South Downs way, end-to-end, TBC

Totally fine I've been riding around the Eastern half of the south downs recently on 33m spesh tracers tubeless and leaving my ht 29er mtb at home as it isn't necessary

awesome!

Unfortuantely there's no way out of Eastbourne without a horrible long climb which I wasn't at all in the mood for.

Given Eastbourne is so shit, I'm kind of surprised how hard it is to get out of it.

Or maybe not.

Yes, haven't been there in many years, but it's as grim as ever, but now with lots of elderly people in huge cars failing to get in and out of parking spaces right next to where you're cycling.
I had a particularly bad geography teacher who told me I'd never achieve anything in life*, he lived in Eastbourne and always insisted it was just as good as Brighton.

• admitedly he was sort of right, but I bet Mr Hurst never had an article published in Arrivée
  

I'd say the middle section is probably least narrow tyre friendly - personally I wouldn't be that keen on doing the whole thing on anything under 40c. But it very much depends on your tolerance for fixing punctures/discomfort/dodging larger rocks.

Not in those shorts. Jesus Rob, really?

Are they not e-bike specific?

Likely doing about 60k from Eastbourne this Saturday then detour down to finish at Worthing, any particularly 'rough' bits along that section that I should look out for? My left hand/wrist doesn't like bumpy stuff, my off-road experience is nil and I'm doing it on a restored 90s 26er with rigid forks, just wondering how fucked I'll be by the end of it...

Depends how rough you mean. A lot of that section is more grassy (or at least you can easily ride alongside the stony bits). Obviously I was doing it the other way so am just trying to remember - I think the climb up onto the Downs after Alfriston is a bit rough, after that it's not bad - definitely better than the bits after Worthing. The last 10k or so might be a bit rough, but you could always detour off diagonally to Worthing if it gets bad.

Ta, doesn't sound too bad actually. I'm probably just over-thinking it and it'll be alright!

If your heading west everything from Eastbourne to Alfriston Is a bit rough but the rest is fine and running really fast at the moment. I once rode from Washington to Eastbourne on a bmx for charity which wasn't much fun. If you don't hammer the downhills you should be fine. And at least it should be sunny 😁

Nice one, will defo be taking it leisurely so no bombing down the hills that's for sure. Fingers crossed for that sun and may even get a tailwind judging by the forecast!

Lush photos

Photos look great i was running on the downs for a couple of hours yesterday and the weather was perfect

Excellent writeup & pics, looking forward to doing this on a 90's rigid MTB later on this year.

Anyone who ends up in Eastbourne and wants a decent lunch I'd thoroughly recommend the Holiday Inn Fish Restaurant and (conveniently on the same road) Fuschiardis.

Thank you - shame I didn't know this before going to Pelican which was very average.

I'm sure a 90s rigid mtb is probably pretty much the same as a modern gravel bike in terms of comfort for a ride like this. Though would highly recommend tubeless tyres.

I'm sure a 90s rigid mtb is probably pretty much the same as a modern gravel bike in terms of comfort for a ride like this. Though would highly recommend tubeless tyres.

I feel this, I'm probably going to bite the bullet and attempt convert the rims I have way before any SDW attempt is made!

Mr Hurst
Lol, did you go to Priory too?

Yes, a very long time ago. I started trying to work out the years and then it depressed me so I stopped...

Got to practise some drone filming on (and slightly off) the South Downs Way at the weekend - some of it with Brixton cycles, some of it with myself. Don't know if you can embed instagram video on here, but it came out ok considering limitations of time, having to chase to catch up with a group, etc, etc.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CP0ef0pBrNU/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPmBRCABeVm/

All the chat about records has always been about the double so interesting to see that Ian Field has set a sub-7hr #FKT from Winchester to Eastbourne.

Yeah seems like a rather arbitrary target. When i did my pb on the same day I'm sure his old team mate jody Crawforth went 6:47 (supported) and that was 10 years ago.
I don't know what the current record is but I'm pretty sure Ben Thomas went about 10 minutes quicker than that 3-4 years later.

We did Lewis-Eastbourne the other day which (with the bit from Lewis train station to the SDW) is probably quite close distance wise to Brighton-Eastbourne. Which means I’m thinking of doing Winchester-Brighton pretty soon, and might make a weekend of it, staying in Brighton overnight.

I rode Petersfield to Steyning last weekend, using the Shipwrights way to get there from Guildford and returning via the Downs Link.
It was an absolutely stunning day or and very accessible from London. Less than an hour by train to Guildford.

The tracks on the Downs themselves were in perfect condition. Not bone dry and not muddy either. I found a cafe near Cocking, in a barn just of the SDW that served a pretty mean slice of cake, but apart from that just carried all the food I needed.

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Sounds fantastic. Don't suppose you have a route track?

cafe near Cocking

Excellent, thanks. I’ve been looking for a cafe out that way without going into Midhurst. It’s tucked away and not visible from the Chichester to midhurst road.