London to Brighton Off Road 2015 - anyone?

[daddy cool]

Just signed up for this, 26th Sept this year.
Did the road version last year, and in fact so far have never ridden more than 66 miles on the road bike, or ~30 miles on the mountain bike. Mind you, my MTB riding is usually "proper" off roading, whereas im expecting a bit portion of this to be fairly flat pathway. Still, expecting this to be quite exhausting!

Anyone else doing it?
Anyone did it previously? Any heroic stories? Any parts of the course particularly fun/tough?

I understand there is a big-ish hill towards the end, similar to Ditchling on the road version?

https://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/events/bike-ri...

[daddy cool]

quick google suggests this was the previous route (assume its much the same this year):
http://www.bikemap.net/en/route/1382916-london-to-...
Looks like "Beeding Hill" will be fun.

• Edit: my mates actual GPS trace from last year - looks similar

https://www.endomondo.com/users/10650710/workouts/...

Edited by daddy cool on Monday 27th July 17:06

[daddy cool]

Bumpity Bump - any one else signed up?
Weather is looking like it should be ok.

Bad news for me though - went out for a ride yesterday (first MTB ride in 2 weeks) and the BB30 bottom bracket has kicked the bucket. Now need to find an LBS that can swap the bearings over in the next few days.

[daddy cool]

SixPotBelly said:

Report back afterwards though please, could be an idea for next year.

So, we did it yesterday. I think its the toughest bikey-thing I have done to date - it makes the road version seem like a walk in the park, because, after all, the off-road is 50% more distance, and although there are some road sections, MTB miles are usually worth 2 road miles. Today I am ruined, my knees are shot, my thighs pulsing with pain, collarbone sore with camelback straps... glad I did it though!

Started off at Roehampton in the blistering cold - hello to the PH member that spotted my jersey and came over to say hi (sorry I forget your username). There was a fair bit of hanging around as in groups we were given a safety/rules briefing and then allowed to depart (though the guy giving them was funny so that made it more bearable). Through Richmond Park and then followed the Thames for a long way. We stopped for our first break at 20 miles (nr Byfleet) as we hadn't had breakfast.
Soon after that things finally started to get a bit more "off-road" as we got down to Shere and the start of the Surrey Hills sections, but of course that brought with it a few pretty intense hills. We completed that section then took another break at 37 miles, the halfway point.

The next 20-25 miles were pretty much a slog - following the Downs Link, a disused railway, which while pretty flat, was dull and tiring ins its own way. By this point saddle sore was in full effect and various knee and leg pains were making themselves known.

Stopped at 52 miles at the pretty Southwater Country Park, and were given free bottles of water to top up.
Next stop was at Upper Beading (65 miles), the last before the climb everyone had been talking about.

Its all true - the Bostal/Beeding Hill climb is brutal. Most people didn't even attempt it, getting off at the bottom. I decided i'd get as far as I could so got into the lowest gear and got my head down and just kept a steady pace. Its chalky, rocky, and very rutted, and I had to ask people ahead to stand to one side so I could keep the smoothest line - which they all did and gave me encouragement too - and I got to the top, wheezing and spluttering, but chuffed.
I think it would be almost impossible in the wet... but we had fantastic weather the whole day.


The climbing carries on, albeit on a road section, then theres a long downhill section bringing you down to the coast, where there is a ~4 mile spint (in a headwind) to the finish line. We collected our medals, and decided a pint at a bike-friendly pub round the corner was more enticing than a free massage (as apparently happy endings weren't on offer).


Took us ~9 hours, of which ~7 hours was riding. c. ~4000 ft of climbing
https://www.strava.com/activities/400978012

[daddy cool]

richardxjr said:

Looked like fun Lycra for me though for anything over about 4hr.

You would be ostracised by the menfolk, this is a MTB event, dontchaknow?!




(We all had padded cycling shorts under the baggies, and a liberal coating of chamois cream)

[daddy cool]

Im a roadie too - the only thing that put me off wearing the full lycra bib-short combo was the fact i knew i would be consuming over 4 litres of liquid and would need to be piddling a lot, and thats such a faff with bibs.
No, the downs link just goes on and on and on. We had thought about a proper pub lunch but glad we didnt in the end - i think it would have been harder to start up again afterwards.
Yeah, the track was tough - though according to Strava im about 200th out of 2000 (7 mins), which aint bad for a first attempt after 65 miles! Cant believe some people have done it in 4.5 mins (7mph) !!! Must be on an e-bike...