Photo of the day - 17: Another hilly bike ride on the South Downs

 

On the way down from Bo Peep - great to see the paragliders out 

Continuing my hill climbing season, today saw me once again on the slopes of the South Downs. My day started with a hill climb competition up to Firle Beacon. It was similar to the one I did at Steyning Bostal last week, except that in this one I actually had the time to reccie the climb. Well, the sign-on was located at the summit, and given that I had chosen to park in Firle village I had no choice but to ride up the climb to pick up my number. Last week I had been the minute woman to local rider Cathy Wallace. I had managed to stay ahead of her, but she still put time into me and beat me by 30 seconds. This time she wasn't there and I was minute woman to another local rider, Erica Martin of Eastbourne Rovers. She caught me three-quarters of the way up the climb. For me, that was a good result as she is a strong rider and Firle is slightly harder than Steyning. I finished third last in this one, which was an improvement on last place in my previous hill climb! One thing about racing is how you keep bumping into people you recognise from other races. Debbie Percival, racing for Kent Velo Girls was there - she had been at the two races I did last week. Also, it was good to see Natalie Creswick, who I know from other cycle races I have done in the past. It's that that gives cycle racing a community feel too, as you go around the circuit and get to know different people - like in many competitive sports. 

After racing up Firle Beacon, I thought it would have been rude not to pay a visit to the other nearby well-known climb, Bo Peep. So I did a little loop further to the east where I picked up the little lane that took me to the summit. That climb is shallow initially, and there is around a 10% ramp as you turn the first bend. However, the real sting is the final bend, which must be more like 18%. I am glad that wasn't included in the race. Along the way, I saw a couple of guys on hybrid bikes who were really suffering on the slope. We congratulated each other when we met again in the car park. Talk about solidarity in pain!

As well as the company of other bike riders mad enough to ride up Bo Peep for pleasure, we had many paragliders up and above us, making the most of the thermals. Gee, the lengths people go, to reach the summit without pedalling a bike - cheats!

Rapha Festive 500 - Park Life tour: Day 6, South Downs National Park

Stats
Kms ridden: 23
Running total: 370
Kms left: 130

Weather: Sunny, with evening mist, 10 degC

Parks: South Downs National; Preston 


Route on Strava


As those who have done or are doing the Festive 500 will know, the most challenging aspect of the riding is finding the time to get out and ride. For me this has been pretty much the same too, with days flying by and being dominated by bike riding.

Sadly, we ordinary folks don't have the luxury of someone to clean up our bikes after a messy day out, or someone who can do our laundry for us or prepare our meals. And of course there's just the simple deed of getting life done, which becomes difficult to juggle when you are out riding at least 40 miles every day.

I decided I needed to have a bit of breathing space, so today was the day to catch up on other things a little rather than going on a bike ride first thing in the morning.

Entry into the South Downs Park, from the Brighton end of Ditchling Road

As a result I set off for Brighton by car at lunchtime in a hope of riding around the South Downs National Park.

The intention was to park somewhere near central Brighton and then do a loop up to Ditchling Beacon, over to Devil's Dyke and then back.

That didn't quite work out though because parking in Brighton was a real challenge. There are some areas where I have managed to find spaces in the past, but today it was nigh on impossible. In the end I found a space on the edge of the city, just off the Ditchling Road - which I guess was a handy place for the start of my ride.

By the time the ride began it was not long before 3pm, so I only had an hour to do the circuit before night fell. Realising there was no time to waste I just pushed on as best I could. Riding up to Ditchling Beacon from this side of the hill was a novelty for me, as my normal route would be to approach it from the north, when doing a London to Brighton ride. Going up this way the road was an uphill grind, but it was not as steep as I had anticipated, considering how fast the road is when coming down into Brighton. Also, it wasn't a constant climb, but more like an undulating road.

Today had been a glorious sunny day - at least when I was driving down from London. However, as the South Downs drew nearer the atmosphere became cooler and my glasses got steamed up as it became misty and damp.

