London to Brighton

[Andy_G]

The best part of the ride was the 17 miles to the start and the 20 miles to pease pottage.
I'm a club rider so I have a bit of savvy riding in groups and glancing over my shoulders everytime I swerve is natural, shame others don't give a crap about other cyclists.
One good point though was not being shouted at by drivers. Lol

 

[Goldcoast]

I had a fantastic day yesterday, although couldn't believe how busy it was. I thought 7:30 would have been not too bad a time to start but took an age to get out of London. We rode the 6 miles to the start so all in all 60 miles which is roughly double my furthest distance to date so was well chuffed with that

Very happy that I made the decision not to go clipless - must have seen at least a dozen moments. Saw a couple of accidents, one poor lad looked like he had a bad one and they were immobilising his neck, hopefully just a precaution. One guy should be thanking the angel who was looking after him yesterday. A big crowd formed behind a van which was turning right into a refreshment stand, we all had to stop and this one bloke came flying through on the outside just as the van was turning. I thought it was close but some were saying that he did touch the van, one very lucky fella


The support around the route was amazing and made it extra special. Ditchling did get the better of me, i will be back and have my revenge

 

[Havoc6]

Same as Goldcoast I'm so glad I didn't go clipless as I'm sure I would have done myself or someone else damage , way to many woooo stop quick moments. Had a great day and pleased with my first ever 50 plus mile ride.

 

[2wheelsgeth]

Did everyone on here survive intact? There seemed to be so many ambulances coming through, and hold ups for crashes. Apparently the one at the bottom of Coldean Lane was nasty, and I passed a rider being stabilised at the bottom of Fox Hill. GWS to you all.

PS - made it up Ditchling, despite the surprisingly large number of people abandoning right in front of me on the lower slopes...

 

[PeteXXX]

I had two 'moments'! One where a chap a few feet behind me fell off going up Turner's Hill. Slow speed but he knocked me sideways. I managed to unclip and get a foot on the ground but his handlebar went between the spokes on my rear wheel, just missing the gear hangar. I told him to stay where he was until I extricated his bike from mine without knackering anything then I helped him up. No damage done (to bikes or riders), luckily!
Second 'moment' was on a fast downhill section (can't remember which one), someone pulled out of a side turn, and instead of staying near the edge until he got up some sped, he rode at 45 degrees across the road. A mate, just in front of me missed him by inches and I had to slam on the brakes in case he came off. My back wheel locked up and slewed sideways but fortunately I didn't flat spot the tyre or vanish into the shrubbery.

Still, all eight of us survived intact and then five of us stayed overnight and rode back yesterday. It's a very different ride coming back!

 

[spooks]

I'm another one very glad I ditched the clipless. Riding in trainers is a pain but I had a few very fast stops thanks to some idiots. Saw one guy with a bloodied face being attended to and lots and lots of people repairing punctures but I made it through unscathed. Had a really good day and now I'm about to sign up for a few sportives over the rest of the summer.

 

[Goldcoast]

Scariest moment for me was on one of the fast downhills when I pressed the brakes just a little bit to hard and they snatched a bit

One of my brothers dropped a pair of military grade oakley a short while after the start - couldn't stop as being swarmed by rides then dropped he's phone on the finish straight but managed to get it back

 

[MichaelO]

One of my brothers dropped a pair of military grade oakley a short while after the start - couldn't stop as being swarmed by rides then dropped he's phone on the finish straight but managed to get it back

Which reminds me, I'm sure I saw a Garmin 200 on the road going down Coldean Lane (at about 10.30am). No chance of stopping to check though!!

 

[spooks]

Does anyone remember where to look for official event photos? I abandoned the bit of paper in my hotel.

 

[Havoc6]

Does anyone remember where to look for official event photos? I abandoned the bit of paper in my hotel.

Actionphotos.net , I have looked I was either invisible or they haven't uploaded them yet.

 

[spooks]

Thanks, although its absolutely typical that the only photo of me is the one where I was stuffing my face as I went past the photographer!!

 

[NicciT]

Check for photos later - they are still being uploaded.

It was a great day - went clipless, avoided A LOT of crashes, and finished in 4.5 hours (only managed 8 miles in the first hour) so all in all was pretty pleased with that.

 

[Havoc6]

Thanks, although its absolutely typical that the only photo of me is the one where I was stuffing my face as I went past the photographer!!

I would go back and look again , I only had 3 pics of me 2 days ago now there are 6. So I'm glad I didn't jump in and buy just 1 pic at £12 , now I can have 6 for £26 which doesn't hurt quite so bad.

 

[Wayne Tully]

Was a lot of fun but far too much traffic.

Couple of vids from my helmet cam

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MOr56heMxo

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6NZauvcbLI

 

[Wayne Tully]

Going to re-do it on Tuesday see what kind of time I can get.