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Trying to get into the road bike to boost my fitness. Currently commute about 11km (flat) each way but haven't really ventured much further with the exception of a bit of interval stuff on a turbo trainer.
Was thinking of spinning down to Brighton from Fulham on Sat as normal off road buddies aren't around. Will it kill my legs? Only really serious hill looks to be down by ditchling, how bad can it be??
its easy. ditchling beacon hill is a bit of a slog, but otherwise fine. I know a lot of people who don't ride at all who've done it, I did there and back for a giggle, which wasn't very hard either
It's not too bad, Ditchling Beacon is a bit of a slog but mostly because you've already done around 50 miles by then.
I did the BHF ride there twice when i lived in London and found it really hard the first year but miles easier the second year after i'd been commuting daily.
You should do it easily in under 4 hours at a steady pace, under 3 if you are a quick/fit rider (i'm not - just under 4 hours for me last time).
It's ok but if its raining it'll be a bit miserable though...
Might be worth planning a semi-rural route rather than just slogging down the A23 etc, too?
Hardest part is avoiding all the other cyclist 😉
I've booked in for the BHF London to Brighton off road event in sept. Absolutely no idea on what I've got myself into tbh
Zoolander - it's fairly gentle - mostly following the old railway line that's the 'Downslink' - couple of hills when you get to the southern end but it's easily doable on a cross bike.
Is there an excepted route? From a quick look at bikely once past the M25 I'd planned to go down through Turners Hill / Ardingly / Haywards Heath on to Ditchling then down to Brighton.
Am I going to be dodging traffic all the way down or not too bad?
[i]Turners Hill / Ardingly / Haywards Heath[/i]
that's not too bad - not quiet rural roads but not dual carriageway either. I've not ridden further north than turners hill so not sure what you'd do prior to that.
the bhf route is the same every year.
If you wanted, you could avoid ditchling beacon by joining the A273 and going along the cycle path next to the a23. Its not ideal, and there's still a bit of a hill, but if you're suffering its an option. I think the BHF route (which is fairly established, but not very direct) is available online
Cheers wwaswas