OK. I shall pencil it in. If I do come, would I be forgiven for bringing an old, fairly heavy hardtail MTB with slickish tyres and holding everyone else back a bit? Practical reasons to do with clearing out of Guildford rather than sensible ones.
Google maps suggests a train line from Hastings to the start - I take it that's not wrong.
That sounds like a perfectly good bike for this ride. Feel free to hold us back, if we’re not already busy holding you back.
The Hastings-London line does indeed stop at Etchingham, until recently manned by the bestest station manager in the SE
[Exhibit A].
We are considering this, subject to diary commitments. I've ridden parts of the Cuckoo Trail (on road bikes) going to from Enigma in Hailsham via Polegate station, and would like to ride more of it.
Although I’ve lived in the area for quite a while, I hadn’t gone on the Cuckoo Trail until last week; as a confirmed roadie, it didn’t appeal. In fact it took me several attempts to even make it out of Heathfield, so unnerved was I by pedestrians politely stepping aside to let me pass and happy toddlers locomoting themselves in the dappled sunlight. But I persevered, thinking a change of pace might be nice. It was.
Stock image of happy toddler. Appropriate theme music.
I ran into an old guy at the trailhead who may or may not have been disappointed that my singlespeed isn’t fixed (and who was very surprised to learn that there’s somebody just down the road who makes titanium frames). I’m forever running into old guys who immediately look down at my drivetrain and say “Is it fixed?”, with a wistful look in their eye and stories about long ago time trials.
Etchingham is difficult for me to get to so, assuming you're planning a circuitous route (as Etch-Hast direct is a mere 20 miles or so), maybe I could meet you en route somewhere not too far from a station on the Lewes line?
The route is in the shape of a sloppy C. Although we won’t be going through Polegate, the Lewes line does, and the station isn’t far from the southern terminus of the Cuckoo Trail. You could if you wish ride it as far north as you fancy (we veer off the trail a little less than 2 miles north of Polegate; bear in mind that it’s only about 15 miles from the end of the route at this point) and we’d meet you along the way.
When we get to Hastings there’s a fine cafe at the Stade in the old town which I’m planning to visit, if anyone’s interested and assuming we get there before it closes, which we should, even with pleasurable dawdling. There is also, as you might expect, a ready supply of fish and chips in this part of the world.
And retired pirates.
Speaking of which, I have this excellent looking book on arrrrrrrr-der
