The BHF London to Brighton

^Truth.
Shame you missed the Ride East, would have been a good opportunity to get some miles, meet some peeps and get some experience riding in groups. Look out for something similar by MA3K, he leads fun rides.

Al - I was much faster on the way into work this a.m. - but felt weaker. Good miles on Saturday huh...

great miles on saturday dan i have never done a century ride this early in the year before,
alas i had a stack of chores for sunday.. that's marriage i guess after a full day out :(
the ride with clubman was good though he is a proper legend.

i'm hitting swains lane this saturday for reps if you are interested.. practise for the bergs of belgium ha..
see you wednesday for moules+frites+bier+schnapps

Ooo what time for Swains Lane? I'll PM you...

I've just found my outfit for this years L to B

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mario-Cipollini-Muscle-Skinsuit-Cannondale-Saeco-RARE-Road-Race-Vintage-/300654064415?pt=US_Men_s_Athletic_Apparel&hash=item460060f31f

So I'm doing the london to brighton bhf ride this year and I Have heard some horror stories of how packed it gets. Am I right in saying that if I just rock up at the earliest start time no matter what time I get allocated I will be able to start and miss the crowds? Or will I get held back by marshalls checking numbers and start times etc? Cheers

I'd give it a go, you really have to start by ~6.30 or it's horrid.

Thanks I will give that a try then, Is Ditchling bad as I've heard?!

Pop a quarter or a mile or so down the road and start there if they won't let you into an early slot. Won't work if you need things stamped for sponsors or you want a medal at the end but if you simply want a nice ride on closed and empty roads, set off about 10 mins before the official first off.

Otherwise, take the train.

Ditchling is not a bad hill. Max about 17% Fine with gears. Not so good without. It can be difficult if you try it when everyone else is walking up.

Signed up for the night ride this year instead, anyone doing it? Hope fully be quitter but might be fun rocking up at the beach as its getting light...

What's the downhill into Brighton like? I only have one brakeless bike available to me, should I be concerned? I do 60 -flat- miles day with no real concerns.

I'm doing this ride for the first time and was thinking about riding back to London after a bit of a rest/pint in Brighton. Anyone got advice/warnings about the return journey?

^Looks like I'm riding back also- anyone got a route back into town, ideally into Crystal Palace that they've done and can recommend?

so how narked do they get if people just ride this?

I'm pondering heading down to Brighton as "training" for the DD (and to annoy one of the guys at work who is doing it on a shiny new road bike)

Is it all on open public roads?

Looks like I just wangled a ticket to this.. Help!

Let me know if this link works- suggested route back from Brighton:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=206840378718147086718.0004c299e427c7835d948&msa=0&ll=51.169011,-0.090637&spn=0.919647,2.705383

This is the route to Brighton that we went last year:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93482221

Hmm, apparently National Cycle Route 20 will get you from Brighton to Crawley, then Route 21 will get you from Crawley to Lewisham.

Now- where do you pick up route 20 in Brighton?

Is it all on open public roads?

As far as I saw only the actual start 'gate' is controlled, directly its off the common its on public roads with no barriers etc so you could just join in or wait there for your mate.

Chucking a few quid in a collection or sponsoring your mate would be good for your karma though ;)

All the refreshment stops are open to anyone. The best one being the one run by the Scouts near Gatwick

What's the downhill into Brighton like? I only have one brakeless bike available to me, should I be concerned?l concerns.

I don't think the steepness would be the problem, it would just be if you were caught up in a big group of Nodders with no road sense or awareness of what is going on around them!

so how narked do they get if people just ride this?

I'm pondering heading down to Brighton as "training" for the DD (and to annoy one of the guys at work who is doing it on a shiny new road bike)

Is it all on open public roads?

As long as you are planning to ride back again I doubt you will have a problem. Bikes are banned from the trains at brighton tomorrow though so if your mate is going to take 9 hours to get there bear in mind it might be quite late by the time you get back..

Heh, I'm not riding with him, just doing it to annoy him :-)

I'll start from Mitcham, since it goes pretty much past the end of the road, no point in going further than I have to.

I've arranged for my wife to meet me with the car in Brighton to go for Fish and Chips, and then head back via a National Trust Place.

ok, so my ticket is for 8:30.. but i hear horror stories about congestion, so im going to roll up at six, and try my luck.

If theyre picky, i'll just skip the very start and join it a little further down..

[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/189858589[/ame]

[ame]http://connect.garmin.com/activity/189858694[/ame]

Did this yesterday, great fun when you manage to blast away from the nodders and get some proper speed. Ditchling was a fucking nightmare, struggled a bit on 70GI but probably could have done it with a bit of HTFU, if it wasn't for hundreds of people weaving all over the place, stopping with no warning and generally getting in the way. I had to stop three times after losing my momentum when someone stopped in front of me, but made it without walking any of it. Also snapped my brake cable coming into Haywards Heath, luckily right round the corner from a bike shop, thanks to the guys in there for helping me super quick.
Definitely want to ride it again without 27,000 other people, Im sure my knees wouldn't be as fucked with all the start/stopping, sprint finish down Maderia was so much fun

I realised I should've done the BHF's L2B ride, it seemed to give a massive encouragement for some of you to escape nodder's hell.