MediaVelo Venture South
The Bank Holiday weekend saw a team of MV riders assemble to attack the headwinds and hills all the way from Richmond Park to the Stoney beach of Brighton.
As we headed to bed for an early night before the big day, we had memories of the days blistering sunshine and southerly winds. Sadly the same could not be said for Sunday morning’s conditions, with drizzle and a chill in the air and a definite northerly wind – not ideal.
Six riders assembled at Richmond Park for pre ride coffee, before heading towards Tooting Broadway to meet the final three riders. We set off south, a good pace being made into the headwind on the flatfish roads out of London.
Once out of the M25, the roads headed up and with that we started to splinter. The mid-ride café stop loomed and we pushed on (literally in some cases) to thoughts of coffee and cake.
At the mid-point at the top of Turners Hill, we enjoyed some much needed refreshments (with some enjoying a full meal!) before descending down the rolling country lanes towards the dreaded Ditching Beacon.
The rain pelted down on our Le Col jerseys, our chamois soaked through and our helmets collecting water like the hoover dam. We had made it to Ditching, with the 1 mile climb averaging 9% being the only thing between us and Fish and Chips!
With sections of over 20%, the climb is brutal from start to finish with the wind and rain adding a further challenge to the ascent. We all made it up, and started on our run into Brighton.
We were greeted by a MOD fest on the sea front, with sideburns, parka jackets and Lambretta’s every way we turned. We touched down in a little café and tucked into coffee, beers and cakes after a tough 100km and 1,300m of climbing.
A great day in the saddle, next time can we please have some sunshine and Fish & Chips?!