Last Night Ride to Brighton 2008

If you moved it to the Saturday I'd be more inclined/able to come along

If you moved it to the Saturday I'd be more inclined/able to come along

I've PMed Sano to ask whether there's any news on the possible party on Saturday evening.

Don't run it on the 20th, I have dibs on the 21st.
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread13395.html

Don't run it on the 20th, I have dibs on the 21st.
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread13395.html

No intention, I won't be here then, anyway. But you never know, there might be another 27 rides happening. ;)

this is a cool idea. better than getting smashed at the pub on a friday night. i should be in.

hi guys,

i've done the overnight to brighton this year (and cycled it probably 10 times in all over the summer). it's a nice ride, but i don't think you want to go on main roads - traffic at night can be dangerous in the countryside.

there are route directions for a nice route here, which the forum did in august. the map of it is here

you will get VERY cold. and you will need REALLY GOOD lights - front and back. whichever way you go you'll be doing at least 20 miles on unlit roads, so it will be completely pitch black and probably foggy. i would definitely ride it with a brake, too.

if you're experienced at this sort of thing that must all that sounds patronising, so sorry, but it's better to know what you're getting yourself in for if you're not.

all that said, it will be pretty fun. i would set off at midnight, with a hipflask, and try and bomb it as quickly as possible to keep warm. there are two 24 hour cafes in brighton - the market diner on circus street, and buddies on the seafront, quite near the palace pier.

may try and join you but i have a lot of family stuff going on at the weekends...

have fun!

I'll +1 to what m-xl says.
but i'd reccommend a later night start point- theres nothing like arriving for sunrise!

Thanks for the advice and the route tips, m-xl. I've done loads of night rides, so fairly experienced, but I'm not a good navigator (to put it mildly). More direct link to your route:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/159186

Wrapping up warm against the cold is important, but not too warm. Good wicking fabric essential. Good gloves, too.

I've PMed Sano to ask whether there's any news on the possible party on Saturday evening.

Confirmed ...
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread13405.html

I want to go to this on Saturday evening. What does everybody want to do?

My plan would be to either, on Friday:

(1) Leave quite early from London (say 10pm), do a decent pace but nothing too demanding, get to Brighton maybe around 2 or 3 (generous time allowance), and ride straight back to London, but I'll only do this if someone else is keen on riding there and back, too. Get home, get a bit of sleep and go to the party.

(2) Leave London a bit later, maybe around 12am, to get to Brighton at around
5 or 6 (even slacker pace), maybe hang around for a bit in a 24-hour greasy spoon :) and take an early train back (trains roughly every 40 seconds by the sound of it). Get home, get a bit of sleep and go to the party.

Suggestions?

Take it easy out there. Some of those roads are sketchy enough during the day. At night they'll be treacherous. Although, you won't have me dragging the curse along so it might be fine :)

and with overnight temps we've been getting lately you could hit black ice. we ran into a long patch over at caterham back in jan. broke my clavicle.

take care out there.

"broke my clavicle" and this meant he was out of the brass band.

fbr also broke his collar bone.

:)

...What's sleep?

I'd say number 1 sounds better, too bad about the timing of that party, should be a great ride none the less.

right I am out, for a couple of reasons:

its fucking dangerous.
its slippery
I personally have, but I doubt others have, adequate lights
I am on the ride the night before

sorry, but will find u an all night cafe.

if its this fri, i'm out.

Thanks for all the warnings, guys. The forecast for Friday is actually reasonable, dry and temperatures just above zero, but that can obviously change.

I detect that it's mainly mmccarthy and I that are keen, but of course we'll be sensible. :) I'm an extremely cautious rider, anyway, and I certainly wouldn't ride if there's any chance of ice. It's bad surfaces that are the worst thing for me.

Sorry you can't make it, eyebrows, and thanks very much for looking for an open place, Guerillaphoto. Hope it's not too difficult to find!

