Fabulous morning for a ride! The usual place - the unusual time - for the CTC LGTB Group ride to Brighton Pride. Who else could possible lead such a trip, save for Frankie Howerd...it was Mr Legg of dellzeqq fame!
A more than prompt start led to Gerald arriving alongside me as we turned at Sloane Square and exclaiming "Are you lot going to Brighton?" He had bombed it down from Walthamstow for an 08:00 start and we were gone!
Never mind, he was integrated into the peloton as we wended our way to the wiver Thames. dellthebike put in a cameo appearance before exiting
stage left pursued by...nobody! We carried on and crossed the river.
Clive - in hard man mood, tested the tarmac with his whipcord effect body - resulting in a blood injury. I didn't see this as I was 'following up behind' - chatting to nice Jim from the West Kent CTC. He was running out of gears negotiating a road hump so it was a patient exercise in teamwork that got him to Brighton - well done him. (I'm joking about the speed humps by the way Jim!...
)
Plenty of respite at various points, including a Waitrose - ("Never Knowingly Underfed"
)
Anyone would think this bike was from another Planet...Planet Dodo!
We didn't do Turners Hill or Ditchling Beacon but there were enough lumps and bumps on the way to keep Origamist busy...Matt was our chief hillclimber this trip. User10571 was all over the place - nothing new there!
Plenty of new faces - of course, and pleasant chit chat ensued at the stops. We ventured past the teddy bears on the balcony, went down Lonesome Lane - where I spotted this chap:
Obviously the
"Lonesome Cowboy"
There was another chap ready to give a rendition of 'Saucepan Bach a Merry on an ark..." (However the Welsh songy thing goes...)
And we arrived! It started to rain persistently. I got the jitters as I saw a group of youths tinkering with a bottle of champagne. I can't stand seeing it being shaken up and sprayed everywhere. Luckily, they were thirsty and the cork was twisted out sensibly without spillage - I relaxed!
We 'officially terminated' the ride at the entrance to Preston Park - which is about ten minutes pedal to the seafront.
The rainbow flag was unfurled and Barry (shown below taking a picture of his partner Jim - looking ecstatic!) recorded the moment.
It made for interesting conversation as User10571 proudly announced that he "taped his to the handlebars but was looking for something a bit different".
Well.
It proves that everyone loves User10571's banana!
Marilyn took a fancy to a nice white bike left outside the park...
This 'gent' was full of good cheer - cutting a suave figure in fetching shirt (as in fetching up)
It was easy to take 'sensational' photos - it was that sort of occasion...
If the weather had been gooder, I would have gone for a mosey inside but hunger pangs came a huntin' me and I departed to the seafront and Madeira!
En route to the seafront I did a
as these two hove into view. I asked for their photo and they were pleased. I felt small and insignificant in their splendid company. Great!
I went to the Madeira Café for this:
An Unidentified Frying Object - actually a veggieburger + two teas. The weather was ok by then and I was sitting outside watching the world go by -as you do and I thought that a return trip was feasible, given the light cloud and warm weather.
Bum bum bum bum bum!
I weaved my way through the throbbing, crowded town centre towards the Devils Dyke and it rained enough and more - incessant teeming rain which was stinging as I descended at 64kph. The roads got worse with surface water everywhere - cars drenching me with impunity. Mind, once thoroughly wet - it didn't matter anymore! I tried to picture the wetness without getting a wet saddle - impossible!
I pulled in to a sweet shop and the woman behind the counter said "Well it's not too bad..." I was dripping like a shower. As my ten gallons of Lucozade came to £3.26 I said "Oh - you may as well give me a lottery lucky dip for tonight then please." She replied "Oh ok - but you shouldn't expect to win - I wouldn't bother with the odds as they are..."
I got out quick to check if I had teleported to Royston Vaisey.
Can't remember where it was now, but I sheltered under the frontage of a shop called "And So To Bed" - if only! Tried again to snap the wetness...
And again...
The pictures cannot do the sky 'justice' - but it was dark, bleak and sopping. I put my lights on when leaving Brighton and they stayed on...terrible conditions. First thing on getting back - a bath, for both me and my cycling apparel - filthy! Something to eat and then settling down to write this soupcon of reportage.
(I'll add here that twice there has been a power spike - lost most first time and the last section the second.
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So. Thanks to all who shared a bit of time with me today - as ever, enjoyable to group ride, and well done that tiny operative inside my Garmin who behaved really well, guiding me past Westhumble Station and leading an unknowing me into a real 'granny grinder' of a slope! Possibly I could have done it in a 39 x 25 - possibly, but I doubt it. In Mouseketeer parlance... "Bloody steep!"
Give me back my midnights!
217kms + the dust today - only paying scant homage to A roads and using narrow little country lanes - except they were all flooded and I got a drenching every time a car passed. Sometimes you can't win!
PS - I also forgot to press the Start button on my Garmin - although I was following a 'course' - couldn't work out why it wasn't beeping.
