Since Ironman Canada I've been keeping things pretty low key, but after a few weeks I was already getting pretty edgy. Luckily a few months earlier I signed up for the London to Brighton off-road bike ride and since I was doing it with Bill, Karl and Luke for a charity - The British Heart Foundation, there was no way I was going to let the team down and not turn up for the ride.
There I was then on a cold foggy Saturday morning lining up with my three mates for the 73 mile journey to Brighton from Roeahampton. The route was going to take us from the Thames Towpath to the North Downs Way down the Downs Link, which is a flat path following the old railway line, over The South Downs and down to Brighton.
I think we were all a little bit apprehensive of the journey ahead, but once we got going though Richmond Park and along the Thames Towpath we soon warmed up and were moving along at a good pace. Perhaps I got a little bit over-confident and a momentary loss of concentration cost me a very sore elbow and a bleeding hand as I made some close-up contact with the towpath. The small incident didn't dampen our spirits and after a quick cleanup we were on the way again.
The rest of the ride went without further incidents and once the sun broke through the for around mid-day we were rolling along just enjoying the last day of summer. One pub stop later ( for some essential sports nutrition in the form of a pint of some great British bitter, which tastes much better then gatorade, trust me on this :)) we got over the only serious climb of the day up to The South Downs and dropped down to Brighton's sea front.
We all had a great time and, more importantly, managed to raise over £650 for the worthy cause of the British Hear Foundation (mainly due to Karl's marketing). The ride is reasonably easy and I would definitely recommend it if you want a bit of a challenge and raise some money for a worthy cause. Hopefully I will be back for it next year!
There I was then on a cold foggy Saturday morning lining up with my three mates for the 73 mile journey to Brighton from Roeahampton. The route was going to take us from the Thames Towpath to the North Downs Way down the Downs Link, which is a flat path following the old railway line, over The South Downs and down to Brighton.
I think we were all a little bit apprehensive of the journey ahead, but once we got going though Richmond Park and along the Thames Towpath we soon warmed up and were moving along at a good pace. Perhaps I got a little bit over-confident and a momentary loss of concentration cost me a very sore elbow and a bleeding hand as I made some close-up contact with the towpath. The small incident didn't dampen our spirits and after a quick cleanup we were on the way again.
The rest of the ride went without further incidents and once the sun broke through the for around mid-day we were rolling along just enjoying the last day of summer. One pub stop later ( for some essential sports nutrition in the form of a pint of some great British bitter, which tastes much better then gatorade, trust me on this :)) we got over the only serious climb of the day up to The South Downs and dropped down to Brighton's sea front.
We all had a great time and, more importantly, managed to raise over £650 for the worthy cause of the British Hear Foundation (mainly due to Karl's marketing). The ride is reasonably easy and I would definitely recommend it if you want a bit of a challenge and raise some money for a worthy cause. Hopefully I will be back for it next year!
