The first 2 weekends of June saw what were probably the last two training rides before the Coast to Coast begins.  On the first weekend Scott, Hywel and I headed off east to Alfriston and back again.  This was 38 miles and 4,500 feet of climbs.  The second saw Buzz, Ant and I head west by train to Chichester and follw the South Downs Way back to Brighton.  This was 40 miles and 4000 feet of climbs. 

We tried to emulate a day on the ride itself.  We started at the times that we plan to start on the ride and also we also stopped off at a pub both days to have food about half way through the day.

The first day was really hot and pretty hard.  We've never climbed that far before.  It was so hot, the cows took cover under the trees.



The whole feel of the South Downs had changed dramatically since we started training and over the past two weeks it has been really easy to see the changing of the seasons.  Those cold, muddy, foggy days have been replaced with sunshine.  The barren, flint covered fields have been replaced fresh crops and the wildlife is awake and alive for all to see.







We stopped off at the George Inn in Alfriston - a very popular filling station for walkers and bikers it would seem.



Scott decided that it was a good idea to have a steak and ale suet pudding for his dinner.



However, at the top of the first hill back out of Alfriston, it didn't appear such a good idea.



The journey back was eventful due to the fact that Hywel suffered from a severe build up of lactic acid in his lower body.  Cramp in his groin, thighs and calfs.



I know it's not funny, but you can't help but smile at the look on his face in the picture below.



So, the second week we got on the 8.03 from Brighton to Chichester.  The weather was not quite as good as last week, but still nice enough to top up the tan.

It's good to see that Ant is still taking his early morning preparations seriously.  Little sleep and a couple of sausage rolls.



The second half of the route took us on the Amberley to Brighton trail that we had done several times before.  However, the Chichester to Amberley section was new to me and absolutely beautiful.













So in the past 2 weeks we've all got out and done around 40 miles and over 4000 feet of climbs in a day.

I'm not sure that we've done enough preparation, by there you go. 

I've really loved being out in the South Downs over the past few months.  I had slipped into the easy pattern of not leaving the city at weekends and I'm really happy to have re-found the beauty on my doorstep.

I'm really looking forward to the ride now.  2 weeks left and I'm getting more and more excited by the day.

On the first really sunny weekend of the year we headed off in the van to the Seven Sisters Country Park, hoping for slightly easier conditions than a month ago when Scott and I found lots of mud.

We set off from the bike shop at the country park on the more technical purple route.

From the forest we headed over to the beach and I had planned to practice putting the bikes on our backs, going up the first of the Seven Sisters hills and then heading back.  I really wish we had now, due to the events of the next 30 minutes.





So we put the bikes on our backs and headed up the chalk path in the distance on the photo above.



From the top, the view really is fantastic.





From here we decided to head over all of the Seven Sisters hills to the lighthouse in the distance on the photo below.





This is where it started to go wrong.  I managed to fall off on the downhill section of the 3rd of the cliffs.  Then on the 4th one I hit the hole in the picture below, going downhill at speed.



This left my arm looking like this.



We carried on to the end and the lighthouse, but then went back to the van on road, rather than heading back over the hills.



That's it really.  Just hoping there's no real damage to my arm.  There's a bit too much clicking and cracking going on in the shoulder at the moment.

I decided to enter the Southern Cross Country Championships to have the opportunity of riding a new route that was laid out for me.

It didn't turn out quite as planned.  First of all, we were the last race, so there had been several hundred laps completed on the circuit already.  This turned what was a muddy course into a bog.

The mud was so thick that each of the races was reduced by one lap.



Here is me at the start, looking pretty aprehensive.  Everyone else looked like they were in a hurry.......and they were.

Below are photos of me at the same point on lap one and two - riding up the hill first time and pushing the bike second time - a pattern that was repeated at various stages on the second lap.





The picture below is me dragging my bike through the thick mud at the end of the ride.  Very tired.



And below is me at the end - happy to be finished.

Having read in MBUK about the trail in Friston Forest, Scott and I headed over to the Seven Sisters Country Park to see whether the great write up was true. 



I had been over there loads of times, but had always gone down to the sea front.  Little did I know that there were such great mtb routes sitting in the forest behind the Visiter Centre

We did the purple route, which is described in MBUK as 'a fine example of unreconstructed mountain biking and a great starting point for riding across the stunning South Downs'.

For me, I've never been so petrified by downhill sections and I've never fallen off 3 times in 50 yards.  The rain made conditions very slippery and the camber on the downhills with the exposed tree routes made things pretty tricky.





The photo below is Scott coming down the section that I managed to navigate mainly sideways with my back wheel slipping all over the place.



Having done an hour on the purple route in the forest, we headed over towards the sea and Seven Sisters.



