London > Brighton

[rb58]

That little hill up to Turners Hill, can be a tad hard and quite a surprise, if you don't expect it.

But after Turners Hill it's a fabulous long mostly downhill stretch.

 

[Flying Dodo]

Sometimes in the evening and weekends the Brighton-St Albans Thameslink train stops at London Bridge and you would have to cycle to St Pancras station to get back on it, when I have had to do that I have used Blackfrairs bridge and Farrington Road as the the easiest for someone who does not know London very well.

Due to the London Bridge improvement works, the Brighton to St Albans Thameslink trains won't be going via London Bridge until January 2018 as they're going a different way between Blackfriars and East Croydon. If there are other engineering works at weekends then generally the trains now stop at Blackfriars, and then you just have to cycle north to get to St Pancras.

 

[iamRayRay]

Due to the London Bridge improvement works, the Brighton to St Albans Thameslink trains won't be going via London Bridge until January 2018 as they're going a different way between Blackfriars and East Croydon. If there are other engineering works at weekends then generally the trains now stop at Blackfriars, and then you just have to cycle north to get to St Pancras.

Thanks for the heads up, looking increasingly like we will do it on a bank holiday weekend in May.
Have done around 60 miles in last couple of days (on road and off road) in prep for it, legs feeling fresher and I'm not getting the dreaded "saddle soreness" anymore from mini 15 mile trips.

 

[ianrauk]

Thanks for the heads up, looking increasingly like we will do it on a bank holiday weekend in May.
Have done around 60 miles in last couple of days (on road and off road) in prep for it, legs feeling fresher and I'm not getting the dreaded "saddle soreness" anymore from mini 15 mile trips.

There is the Vintage Vehicle Run to Brighton on the 3rd May (Sunday)
You are welcome to join us.
Thread HERE

 

[iamRayRay]

There is the Vintage Vehicle Run to Brighton on the 3rd May (Sunday)
You are welcome to join us.
Thread HERE

Great shout - let me see if I can get the troops to bold onto your ride.

Assuming all along roads?

If the troops don't respond, I will see if I can get there for meet time

 

[robing]

Cheers!

Am just working out logistics at the moment of getting to/from London.
Looks like there is a train from Brighton all the way to St.Albans in Hertfordshire which is ideal!

Did you get any punctures on the road?

Really looking forward to doing it now!

No punctures on this route which I've done twice now. I'm near Bedford so got the Thameslink to London Bridge, cycled to Brighton, then caught the train home again.

 

[iamRayRay]

No punctures on this route which I've done twice now. I'm near Bedford so got the Thameslink to London Bridge, cycled to Brighton, then caught the train home again.

Did you do it solo?

<<<<
Have 2 other friends who are scared of distance and committing!
The guy in the middle of my profile pic and one on left want to do it!
<<<<

Half tempted to go for it May bank holiday! Plan the route / follow route suggested from above. Catch train to London Bridge and off I go!

 

[ianrauk]

Great shout - let me see if I can get the troops to bold onto your ride.

Assuming all along roads?

If the troops don't respond, I will see if I can get there for meet time

Yes all roads. It's an easy route mainly following the A23, which isn't a bad cycling road, halfway refuelling at Crawley Town FC. Only one hill of note, Clayton Hill, then the A23 cycle route all the way into Brighton.

 

[robing]

Did you do it solo?

<<<<
Have 2 other friends who are scared of distance and committing!
The guy in the middle of my profile pic and one on left want to do it!
<<<<

Half tempted to go for it May bank holiday! Plan the route / follow route suggested from above. Catch train to London Bridge and off I go!

Yes, Solo. Very pleasant ride. The contrast of riding through London, then out into the countryside. Then the final push over Ditchling beacon and then freewheel down to Brighton seafront.

 

[Dogtrousers]

That depends on which route you take! The road past the golf course is another long climb, although gentle. People always think the Beacon is the last hill, but it isn't necessarily.

+1 to this. I've tried freewheeling up that hill. It doesn't work.

 

[iamRayRay]

Can't Thankyou all enough for these tips!


An update

The plan for us is looking increasingly like
- Monday 4th May
- 4 of us on Road Bikes
- 6.30am / 7am start from London Kings Cross
- Aim to get to Brighton 3-4pm
- 2 stops on the way


My plan is to do 3-4 20-30 mile rides in the evenings coming up to prep myself for this.

 

[iamRayRay]

Thanks for all the advice, we did it on the weekend when there was a mixed bag of sun, rain and more rain.

Ditchling was fun, but in a sadistic way, I really enjoyed the climbs!

They still have the signs up from the official L2B a few weeks back which helped a lot, so we took the official route!