2013 passed with the birth of my son and many sleep disturbed nights to follow but still managing to get out on my bike, mostly riding to work. Later in 2014 I came across a book called 'Stay Away from the Buttercups' by Richard Sterry, a story of cycling the South Downs way not once, not twice but 3 times back to back without stopping. It was captivating reading and left me with the idea that riding it once in a day was a possibility for me, and without too much further thought signed myself up for the British Heart Foundation ride to take place in July 2015. That was in December 2014.
I had seven months to train for the cycle. In January I could ride around 20 miles off road without too much effort, generally my off road cycling had been around forests or hills in Scotland and no where near 100 miles in distance. Gael was very encouraging, I was less sure. Hampered by winter colds in January and February training was quite limited.
There was no science involved with my training. I cycled to work as often as I could taking the long route, when I had time, doing between 13 and 20 miles a day and then a bigger ride at the weekend. I'd read that what you cycle in a week you can cycle in a day, so that is what I aimed for. Most of my riding was on the South Downs Way and I intended to cycle all of it in sections before the big day. That was one advantage of living so near to it and also meant there would be no big surprises on the big day.
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| Chalk tracks on the SDW |
All of my training I did on my own. I've always enjoyed cycling alone and it was good for my self reliance. Some of the training became a bit demoralising cycling one way along the SDW and then back again, especially the day my chain snapped. Fortunately I had a spare link and chain tool to fix it which was good, however shortly after on the return leg I bonked with about 20km left to get back to the car. That was hell, no energy and food not making much difference, every hill felt like a chore. That was a low point in the training.
The weather had been kind to me during the months leading up to the event with the tracks being dry and mud free. The condition of the track would be a concern if it was to rain before or during the event. In parts the soft clay mud would be a nightmare and the chalk surface found on some of the down hill sections is like riding on ice when it rains. Another concern was the sharp flint fragments found along the way and a closer examination of my front tyre revealed several small cuts trough to the casing, requiring replacement before the event.
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| Easy going track on the SDW, they are not all like this! |
Two weeks before the big day, Gael dropped me at Washington in West Sussex. I had 47 miles to cycle and would get picked up in Eastbourne later in the day. The last 30 miles of the trail is meant to be the hardest. To me it didn't seem very different from the earlier stages apart from the scenery is better with views across to the sea in one direction and a patchwork of fields in the other. It was a fantastic days riding and it made a huge difference just cycling in one direction rather than cycling to a point and turning back. I arrived in Eastbourne after more than 7 hours of pedalling feeling elated and for the first time in a long time feeling positive about the whole thing. Today I felt like I could complete the South Downs Way in a day.
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| Looking down on Eastbourne, at the end of the SDW |
The week before the event I had planned a shorter cycle but ended up cycling about 43 miles. I hoped this had not fatigued my legs too much. I was starting to get nervous, more with anticipation than worry. By the time of the evening of the event this had increased by ten fold. I stayed in the Holiday Inn at Winchester the night below, it's only a mile or so from the start line. It was way after eleven before I got to sleep and with a 4am alarm call I didn't exactly get a full nights sleep.
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| The night before at a hotel near the start line |
After a breakfast of porridge, I made it to the start line just before 5am. This was an achievement considering the self doubt that I had experienced through out the training and very strongly only a month before the event. It had got so bad that I had stopped talking about the event and was afraid to even ask anybody to sponsor me lest I not make it to the start line.
I stared off at 05:03 at a slow pace, it was going to be a long day, and many riders overtook me powering up the hill of Cheesefoot Head. A striking memory was the sun rising over a field of golden wheat as I slowly ascended the hill, it would have been great to stop and take this in more. I was feeling good and covering ground only stopping to push up the last steep section on Winchester hill. I was getting passed by many riders, but I didn't care I just wanted to finish. Not knowing how I would cope with the distance I would back off slightly going up hill so I didn't burn my legs out.
I rolled into check point 1 (20 miles) and 2 hours 40 minutes, after the steep grassy descent off Butser hill. It was busy, too busy. I spoke to a guy whose support driver had not turned up yet, he was travelling light with no supplies. I filled up with water and headed off, my hourly stop for food was a little while off yet. I was carrying just enough food for the day in case Gael could not meet me later on at the half way point.