In an attempt to climb up the first part of the Seven Sisters we decided to carry the bikes up the white chalk paths that you can see on the left side of the photo above.  It's pretty hard to tell when you're up there, but I think that we go to the top of the first part of the Seven Sisters.



It did start to get very cold on the top, but the view was fantastic, even though the mist and the rain were coming in.



From here, it was back down the hill and back into the forest for another quick circuit.

The day began on the seafront with bright blue skies.  Luckily we chose Saturday rather than Sunday, as Sunday saw snow and it settled for the first time in years in Brighton.



Scott came down in the van and tried to pump up his tyres.



He managed to detach the valve from the tyre, so this was puncture number 1, without even getting on the bike.

Puncture number 2 happened about 5 minutes later when Buzz had done about 100 yards before running over some glass. 

Not the best start in the world.

Anyway, having gone via Evans Cycles to stock up with new inner tubes, we headed off towards Devils Dyke. 

A lot of the route was new for me, which was good.



We went up and over Southwick Hill and found a field full of bulls, some of which looked a little too frisky, especially given the fact that I was wearing red.



The route took us off west towards Steyning and Upper Beeding.

Below is the view down into the valley behind the South Downs, which s where we were heading.



Having gone down into the villages below, we climbed back up to the South Downs Way and then headed back to Devils Dyke and back into town.





My GPS is now starting to get on my nerves.  It said that we climbd 11,000 feet, so there's something wrong with it.  Anyway, it was just over 28 miles for the day in just over 4 hours.

Given that I had a few days holiday to take and I got my new bike, I decided to take the train past Ford this time to Barnham and attempt to find the South Downs from there.

The ride was 35 miles, which is exactly what was needed.  However, the GPS tells my that my elevation was the equivilent of climbing over Everest, so something went wrong there.



From there I managed to not find the South Downs for ages, disappearing down paths that lead nowhere until I decided to head back to Arundle on road and go the route I knew.

I stopped off for the first time to take a photo of the church in Arundle as well.



I had ridden past the building below on a few occasions and as we had never stpped for too long, I thought I would take a closer look.  I thought it was an old gateway to some land.  Having looked over the stone wall to see a glasshouse and a childrens slide, I realised that someone actually lives here.  Now that is a cool place to live.



So, my new bike got to see the South Downs Way for the first time. 



This section below was the first real climb on the new bike and it proved how different it really is.



The new bike is so light that the slightest tug on the handle bars means that you pull a wheelie. 

Anyway, a great way to spend a day off.  Not sure that the 8km run the night before was the best idea ever, but there you go.

Today saw us head off east on the train to Seaford with the aim of finding some kind of back wind to ease us on our way.  How wrong can you be.  The first 4 and a half miles were into the biting North Easterly wind, a present from Siberia.  To make matters worse, I managed to pop my shoulder out after about 10 miles.  If only I done it trying a difficult descent or saving a small child from a ravine.  However, it just happened when I turned round to see where the others were.  That's probaly going to put a dent in my plans to go out riding during my week off work.

The route along the top of the South Downs was pretty hard.  The wind seemed to try to blow the bike out from underneath you.  Below Buzz consults his GPS with Seven Sisters in the background.  Unfortunately it pointed us right into the wind.



Hywel put on a brave face as we get closer to reaching the South Downs Way.



The wind never really seemed to be behind us in any meaningful way and Buzz even thought he'd jumped out of an aeroplane at one stage (his proximity to he ground gives it away though).



This is how climbing 4 and a half miles into the wind makes you feel.  Never has the South Downs Way sign been greeted with such 'happiness'.



There were some really nice parts to this ride and it was really good to try a different route.





and it did take it's toll after a while.



After about 15 miles and a long team meeting, we decided that the quickest route back into town and the nearest pub were much more inviting than another 10 miles and 3 more climbs.



So......it was all cut a little short but at least we went out and completed 19 miles, which I believe was nearer 25 miles given the ferocity of the wind.

Here's the elevation of the ride.  When this route is completed through to Devils Dyke, taking in Ditchling Beacon, it will certainly be good preparation for the full ride.

The sixth training ride saw Scott and myself meeting up early on Sunday morning in Stanmer Park.  We managed to get round the course before the strong winds of the coming storm arrived.

I got through a total of 28 miles, having ridden from home to Stanmer Park, while Scott did around 24 miles.

The course took us through Stanmer Park up to Ditchling Beacon. From there we went over to the Jack and Jill windmills and then down to Clayton village and over to Ditchling by road.  Then it was up Ditchling Beacon on road.  From there we headed off east to Lewes on a part of the South Downs I hadn't ever ridden on.  We then came back to Ditchling Beacon and headed downhill all the way back to Stanmer Park and the warmth of Scott's van.



