. Come to a standstill again on another hill as there were 2 accidents on the downhill section.

    I decided to push on and not stop at any of the refreshment stops until my water ran out as I started to pass the more recreational 7am & 6.30am riders to get ahead of some of the slower riders.

    Great to ride on some closed roads as the ride thinned out, but plenty of cyclists not doing the ride were trying to own the road by screaming at anyone daring to get it their way!

    The traffic through Haywards Heath was bad, as the police were managing the traffic on the roundabout, but then had a clear run to the bottom of Ditchling.

    I was surprised that I was able to ride up the hill on the right, with the majority of walkers sticking to the left by now. Still a few idiots walking up chatting 4 abreast blocking the road though…..

    Agree that some of the refreshment stops will very ill thought out at the top of hills, particularly at Turners Hill and at the top of Ditchling Beacon.

    Surprised at the number of people on the streets cheering on the riders the further South I got.

    I would consider doing it again, but would definitely plump for the earlier start times.

    Dean

    June 17, 2014 at 3:04 pm #799549
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    stub

    I was impressed this year
    I was impressed this year with the amount of marshalling, however, the fact remains that all the crashes happen in the same spots year after year – rectory lane, fannys farm, rocky lane, etc. At each accident black spot there should be marshalls in radio contact further up the road warning of accidents up ahead on megaphones. If they positioned themselves correctly then a lot of cyclists could head into the rest stops nearby and that might make getting ambulances to the unfortunate victims a bit easier.

    I do think there should be some segregation on standard and also some alternate routes towards major junctions. It’s always a nightmare getting through the tooting/mitcham area as buses and cars are in the road, cyclists get frustrated and end up crossing over, cycling across junctions because they’ve been waiting so long. The vehicle traffic isn’t heavy, even at 9:30-10:00am so the lights should stay green for longer to ease the congestion.

    I started slightly later than my 8:00am start time and by the time we hit coopers hill road we joined the enormous queue (must have been at least 5000?) for the accident by the dog and duck pub. After close to an hour of walking about 100 yards, we took a diversion as I know the area well, and as we turned back onto the road into smallfields, saw a crowd of cyclists heading back up the road towards us telling us to go back along our diversion as there was another accident.

    In all, it was the slowest L to B I’ve done in years. I do think that when people enter they should have to take an online awareness test like company car drivers regularly do, and if you fail it, you don’t get to ride. And anyone without a helmet should be turned away from the start. There must be some way to raise the standard of cycling or at least mitigate the accident spots. They’re in the same places every year and they’re only getting more frequent.

    June 17, 2014 at 12:15 pm #799547
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    Daveyraveygravey

    Haven’t entered for a couple
    Haven’t entered for a couple of years, but left at 6 am the last time I did, and loved it. Rode back too, which was a hell of a stretch for me back then! Going through Crawley was murder…but then it usually is…
    I live near Brighton, so pottered over to the bottom of Ditchling Beacon to watch the spectacle. It got too much when a young-ish guy on a Pinarello who was passing folk quite easily bailed out at the bottom of the hill and walked his beautiful machine up the hill…Think I would rather cut my legs off than walk a bike like that up a hill!

    June 17, 2014 at 10:50 am #799545
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    parksey

    andycoventry wrote:Personally

    andycoventry wrote:
    Personally I think they need to look towards some sort of seeding system, try and group start times by ability. I know its only a ‘fun ride’ but its the only way I can see it working safely without reducing the numbers.

    This was my thinking, I’m pretty sure that’s broadly what happens with the London marathon.

    I did come across a fair few people taking it way too seriously (sadly no shouts of “Strava!” though), but I don’t think it’s right to say you shouldn’t be able to give it a proper go if you want to (and are capable of doing so), in the same way it’s not right to bemoan the numbers of slow cyclists too.

    Let those wanting to crack on and treat it like a sportive take the early start times, and leave the later start times free for those wanting to make a day of it. Besides, I suspect the casual crowd wouldn’t be up and wanting to start at 6.30am anyway.

    June 17, 2014 at 7:56 am #799543
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    md6

    I rode this with some
    I rode this with some colleagues. We unfortunately had a 9am start and it was a nightmare. I agree completely about the etiquette and education issues. There were times when on the later hills people just decided they couldn’t make it and stopped bang in the middle of the road right or would still be walking 3 or 4 abreast blocking the whole road. When asked politely by a colleague to walk to the left he got a mouthful in response.

    I think the route was fantastic though and would definitely want to do it again, but maybe with about 27,950 less people

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