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London to Brighton and back
http://www.essexhertsmtb.co.uk/mountain-bike-chat/london-brighton-and-back-t6169.html		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Sarpullido [ Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:32 am ]
Post subject:  London to Brighton and back
Leaving a bit late though
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... Kb7MOqEIdb
Author:  toby1 [ Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
You're riding this!? in one day!? crazy awesome
Author:  bugeye [ Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Just a little jaunt for Javi ;)
Author:  chatman [ Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:46 pm ]
Post subject:  London to Brighton and back
He's just warming up
Author:  toby1 [ Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Lol, fair enough. Nearly there.. :thumbup:
Author:  Sarpullido [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
It got a long ride! 275km and 16 hours including stops

I started at 6:40am, quite late and had a possible shorter scape of 9/10 hours 160k route, just in case.

Great morning traffic free escaping from East London , passing by some landmarks, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Big Ben, etc...to Richmond park, where the actual London to Brighton off road starts. That was the the place for first stop to top up my front (quite worn out sides) tyre. I had a serious cut near the tyre bead from previous Wednesday night ride in Epping. and had to do a Saturday evening change, setting up tubeless. Sunday morning the tyre was flat and was losing pressure quickly before and after departure.I hoped it'd eventually needed less frequent top ups; and that was the last.

Richmond, full of roadies, deers and drivers driving slowly. From that point, I had done the first 30-40 first km and knew it was tame, cycle lanes, road and so for cyclocross bikes. At the middle part I hit some singletrack, (finally!), a quick fun descent and the reached the Downs link. Enjoyed a lot despite being flat and straight. Maybe the fact I had already passed the turning point, lots of families with children on bikes and the sense of adventure made me cheerful. Now that infamous hill before Brighton...not that steep, thought it'd be longer but I got really tired on my arms, pulling from handlebars standing on the single speed bike...that was tough. Now on top I could see the shoreline and off I went down quickly and reached Brighton for first time. I forgot the towel and decided not to go for a swim. Longish stop, text family and friends. All good. 3pm already and still 125km ahead. Predicted more than 7 hours including stops. My legs felt completely fine.

First hill off Brighton and that was a hell of a one. It's part of the South downs way, that grassy top, felt weak, what was happening to my legs? No worries, stop and walk, the speed was almost same as pedalling and my heart was very grateful.
After that I just followed mainly NCN 20 and 21, really enjoyed, plenty of dirt tracks, some singletrack, not many riders, dog walkers or horse ridfers compared to the L2B. the links on the road were not very long and few cars and that time on a Sunday evening. Lights on and still 4 hours to go. On my own, far away and enjoying the darkness and that little space of light, focused all the time, superb! At times felt not strong, whereas after eating a power bar, a banana and chocolate powder in water in 40 minutes interval gave me an edge. The importance of nutrition.

30km to finish and my Garmin turned it off. It lasted few seconds on and again it turned itself off. I'd heard that Garmin could have some problems dealing with long files. I still had the mobile phone as a back up but not handle bar mounting (need one). 10 minutes later it worked fine again. It was cold, temp dropped near the zero grades mark.

Crossed the Thames via Greenwich tunnel path and then entered into the maze of skyscrappers in Canary Wharf. There my gps signal got weak, they are too tall and wandered a bit until eventually got a better signal, marked my destination and followed gps as a navigator.

I was craving of salty food, how on hell I thought entering to a McDonalds wouldn't be a bad idea? Bought some beacon before going home and that was first thing I ate!

Just less than 5 hours of eleep and again on the bike, this time the commuter, to go to work...Finally my tima came Monday afternoon woth 5 hours of siesta and well fed :)

This has been the 1 day longest ride ever. Enjoyed loads and, honestly, I never felt extremely tired. Guess easy gear, flat terrain helps.

Image
Author:  bugeye [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Having done about a third of this distance on the Ridgeway the other weekend :o :shock: :wtf: :thumbup: :high5:
Author:  VW-surfbum [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 11:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Javi i've said it before and i'm sure i'll say it again, you're a loon!

Epic ride, well done sir.
Author:  toby1 [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Truely great ride Javi and interesting to follow on the spot tracker. Do you spend a long time planning a route beforehand/ creating a gpx for the garmin and does it change much when going?
Author:  Sarpullido [ Fri Mar 27, 2015 6:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Now that I know how to plot routes on ridewithgps it feels fairly easy. It takes me more time to decide where to go than actually plotting it.
Then , when riding it's fairly accurate but some bits aren't there or it's a park that it's closed ...not a big deal.
Obviously I spend long time looking at the screen and it's common missing turns etc...

I'd have problems following routes in Epping, for example, as there are so many alternatives that you don't know if you've taken the right way after you made the turn. So I don't bother, maybe just as a reference...but I prefer to look at the trail
Author:  Jon [ Fri Mar 27, 2015 9:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
I think this is the most epic sentence

"Just less than 5 hours of eleep and again on the bike, this time the commuter, to go to work"

What a day and a really enjoyable write up!

oh and on a singlespeed!!!!!
Author:  Zulf [ Fri Mar 27, 2015 11:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Hola Javi,

That was an Epic ride, well done. Surely you stopped long enough in Brighton for a big portion of fish n chips?!

I did the Lon-Brighton as a kid and still remember a large lady passing me by on a big heavy bread-delivery bicycle with a dog in the front basket!! I'm a bit better at training and preparation now though.

I've just joined this forum but have been cycling in Epping on and off for a year now as I live live local. I'm into the XC & marathon rides and have done some long rides on the South Downs Way plus in Northern Spain.
Hoping to do the BHF South Downs Way 100 miles, in a day this July.

Thanks for the write up.

Z
Author:  Sarpullido [ Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Hola Zulf,

One day I'll do the South Downs Way. Not this year, I'll be abroad for a few months.

The Scott marathon series in UK are really interesting. I've registered for the first round this 11-12 April in Wales. Last year I did 2 rounds and were superbly organized and a very good atmosphere. Truly enjoyed!

No fish and chips in Brighton. Just a sandwich, pics and text messages. I didn't look for any, though.

That scene you describe reminds me of my first time visiting relatives in a small town near Eindhoven many years ago. I was amazed at the amount of bicycles. Saw and old lady with the shopping basket and smoking while riding along the street with daily normal clothes. She looked very relaxed on the bike
Author:  Zulf [ Tue Mar 31, 2015 8:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: London to Brighton and back
Javi,

Thanks, I'll check out the Scott series. The marathon, endurance type events really appeal to me, although more for the personal challenge than competitive - being realistic !

i'm not sure if there is a Marathon/ endurance thread on the forum but thought i'd share this link. it's a Spanish team that competed in the 2014 Absa Cape Epic. Quite humorous and it features the complete event.

http://youtu.be/VThyUWa4V7c

My brother's brother-in-law completed it - he's a pretty fit hard core South African.

I noticed another post, (here?) where i think it may have been you that mentioned carbon wheels for the HT550. I looked that event up- seriously hard-core. Something like 16k metres of climbing!!

Did you manage to get a wheel builder to do the wheels for you? I was considering the Derby carbon fatties. Will lookup the brand you went for.
Author:  Laser [ Tue Mar 31, 2015 11:32 pm ]
Post subject:  London to Brighton and back
Javi - 8-)
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