If the ride doesn't work out we can still make it an all-nighter at the pub. There's some potential there for similarly epic levels of achievement. :)

But as of now, I'm still looking forward to it ...

thats cool, I know the roads around here are a nightmare at night, I ride about an hour most nights if I can. They get covered in leaves and that is what will fuck you up royally even on decent tyres. Also the wind can be quiet harsh, riding in the country side is completely different from riding around London, but I wish you all the best in your ride and hope it works out well. Just make sure you are all wearing reflective clothing and have LOTS of lights. I know it may not be cool to wear reflective clothing, but I would personally be wearing a high vis jacket

Leaves are definitely a nuisance but I'm not too proud to get off and walk on occasion.

Winds, especially gusty, are worrying but can be worked around. (Having said that, I did once ride in 80mph gale force winds in Norfolk and had to capitulate. I got a taxi the rest of the way to Norwich. The lanes were fine, as they were protected by hedges, but the B road wasn't.)

Rain doesn't normally worry me much unless it's so cold that it might freeze over.

I've very rarely had any problems with drivers on night rides, but you never know. I've got quite a lot of reflective stuff on myself and the bike without it being ostensibly 'high viz'.

None of these are show-stoppers in their own right, but if several come together they can really reduce the quality of the experience. :)

Ice, though, is an absolute nightmare even without anything else on and I won't ride if there's a risk of it.

I can't do the 5th any possibility of doing it on the 12th or the 19th? Should we do a poll?

Hmmm, am tempted! And I've done this ride loads of times, so might even be able to help with route-finding etc.

Anyone else interested in doing it on New Year's Day, by the way? A couple of us are thinking of leaving at about 2am (once we've got bored of fireworks, etc.) and starting the year with a sub-zero swim and a fry-up...

ahh new years day swim.
really good fun. mine's normally in the sea off of Beer/ Branscombe.
This year, i'll be in Japan, and nowhere near a sea, so maybe not.

I can't do the 5th any possibility of doing it on the 12th or the 19th? Should we do a poll?

Hello Caleb,

by all means organise your own ride on those dates. I won't be here then, so for me it has to be the 5th. So far there are two of us committed to this and obviously the more the merrier!

As noted above, if the temperature is so low that there is ice, or if there are sufficient other inclement factors, I won't do it, but failing that it's on.

Oliver.

Hmmm, am tempted! And I've done this ride loads of times, so might even be able to help with route-finding etc.

Anyone else interested in doing it on New Year's Day, by the way? A couple of us are thinking of leaving at about 2am (once we've got bored of fireworks, etc.) and starting the year with a sub-zero swim and a fry-up...

Hello Emilia,

it would be lovely if you were up for this coming Friday. So far it's mmccarthy and myself. Ah, perhaps I should repeat the list so that people viewing this thread are compelled to add their names to it--well-known forum knee-jerk reaction even if people don't know what the list is about ...

Cheers,
Oliver.

Current list still:

1. mmccarthy
   
2. Oliver Schick
   

Hello Caleb,

by all means organise your own ride on those dates. I won't be here then, so for me it has to be the 5th. So far there are two of us committed to this and obviously the more the merrier!

Hey folks, I'm going to be in London from NYC the weekend of the 13th and will be riding down to Brighton that Sat, staying the night and heading back to London on Sunday the 14th. A night ride sounds like a lot of fun but doesn't really fit my goals, since I'll be more interested in....you know, seeing stuff. But if anyone's up for a leisurely ride on Saturday Dec. 13, starting early in the day, let me know. I'll be stopping from time to time for alcohol and pictures.

Sorry if I'm derailing the thread. I'm stuck in the nursery at the moment and can't start threads yet (but I think I'm getting close)...Not sure if I'm PM approved yet either...

The bikely route looks great. A couple of quick questions:

1. Is there a cue sheet with the whole route together? I found one for the second half of the ride, but couldn't find the first part.
   
2. Can you recommend a decent map of the area? With more than just motorways & A roads listed?
   
   

Have fun and thanks for any info you can pass my way. I'll be keeping an eye on the thread to see how the ride goes next weekend...paying close attention to clothing choices, I'm sure.

-John Mark