The BHF London to Brighton

6am start :) and :( gotta leave the house at 3am

I'm doing it with work, 9:30 start so likely to be an mega nodder fest the whole way. Will be with a mixed bunch so chances are it will be slow paced, longest 55 miles ever I reckon

Finished, Ditchling beacon done, 80inch gearing, legs hurt. 3 hour rest then home

Mein gott, so many prommuter in Clapham on way to work.

So many parked cars too.

Down to Clapham, then to Brighton, then back up to Uckfield to get the train and then home from Victoria - all in about 120km. Wasn't too congested apart from when a guy came off in a bad way. Did 65 yesterday as a somewhat ambitious warmup also. My legs are tired, as is my head after getting up at 5 with about 4 hours of unbroken sleep.

I'm not going to do it again, though. Too much wobbling/veering dangerously by people who can't control their bikes. I shouted "fucking hell" after a guy nearly took out my front wheel because he was looking backwards one-handed and lost it, and he proceeded to spew abuse about how it was my fault because it was a charity event, not a race. Really can't be arsed with that crap.

158 miles finished Rochester > London > Brighton > Rochester... pasta and bed now :)

Good effort h2o, what time did you start I had no issues at 6 but did push hard at the start to clear the pack before pacing myself for the rest

Did this last year, had to walk up ditchling beacon as people in front kept on stopping so I lost momentum and couldnt get it back... Fun ride, met a lot of new people, but not going to do it again just for the fact that it got too chaotic and got held up 5 km outside of brighton due to congested roads...

Lol I shouted at some guy "hold your fucking line" as I approached on beacon today. Not my finest moment but if I stopped I wouldn't have got the momentum back again (luckily I didn't stop), still they clocked the fixed and cheered me on as I passed

@mulemanning big gear for that many miles,
regardless of whether you cleaned ditching
tough effort well done

Good work everyone.. I've always avoided BHF London-Brighton, the crowds put me off.
Over the years we have refined our route there and back, keeping to very small groups
training for long distance endurance rides like Styrkepröven..
And you never forget your first trip to Brighton on a bike.

@mulemanning - 6:30 start, but didn't race away as I was with a mate from work and also because I have a bad habit of setting off to strong, forgetting to eat, and bonking on a hill. Plus my rebuilt knee isn't as strong as it was... But yeah, having to do hills at the pace of wobbly occasional cyclists is one of the most frustrating things about the BHF ride...

@mulemanning - 6:30 start, but didn't race away as I was with a mate from work and also because I have a bad habit of setting off to strong, forgetting to eat, and bonking on a hill. Plus my rebuilt knee isn't as strong as it was... But yeah, having to do hills at the pace of wobbly occasional cyclists is one of the most frustrating things about the BHF ride...

Ah all bad news, I'd recommend doing it again but solo or with faster group (if your knee is in good shape by next year) it's rather good once you break from the nodder hoard. Good effort though I couldn't have done those hills with a weak knee, the elevation profile didn't give it justice

Never, Ever Again!

8 hours - spent more time standing still / walking than cycling. Apparently some very serious crashes, and I saw lots of people have unserious crashes - poor bike handing, not watching, fatigue, other people stopping directly in front of them with no warning etc etc. Not proud of having to shout at a few people as well - the time trialler on carbon wheels who brushed between me and the ditch as he HAD to get past particularly put the s**ts up me

Also found out I am not as fit as I thought I was.

Still, the weather was good for it, met lots and lots of friendly people, saw some interesting machines. Well done to everyone in fancy dress, on Boris Bikes, and all who did it as their first ever ride.

Im glad the Guys in the mankini's never caught me up they were in my pen at the start,and I heard horror stories of people being overtaken then just following a crack for 5 miles

Had a pretty clear run thanks to early start. Did not see too many other people ridding fixed/ss. Fun morning, but early start essential if you want to keep a reasonable pace rather than take part in a procession.

http://www.strava.com/activities/153692871

We left at 7 from Wandsworth Common to miss the mayhem at the start. Out of London was very slow but steady, first two hills were horrendous, almost at a stand still, but put the hammer down when we could, cleared the worst of the nodders and had a great second half of the ride. Managed 3 and a half hours moving time which is pretty good considering how slow it was out of London.

I thought the ride out of London was less congested than last year (6.30 start both, but 6.45 by the time we were on the move), but then the event got neutralised after an accident, I presume, just past the M25; I had to hang around in the tunnel for about 10 minutes and then floor it to re-get ahead of the crowds. Was pleased with that, but the second stage - from Turner's Hill to Ditchling Beacon - felt tougher going than last year.

^im up for winning that trophy next year mate!! or maybe jon will if he gets rid of his flower bike ha,was a good day had by all.

^ Ah, man, I never got to tell you how smart I thought your bike was...

Thanks mate you've gotta love those croydon ravers down at Roberts

This was my first year riding the BHF london to Brighton, did it fixed and only saw two other people riding it fixed! Saw a few single speed lot.

Ended up being told at one of the marshal points that if we went straight on instead of turning left it was 2 miles longer but no hectic build ups (unfortunately our start time was 9:30am!) So we ended up taking a big ol' detour and going through Crawley, nice open roads though (even though it was more than a 2 mile detour) and then we rejoined at Turners Hill.

Good laugh but insanely frustrating for the most part, people riding with cleats that have no idea how to, got cut up more times than I care to remember, but the atmosphere was good and spirits were high mostly! Awesome to see strangers encouraging each other up hills etc.

It was my 3rd year this year, 6am start so missed the traffic. 3hrs 30mins.

Saw the guy who had the horrible accident on rocky lane, hope he's gonna be alright :(

Anyone doing it this year? I'm um and ah'ing about it. Given its for a good cause but I'm not sure if to find another less popular fund raiser to avoid the hoards of people.