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Published: August 14th 2007
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Hyde Park
Gareth waits patiently while I capture the moment. London to Brighton
Well the first major test! London to Brighton. Got up in the middle of the night as Network Rail had continued their single-handed attempt to cut London off from the rest of the country and the only way I could get in was to either add another 15 miles to the journey or cycle across and get a train to Kings Cross. I obviously chose the latter course and eventually met up with Gareth at Hyde Park Corner at 0915.
After a brief chat about the route we opted for the most direct we could think of which was basically the A217 and A23; not wildly exciting but reasonably straight. What we didn't realise at that point was that it might be straight but it was pretty much up. We whizzed through the first bit and before we knew it, we were at Tooting Broadway.
The next phase was harder as the road turned into a steady upward drag, which, although not particularly steep, was certainly taking a bit of effort. The map showed that we were getting close to Reigate hill which indicated a bit of a slope but our spirits rose when we
Lunch
Taking a well earned rest at the lavishly appointed Handcross Services A23. arrived to find the really steep bit was downhill and we got up to over 40 mph as we hurtled into the town centre. It occurred to me half way down that we may suffer for this as undoubtedly the road would swing up again at the other end and we were not to be disappointed. I’ve realised that hills are not my favourite bit of cycling unless I’m going in a downward direction.
Gatwick Airport came up surprisingly quickly and the rain started to fall briefly. On the road leading out we resumed the upward march and turning a corner my legs gave out and I couldn’t do one more revolution. We had 20 minutes or so of stretching and grimacing whilst Gareth did some jogging on the spot to keep warm and I gradually got some feeling back. I told him I’d really been concerned about him getting his hair wet but I don’t think I was that convincing.
Dragging me back on to the bike we set off once more and finally joined the A23 proper. About 19 miles from our destination we stopped at Handcross Services where we had our lunch.
From there
Brighton Welcomes Us
One of the best sights I've ever seen! in theory, it was a straight run in along the dual carriageway but, apart from one half mile stretch of wonderful free wheeling, the hills just kept coming. What happened to the reports of downhill all the way into Brighton? In addition to this we now copped the full force of the headwind that had been dogging us throughout the journey and the nearer we got to Brighton the stronger it seemed to become. This was really hard work and as 15 miles gave way to 13 and then 11 it felt like we were never going to get there. By now I was really hurting despite the help and encouragement from Gareth. I was having to stop every couple of miles to drink and - well just breath really. Once the distance finally dropped below 10 miles it became a reality, we were going to get there. It’s only like going to work from home, although normally my bum doesn’t feel like this when I start off. The dual carriageway starts to give way to roundabouts and normal roads and then when I think there’s still about 4 miles to go we go round a corner to see a
Brighton Pier
We've only gone and been and done it! sign saying “Brighton and Hove”
I call out to Gareth to stop for the official arrival photograph and, once we work out how to do the time delay, the awesome achievement is formally recorded in the log.
Miraculously, all the aches and pains evaporate as we begin our triumphant descent into Brighton. It feels really good and we practically race along towards the seafront, we now have another goal and that is to get there in time to watch Manchester Utd’s opening game of the season against Reading. Gareth is a Man U supporter (apart from that, he’s quite a nice bloke) and although I was still smarting from Tottenham’s defeat the previous day I was more than happy to sit in a pub and watch a game.
Finally we rode onto the front just next to the pier and it felt really good. We’d done it! Eight weeks ago I took my new bike out for a 5 mile ride and it nearly killed me, maybe it would be possible after all to complete this crazy trip.
Now all we had to do was get back to and through London - God Bless the Railways!
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Rog & Dan
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Good Luck....you'll need it!
Looking at the state your in after a short trip to Brighton Steve it might be a good idea to give the money to the helicopter fund in advance then get them to follow you!! Good luck to you both.