This is a view back at the drop off the middle of Stanmer Park.  I love this part of the park.  It was one of my favourite places when I first moved to Brighton and first started to ride a ike in the Downs.  You can't see any cars, electricity pylons, roads - anything to do with man. 



Scott thought that he'd make the ride more difficult by wearing massive haystack shaped earrings.



Finally there's another photo of me.  This proves that I am actually there and really doing the rides and the photo below shows how much it hurts to climb up Ditchling Beacon.

Even though it's all on road, it's still a really good test.  You climb about 700 feet in a mile or so.



The sign points the way up the hill, with the evidence of the imminent storm in the background.

Below is Scott making his way u the last few metres of the climb.



From Ditchling Beacon we headed off east over new ground for me.  There were a couple of nice climbs and descents as we went past Black Cap.

Wildlife has made its home at Blackcap and it is a great place to go and see the plants and animals that populate the area. Flowers such as the musk orchid, yellow rockrose, marjoram and honeysuckle can all be seen there, along with countless other plant species all of which support a huge range of insect, bird and mammal life.

Over near Lewes we managed to accidentally stray onto the local gallops, which was a difficult ride, as the ground was hard and rutted by the horses.



From here, we made our way back to Ditchling Beacon and back down to the van in Stanmer Park.



Another 4,000 of climbs.  Another step closer to The Lakes............

The ride today was shorter than usual, as I fitted it in as an extra one, and I was on my own.  It was very very windy and the six miles on road up to Devils Dyke were hard work.  Luckily the wind was behind on top of the Downs, although it was back in my face on the way back into town.

It has dried out lots over recent weeks, but it's still really sticky with grey mud at the bottom of New Timber Hill. 

I haven't done this route in this direction for about 8 years and it was really good to see the route from this direction again.



From Devils Dyke, it was over to the Jack and Jill windmills via the mud of New Timber, visible in the distance on the right of the photo below.



Anyway, that's it really.  Just under 20 miles in total.  There's a couple of good climbs here, but I'm not too sure when I went nearly 100 feet below sea level.

As Ant and Jens hadn't done this route before, we thought it was a good idea for them to try this out and to see how much good Ant's British Military Training is doing.

Being up this early on a Saturday is an alien concept for Anthony, so the only way forward was a breakfast of kings.  Coffee, loads of sugar and a sausage roll.



Although it was dull down on the coast, it felt like it was going to be a pleasant day for a ride.  That's soon changed when we got up on the South Downs.  It closed in rapidly, visibility was down to around 30 or 40 yards at times and it turned very cold.  The saving grace was that the wind was behind us and that was a big bonus.



........and to prove the point, here is Scott coming out of the fog.

At times it was like riding into the unknown as you couldn't see too far in front.  Well, it would have been if we didn't ridden this route so many times before.



Before we hit the fog and the cold, we decided to have a competition.  What's biggest, my nose, Jens' nose or the arrow on the South Downs Way sign.





There was no choice - the competition was weak. 

Anyway onto the hills and the previous training seems to have paid off as we made good progress





The hill at Washington seemed to take it's toll on Scott and Ant and they performed some kind of back relieving exercise which I guess doubled as team bonding.



As we got closer to Devil's Dyke thankfully the weather lifted and the end drew ever nearer.



and the world felt like a nicer place......

although I am very aware of the fact that I have developped a very annoying habit of saying - 'just one more hill to go lads'.  After the forth time of saying this, even I was bored of it.

But then we saw it.  The top of Fulking Escarpment, which meant a matter of minutes to Devil's Dyke. 



From there it was all downhill to Sainsburys to jet wash the bikes.  Oh, apart from the one big hill to get over the bypass and the puncture that I got just before the start of said climb.



Luckily, I had a spare inner tube and my pit crew performed miracles.  This photo begs the question 'how many men does it take to mend a puncture?'  On this occasion, it's 4.  One to watch, moan about how cold it is and take the photo, one to make sure that he's got a full supply of techno on his ipod and 2 to actually do the work.

Anyway, another 30 mile ride.  Only one faller (surprisingly Anthony again) and another step towards the peak of human fitness.

The creatures of habit set off again on the early train from Brighton west bound to Ford.  This was a step up in distance with the total journey back into the centre of Brighton being over 30 miles and there were 2 extra climbs, the largest being 700 ft, slightly closer to the size of those awaiting us in June and July

The on road trip to Amberley and the South Downs Way is becoming so familiar that Hywel swore for the first time at exactly the same point as the previous ride.

It was a lovely day - bright and sunny, although there was a head wind.

