more photos from the south downs

Well, we did it, 19 intrepid cyclists set off from Winchester on Saturday 12th August and nearly all arrived safely in Eastbourne on Sunday 13th after 105 miles and over 20 hours in the saddle.

Together we raised over £3000, so a big thank you to all who participated, and to all our sponsors. For those of you who would like to read a little account of the weekend, here it is...

Executive summary:

It took me 11 hours to get from Winchester to Washington (West Sussex rather than DC) on Saturday, due to punctures (not mine, but plenty of them) and the odd excursion off the South Downs Way (including me, but I was following someone who reckoned they knew where they were going!). A hard opening day, lots of big climbs, but the weather treated us well, and we all made it safe and sound to the campsite. We had some rain overnight, which didn't bode well, and we did get rather soaked on the first stage of Day 2, riding along the top of the Downs to Devil's Dyke, which is near Brighton.

By this stage one person had dropped out due to a bad night's sleep and a nasty headache the next day, which made the prospect of another day on the bike just too much to contemplate. We lost another person at Devil's Dyke, but the rest of the riders cracked on, and after a welcome change in the weather all completed the course. After a day of bigger climbs than Day 1, more punctures and more spectacular views as well, we rode into Eastbourne around 10 hours after leaving Washington, after having ridden 105 miles (not counting detours due to getting lost...).

A wonderful sense of achievement for the participants, and for me personally the added bonus of knowing that, because of you lovely people, and others like you, we had raised close to £2000 for the Cambodian Futures Foundation. The final total is still to be calculated, but I expect to break the £2000 barrier once all the sums have been done. I will let you know how much it all came to when I do, and what the money will go towards. Thank you all so much for your support! Now, for those gluttons for punishment amongst you, here is a more detailed account of what riding the South Downs Way in two days is all about: Saturday morning, 6:20am - a small group of 30-somethings, with the odd 20-something imposter, and a couple of token 40 and 50-somethings gathered around a rather large van adorned with the name 'Heaven and Earth' (a rented removals van - get it?) in the salubrious surroundings of the RSPB car park in central Brighton.

Bikes were loaded on the van with a minimum of fuss and noise (sleeping residents all around), and the would-be bikers trooped off to Brighton station full of bravado and trepidation, while the van-man and women set off for Winchester by road. 7:07am - the train left on time, and breakfasts were wolfed down to build up energy for the endurance event ahead.

People talked about their previous experience of the Downs, and maps of the route were handed out - none of it made me for one feel any more confident that I was physically equipped to do this thing we were about to attempt. 9:07am - the train arrived, again on time - an omen? - in Winchester after a quick change in Fareham for you train-enthusiasts out there. The van was there to meet the almost-bikers, bikes and daypacks were unloaded, Camelbacks (those water bladders you carry on your back) were checked and filled, and handfuls of cereal bars were stuffed into pockets.

We were ready...as we were ever likely to be. 9:30am - a quick photo outside Winchester station, and off we went, with a cheery wave to friends, family and support team hiding the now unbearable tension of setting off into the unknown. 11:30am - we found the van at the top of Winchester Hill, and replenished our slightly jaded bodies with fruit and energy drinks, and of course more of those scrummy cereal bars. The first bit was done, and most of the now actual riders were just happy to have gotten it out of the way and survived it. There was a palpable sense of relief.

The first puncture of the day was soon repaired, and all set off with renewed optimism on the second stage. 15:30 - three tail-enders (myself included) rode onto Tower Hill and find the van for the second (lunch!) stop 2 hours behind schedule, after a hugely frustrating stage punctuated by a ridiculous number of punctures, one rider getting himself hopelessly lost (he did eventually arrive at Tower Hill but had to be transported to the 3rd stop by van, from where he completed the day's riding) and three others (myself included I admit) also taking a wrong turning, down a big hill through a lovely forest into a lovely little village that we didn't want to be in.

After retracing our steps back up the big hill we found the arrow we missed the first time. It hadn't been that well hidden either... 18:00 - we backmarkers made up a lot of ground on the pack during the third stage, despite riding over Beacon Hill when we were supposed to go round it, and were confident of catching the others up, until my two companions, Rufus and Matt, both had big blow-outs going down a flinty hill at speed. We lost more time, and by the time we reached the van again on Bignor Hill for the third stop we were around 2 hours behind schedule again, and a good half-hour behind the others. We had a quick re-fuelling stop before setting off again in pursuit of the others. 20:30 - we finally arrived at Washington camp-site with half an hour to spare before dinner in a nearby pub, weary but elated to have finally made it.

The final stage of the day bore some rewards in showing us some stunning scenery under the setting sun, which we were able to enjoy as it became clear we would not run out of daylight, which had been our biggest fear. Luckily our wonderful support team had already set up our tents for us, so all we needed to do is have showers, get changed and race down to the pub for food, drink and swapping of stories of the days' events. Day 2 - Sunday 6:30am - I woke up after an interrupted night's sleep, it had rained quite heavily and I was a little worried that the track would become muddy and even harder to ride. Physically I felt OK, and after a nice hot shower and croissants and coffee for breakfast I was raring to go.

Unfortunately one of the party felt otherwise and after an awful night's sleep decided not to carry on. All the other riders set off at 8:30 though, ready to take whatever the South Downs Way could throw at them. Which was a nasty side wind and a soaking drizzle unfortunately... 10:30am - I arrived at Devil's Dyke in good spirits after a good ride with only one puncture to help fix, but filled with trepidation as to what the weather was going to do. We were all pretty wet already, and if the weather didn't improve there were at least 6 hours of riding in wet clothes to go. Perhaps it was this prospect that persuades a second rider to throw in the towel at this point. The remaining riders had a quick break and set off again, as cycling at least keeps you warm. 12:30ish - We all congregated in a layby off the A27 near Lewes, having completed one of the harder sections over Ditchling Beacon (the highest point of the South Downs at 248 metres) and past Brighton in much better weather, still cloudy but no rain.

I had my one and only puncture on the second stage, I must have hit a rock as on closer examination of my inner tube there were two sizeable holes in it. There were several more punctures on this stage, meaning that over lunch we had a little inner tube repair session as we had run out of new spare inner tubes. We had been given 8 spares on a sale or return basis by a Brighton bike shop, and we had used them all! Knowing that we were a mere 30 or so miles from Eastbourne, spirits were high, and there was a palpable sense of excitement as we all got back on the bikes and set off for the infamous Firle Beacon, on top of which we were to have our next stop. 3pm - After a fabulous ride with some of the best views of the two days, we arrived at the 3rd stop of the second day, after a long slow climb up to Firle Beacon, now feeling more confident than ever that our final goal was achievable.

There were some sore and weary legs in the party, but no one was ever going to give up now! We grabbed the supplies we needed to see us through the final stage from the van, and set of with renewed vigour, knowing that we were not much more than 2 and half hours from Eastbourne now... 6:15pm - We rode up to the Lansdowne Hotel on Eastbourne seafront to be met by our still fabulous support team, and more family and friends who had congregated in the lovely private room very kindly provided by our friend Catherine, who runs the hotel.

The final stage had proved to be much tougher than we had thought, with two huge energy sapping climbs at Alfriston and Jevington, but once we rode over the brow of the Jevington hill we got a marvelous view of Eastbourne, twinkling in the sunshine. We set off down the hill at quite a pace and...then Nick had his first puncture of the weekend. After a frustrating few minutes fixing that we set off again, and made it 'home' without further incident, and with rather large smiles on our faces. And that was it, the end of an excellent weekend, we had a celebratory beer and some food, loaded our bikes back on the van and set off for the station to catch the train back to Brighton.