somewhere to somewhere

Yesterday evening, my son and a couple of his friends decided they would like to try the London to Brighton cycle ride next year. They had already looked into it and found that they were allowed to ride but only if accompanied by an adult. So they asked if I would be prepared to ride with them.

What a gift ! Yes of course I'll ride with them. I was really pleased that they wanted me to. It will also be a great motivator as I know they will get ride-fit much quicker than I will. I'll have to work really hard to get my fitness up so that I don't slow them up too badly.

The London to Brighton ride is held each June. Everybody rides in support of the British Heart Foundation which is a really worth while cause. The ride itself is about 85 kilometres; the route varies slightly from one year to the next. There are some moderate climbs along the way going over the North Downs and then the South Downs; but the biggest climb comes just 6 miles from the finish. Ditchling Beacon is a 1 mile ascent with an average gradient that is steeper than 1 in 10 and some of the sections are considerably steeper than that.

My only concern with this ride is the volume of participants. This year there were a staggering 27,000 cyclists on the course. With that many riders it must be a long time after the start line until you can ride at a pace not dictated by others around you. I suspect this will be quite frustrating for the lads.

There are some other big charity rides that take part in this part of the country, e.g. London to Cambridge and the Tonbridge 100 - miler. So it may be worth them looking at the alternatives, but I will definitely leave the choice up to them.

We went for a ride today, just the two of us, and managed to average just under 30 KpH for 25 Kilometres. A long way short of the target distance, but a very promising start.

I'm excited already.