We soon met that countryside smell, but it was very evident where it was coming from.




The hills did seem to get slightly easier and I guess that this was down to a little more fitness and an improvement in technique, as the action shot below illustrates.



Even though it hasn't rained for a while there was still plenty of mud and us to either ride around or through depending on whether you're me or more sensible.

 

There are not too many more photos, as we've been here before and the last 10 miles or so were spent concentrating on getting up the hills rather than messing about with a camera.

30 miles is a lot nearer to the distance that we need to be doing, so it's going pretty well so far.........

I have now invested in a GPS system called Garmin 205.  Although it doesn't tell you where to go while you're riding, it does give you some pretty good information on the ride when you have finished.  At £80 it's a pretty good toy.  The graph below shows the elevation of the ride.  At 20 miles you can see the last nice climb.

Today saw the second training ride.  Just the 3 of us on this occasion, Scott, Hywel and myself.

It was an early start as I left Hove Station at 8.30am and met the other 2 at Lancing Station.  We then went on to Ford, where the ride began. 

The first section was on road from Ford to Arundel.



We managed to get lost in Arundel as I had too much faith in Scott's local knowledge, rather than using the directions that I had written down and was carrying in my pocket. 

Having come down the steep hill in Arundel we doubled back up the hill to the A284 towards Amberley where we were due to join the South Downs Way.  This is a good 5 mile mainly uphill stretch which really got the blood pumping. 

About 500 yards past Amberley Station we joined the South Downs Way, which was concreted for a nice section to begin with.



This is where we had our first funny place name moment as well.  Having planned the Coast to Coast route, I know that there are some very funny ones on the way, but this isn't bad to begin with.



From here it turned muddy.  Think grey mud from a mixture of dirt and chalk.  This section has some excellent climbs and some enjoying descents, although mud in your eyes and mouth is not so much fun.

Hywel was really proud of his new tyres, which are made of Kevlar.  This is the material that stab vests used by the police are made of.  Apparently it's impossible to get a puncture when this type of tyre.

This is Hywel mending his puncture.



Unfortunately this was the end of the road for Hywel.  We had fogotten to take a spare inner tube with us (school boy error) and the puncture repair kits that we had with us were incapable of plugging the hole.  Therefore it was a good walk down to Washington Village to catch a lift home.

Scott and I carried on to Chantonbury Ring and Lancing Ring and then down to Scott's house for a nice hot cup of tea and to clean the bike.  They certainly needed it.



Today was a total of 21 miles, which is 6 miles more than last time.  A step in the right direction.

There were also a few good climbs.  The three main ones were 400, 500 and 600 feet each.  It's not the 1600 feet that we face at the end of Day 1 of the Coast to Coast, nor is it the 2200 feet that we face at the beginning of   Day 2, but it's a good start.

Saturday 12th January saw the first of our training rides.  It took us through Stanmer Park to Ditchling Beacon, along the top of the South Downs past the Jack and Jill windmills and down into Pyecombe village.

From Pyecombe we headed over the A23 up Newtimber Hill to the back of Devil's Dyke and then over Devil's Dyke and back down into Brighton.

The previous 2 weeks of rain made it a lot muddier and more difficult than I had expected, although it helped us to realise the task and the amount of training we have ahead of us.

All in all it was pretty successful, although we had 2 fallers on the first downhill section, which may be a bit of a worry.

Here are the 6 of us in Stanmer Park ready to go on the first ride.  Lots of smiles hiding the fact that we were absolutely freezing (having stood there waiting for 30 mins for Anthony to arrive)

Buzz gets to the top of the first climb in Stanmer Park, having stopped for some maintenance after realising that moving his handbars was not having the desired effect on the movement of his front wheel.



One by one we make our way up to Ditchling Beacon.

This is the start of the climb up Newtimber Hill.  The clay was very slippery and grip hard to find, so walking was the only way to get up.



This is the grassy part of the climb up Newtimber Hill.  Very slippy and difficult, but it's not the Lake District though is it boys?



This is one of the muddy sections at the top of Newtimber Hill.



Hywel at the top of Devil's Dyke.



Anthony realises that drinking cocktails the night before the first training ride was probably not the best idea he's ever had.



Here we all are and the top of Devil's Dyke still looking pretty happy.  From here it's back down to Brighton and the onward journey back home. 

The first ride is safely completed.

Well, I think that we've learnt the first lesson for anyone planning a trip like this in the future. 

Booking the accommodation 6 months in advance is probably not long enough.

I would say 9 months to a year to be safe.

We are now having the replan the route to fit around two of the overnight stays, which co-incidentally means more hills and more miles.

3 nights now booked in the most isolated locations.  3 more nights left to sort.