Hi newbie here, just bought a road bike. Want to cycle for fitness & pleasure, possibly do London to Brighton.
If you're doing one of the big organised rides, they often offer bike transport back to somewhere like Clapham as a paid extra. It's well worth it because full size bikes tend to get banned from trains on that day.Welcome, the L2B is fun day out and well worth doing at some stage.
However, there are logistical problems. You have to get to the start, then it's a one way ride and you end up in Brighton, so you have to get back somehow.