Brighton with the old cars - Sunday November 4 - honk honk wizz bang wheeze!

[rb58]

Straight down The High Street and South End to the Brighton Rd. is the way to go.

Yep. That's the way we went last year and were soon in the thick of it. I recall TopCat1, Mista Preston and I ended up on the three lane dual carriageway into Brighton towards the end. Oh how we laughed!

 

[dellzeqq]

Yep. That's the way we went last year and were soon in the thick of it. I recall TopCat1, Mista Preston and I ended up on the three lane dual carriageway into Brighton towards the end. Oh how we laughed!

that's actually very do-able if you're behind one of the old crocks. The trick is to avoid the A27 sliproad.

I stand by the quote Ian offered at the head of the thread but please, please give your brakes a good look over. A fair number of drivers are imbued with a sense of adventure. And possibly not just a sense of adventure. We saw some wildly sketchy driving. You may find yourself taking some avoiding action. And, while I recognise that the FNRttC safety talk is a bit toe-curling, it might be an idea, Ian, to have something like at East Croydon.

 

[martint235]

Yep. That's the way we went last year and were soon in the thick of it. I recall TopCat1, Mista Preston and I ended up on the three lane dual carriageway into Brighton towards the end. Oh how we laughed!

I ended up on that the year before last!! It's a blast racing cars down to Preston Park!!!

 

[ianrauk]

I recall TopCat1, Mista Preston and I ended up on the three lane dual carriageway into Brighton towards the end. Oh how we laughed!

I ended up on that the year before last!! It's a blast racing cars down to Preston Park!!!

Quoted from Blue Hills in last years thread.

One important caution. The first year we did this ride, due to understandably limited opportunities to survey the route, we ended up on a bit of A road just north of Brighton which is a virtual multi-lane motorway. Yes it was fun in a mad mad way, but it isn’t advised. And so, like all years after the first one, the leader will not go that way.

The road in question is just after the descent from Clayton Hill, the last hill before Brighton. We come down the A273 but turn right into Pyecombe just before this becomes the madness that is the marked-green A23. If you end up on this, you enter a multi-lane highway and then encounter a tricky fast feed into a roundabout with cars trying to go left towards Lewes or straight on to Brighton.

To avoid it we will be turning right to go via Pyecombe onto a national cycle route.
You can see the road in question here:
http://g.co/maps/zybry

After following the cycle route for a short distance, we will rejoin the main road for the triumphal zip down to Brighton and the pier.
If you do take the fast road, be warned.
Apart from this, the rest of the ride follows the exact route taken by the cars. That's what makes it so special.

 

[martint235]

Ah, the year before last I'd managed to lose the leader. Still the A23 is a quick way into Brighton.

 

[Davywalnuts]

I'll be keeping an eye on this...

 

[ianrauk]

I prefer to do that, rather than ride on the cycle path, as a matter of course. On this day though it is easily the better thing to do, just hook up with one of the cars and stick with them.

This is what we did last year and is a good option. (By then, Andy in the Velo had long disappeared)

 

[martint235]

This is what we did last year and is a good option. (By then, Andy in the Velo had long disappeared)

He disappeared on his bent the year before. For some reason 30 odd cyclists stood outside a pub didn't register with him and so he continued to Brighton.

 

[velovoice]

I thoroughly enjoyed this last year but will be busy packing to move to Caddington and getting my Mitcham flat ready for ttcycle to move into, so will have to give it a miss. Next year!

 

[Blue Hills]

I'll be going down to East Croydon, but I am absolutely not going to be taking some weird pony diversion north to join the route. I'll head west from the station and south to the A235

Last year the cars changed their route and instead of going straight down the High Street so that we encountered their wonderful spluttering almost immediately on leaving East Croydon, they detoured round the town. And while it was felt important in a spirit of camaraderie to all meet up at East Croydon (been done every year and also allows folk to informally split into groups from then on) Bill very sportingly had the idea of bringing his lot down from town, meeting up, and then doubling back to meet the cars as close to East Croydon as possible. I think he'd be the first to admit that it didn't quite work (I rode with him) but it was good to try it. Bill has done the ride pretty much every year I think, definitely including the first particularly magical one.

He's leading part of the ride this year - not sure what his plans are from East Croydon - it's up to him.

Yes that crazy bit of two virtual motorways meeting - thanks for quoting the workaround Ian - this ride has a life of its own and is inevitably somewhat more freeform than some, but I'd advise folks to think carefully about that bit of road. I reckon Bill will almost certainly be doing the Pyecombe diversion.

Have fun on the ride - looking forward to some pics on here after the event.

 

[AnythingButVanilla]

I think it was the NCN 20 down the A23 that we took on Saturday and parts of the route were horrible to ride on, all overgrown with weeds and nettles and not well signed at all. It's on Strava if anyone wants to see.


http://www.strava.com/athletes/pamelaw

 

[Blue Hills]

The detour from the twin motorway only uses a short bit of the NCN. I've ridden that bit recently - it was fine. Agree that the full NCN from London to Brighton is a bit of a pig - you'd only want to do it once.

 

[Mista Preston]

I seem to remember I made the National Newspapers following last years ride..........I should be up for a there and back.

 

[Trickedem]

Count me in. Early start for me though. First train into Bromley South doesnt arrive until 7.42, so I will either ride up to Bromley, or meet you near Godstone

 

[Tim Hall]

Count me in. Early start for me though. First train into Bromley South doesnt arrive until 7.42, so I will either ride up to Bromley, or meet you near Godstone

For some values of "near" presumably. The routes takes the A23 through Surrey, so Godstone is 5 miles to the east at best.