Check point 2 was at Manor farm (33 miles) again a water stop and a sandwich and flapjack and off again. The day was heating up, my bike felt good and it was nice to chat with other riders along the way.
Check point 3 was at Bury Hill (44 miles) Going nicely as I pushed on past the half way mark with added enthusiasm, I would see Gael and and my little boy at Washington waiting for me with some supplies. My emotions were running high, the cycle now seemed very achievable, tears were rolling down my cheeks, only a few weeks ago I almost called of the cycle, the self doubt had almost crippled me. To have overcome this felt amazing. They had seen many riders pass and waited patiently for me. It was a major lift to see them and get some encouragement for the second half of the cycle. 53 miles around 12.40pm.
No stopping at checkpoint 4 as I was refueled. It was a hard climb up past Chancenbury ring. There was a lady running and I was barely cycling any faster than she was running. Maybe too much food in my stomach taking the blood away from my legs. Once on the top of the downs my pace picked up again on the undulating track. I think the scenery gets better east to west on the SDW, so the day just got better and better riding along the ridge. The temperature was rising but there were some clouds in the sky which helped.
Check point 5 (65 miles) at 14.26, needed to get off the bike and rest for 10 minutes, as I was feeling fatigued. I ate some flapjack and must have felt better because the next 11 miles flew by, I was in the zone and missed my hourly stop by about 40 minutes arriving at the water tap in Housedean. After refilling my bottles I crossed over the A27 and then on to a big climb which was made easier with the company of another rider. He was going strong and told me he hadn't cycled further than 30 miles before today! He was considerably younger than me though which maybe makes things easier. We cycled together for several miles before he lost me on a long downhill.
It was about this time that I saw someone riding in a peculiar fashion, pedalling away and then sitting on his seat and taking his feet off the pedals coming up to one of the numerous gates that cross the path. It turned out his freewheel had jammed but this wasn't going to get in his way of completing the day. Hats off to him, I believe he completed the cycle.
Check point 6 (80.7 miles) Itford farm lane at 17:17 still going strong but thought that if I stopped for too long I wouldn't get started again as my legs were beginning to feel like jelly. Doing some sums I realised I could finish in under 15 hours. That gave me a boost and off I went on my way again cycling all the way to the top of Firle Beacon.
Check point 7 (87.7 miles) at 18.23, just after Alfriston, I'd previously stopped at the shop in Alfiston for there for sandwiches. This time a quick refill of water at the check point.
By this point the strength was going from my legs I pushed my bike up the last two climbs. Other riders were going no faster pedalling on their bikes. Once on top there was the view down to Eastbourne and the finish was in site. There was no stopping now and using the last of my reserves I carried on and down to the road to the finish line.
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| Awesome feeling having crossed the finish line |
Finished at 19:43 - 14 hours and 40 minutes - no more stats as my Garmin ran out of battery after 85 miles. It was a tremendous feeling of achievement crossing the finish line. Not only had I completed the ride, I had really enjoyed the day. Due to the shenanigans of my little boy Gael did not arrive until a few minutes later, followed by hugs and tears of joy. The last 7 months had been an emotional roller coaster and had put a lot of strain on family life but I had done it and my proved to myself what I can achieve. I had also raised a reasonable sum of money for the British Heart Foundation, thanks to everyone that sponsored me.
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| Big smiles at the finish |
I must add that I could not have completed this cycle without the support of my partner Gael, who provided endless amounts of encouragement and had complete faith that I could finish the ride. Not to mention putting up with my early Sunday morning training rides and providing excellent homemade fruitcake and flapjack to power me along.
The bike survived, spokes on the back wheel were alarmingly loose after the cycle but might not have been that tight before, and amazingly no punctures on the ride. During training I had two punctures due to thorns, once when I forgot to take a pump which was a bit of a nightmare, one snapped chain and that was it.
Training by month:
Jan 105 km
Feb 223 km
March 316km
April 286km
May 497 km
June 433 km
July 310 km before the 18th July
2170km in total prior to the big day
The bike - Scott Scale 935 - Carbon fibre frame. Fitted with a replacement Shimano HG93 chain, ESI foam grips and a SDG saddle. The standard forks only just did the job and have since been replaced with Rockshox Reba.
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