Sport Relief London Ride

[Snorrarcisco]

Right I was challenged by my students to do this and i know there are two types of ride the 25 and then the 50 miles one. Both happen on the 20th of March but my question is... "How difficult is the challenge?" I enjoy cycling although never done more than 18 miles on go. Yes I know... blooming kids!!!!

In essence how many miles do I need to put in in order to be ready for it and also how hilly is this ride? Hills and my Nicki Minaj bottom dont get along at all.

Mods - if I have put this on the place sincere apologies

 

[Snorrarcisco]

Not London to Brighton ofc it's the one inside London

Mod note: title edited.

 

[Dec66]

Not sure if they follow the same route as the BHF one, but if so it's fairly flat with two middle size bumps and one big one (Ditchling Beacon).

Anyone of average fitness with decent bike will manage it. The hardest bit of getting up Ditchling Beacon is trying to maintain momentum when there's 3000 other riders on the same bit, two-thirds of whom are walking.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I'm not sure what route you will be taking, but typically there are two named, significant hills on a London to Brighton ride: Turners Hill and Ditchling Beacon.

Apart from that you will need to get up and over the North Downs on your exit from London. Going over the Downs means a few miles at a gentle incline normally, followed by a sharp downhill. Turners is not too bad, you just have to grit your teeth, and is followed by a nice long descent towards Lindfield. The Beacon is a big steep hill, which you can walk up if you wish. Then just before you get into Brighton proper there's one extra hill which seems completely unfair. That one is not so bad, except for the fact that some people may have told you that it's downhill all the way from the top of the Beacon, which it isn't. Outside of this, it's not very hilly - depending on route.

How many miles do you have to do? That entirely depends on your current fitness and how you want to feel afterwards. If you're moderately fit you could probably do it right now, but you'd feel terrible towards the end and afterwards. I'd get used to doing some 20-30 mile rides first at least.

 

[Snorrarcisco]

Ohhh so no shame in walking I will just try to get out of the way.

Cheers for the info thou guys

 

[Dec66]

Ohhh so no shame in walking I will just try to get out of the way.

Cheers for the info thou guys

No shame at all, you won't be alone

It's nice to slog your way up, but with so many people concentrated in such a small space it's a challenge in itself to keep moving. I had to clear the way by gently easing slower peeps out of my way, using my elbows.

Of course, you sometimes see people whose bravado exceeds their fitness. You'll recognize them as they fall sideways into the bushes on the right hand side, as if they've been taken out by a sniper.

 

[Tin Pot]

Get into the habit of doing a couple of two hour rides a week and you'll breeze it.

Don't push yourself hard, just be patient and let your body adapt.

 

[hatler]

If it's the BHF Brighton ride in June then contrary to what Dogtrousers says, once you've topped the Beacon that really is it as far as hills go.

The Friday Night Rides throw in an extra hill (by the golf course) just for the fun of it, but the BHF ride turns left at the end of the long road leading down from the very top of the Beacon and keeps going down. It doesn't do the immediate jink right over the top of the A27 which takes you to the extra climb.

 

[jefmcg]

@Moderators or @Snorrarcisco can we change the thread title? This ride is not L2B it's a loop starting at the Lee Valley cycle park.

http://d3pkca6ocmfc0r.cloudfront.net/sites/splash.sportrelief.com/files/downloadables/SR16_London_25&50mile_Cycle_Map.pdf

Mod note: title edit done.

 

[ianrauk]

Well that's nowhere near Brighton...

 

[Dayvo]

It's near to Brentwood...

 

[jefmcg]

Well that's nowhere near Brighton...

The cryptic clue was in the follow up post ....

Not London to Brighton ofc its the one inside London

Clues courtesy of Dan Brown.

 

[Dayvo]

Not London to Brighton ofc its the one inside London

Sorry to be pedantic, but a large chunk of the ride is in Essex.

I'm from Essex, see.

 

[Dec66]

Ah, you're in luck then, Essex is pan flat.**











**apart from the bits that aren't.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Does it go to Bell-End ... it's a bit of a phallic route .... or is it just me ....