Once at Ditchling Beacon there were still quite a lot of walkers and mountain bikers riding along the South Downs Way trail. But there was a very low number of road cyclists compared with the numbers you normally see huffing and puffing up the hill from Ditchling village.



From my vantage point, at around 235m above sea level I would normally be able to see the city of Brighton including the Brighton i360 ride and the AMEX Stadium, home of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club. However today, everything was shrouded in mist. Furthermore, I was getting colder and colder as it became less fun to be there.

So I ditched my plan to go to Devil's Dyke and just turned back and retraced Ditchling Road to return to central Brighton. I was glad to have brought with me extra coats and high vis as it was pretty cold on the descent, and there was a bit too much mist for comfort, as I descended the twisty road, which still had its fair share of motorists.

Once back in Brighton I did a little loop around Preston Park - a place where I have raced in the past, and did a mini tour of the town centre, which as usual was just Brighton - with all it's hip shops around the North Lane area.

Riding back up to the car from central Brighton was pretty testing, and that probably explained why the earlier ride from my car to Ditchling Beacon had been more like a false flat - because the steep climbs kick in close to the city centre, so that on the edge of city limits things actually level off.

In the end, my ride was only 23 kms long, though it felt like I had ridden double the distance! It had been a short day in the saddle but I think my body and my mind appreciated a low mileage day for once.


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Ride London to Brighton off-road - the easy way

Everyone likes to be out on the South Downs Way

Many people know of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) London to Brighton charity bike ride, a 54-mile (87km) road ride from Clapham, through country lanes in Surrey and Sussex. The BHF also organises a London-Brighton off-road ride in September.

This is a little more challenging as it's a 68-mile (110km) practically all off-road. In the past I have ridden from Guildford to Brighton via the Downs Link and the South Downs Way in the past and that took a few hours.

A full London to Brighton off-road bike ride could be quite daunting, and you can take all day to do it. If you want to get to Brighton but without doing something so onerous how about riding to this seaside town via a few mountain bike trails within two or three hours.

You can ride to Brighton if you let the train take some of the strain and travel to the edge of the South Downs. Then get onto the South Downs Way and ride from there. You can pick up refreshments at Hassocks and Falmer. There's also an ice cream van at Ditchling Beacon.

That's what I did over the Bank Holiday weekend. It was a pleasant ride which was a good bit of exercise, though was not scarily technical.

So I got on the train at East Croydon and took the 40-minute train ride to Hassocks. From there it was a short ride to the hamlet of Clayton. When I stepped out of the train station it wasn't easy to work out which way to go, and for a moment I began cycling towards London! Eventually I found the route to get towards the South Downs, which quickly came into view.

Atop the Downs were the pair of windmills known as Jack and Jill, looking quite resplendent up in the distance. What was scary was the notion that I would have to get up to those windmills which stood about 200m above me.

Jack and Jill Windmills as seen from the path from Hassocks

The means of getting up there was via a bridleway which at first sight looked innocuous. As I began to twiddle up the path some walkers coming down it wished me good luck.

Shortly afterwards, the lane rounded the bend and I very quickly understood why I needed luck. After a little preamble on a smooth chalky path, the surface became rutted and strewn with stones. More importantly the gradient shot up like a wall - well it might as well have been a wall - the slope was over 28%!

Needless to say I could not ride it. When the gradient is that steep over uneven ground I get nervous about the front wheel lifting up, and worry about losing control and falling over. My cleats were a bit sticky as well, which didn't help matters either.

So it was safer to wheel the bike. I felt no shame in having to do that. Soon, the bridleway too me onto a grassy hillside, where many people were lounging in the sun and having picnics on this warm afternoon.

By now, the pair of windmills were close by, so I took the opportunity to photograph them while having a breather.

Taking a breather after a steep steep climb up onto the South Downs

The route then continued along a narrow lane that was less steep, but I had to wheel my bike as there were a number of walkers so it wasn't practical to cycle.

Eventually, the path opened out onto a wide area and I was officially on the South Downs Way. From here onwards the gradient went from excruciatingly steep to just regular undulations - which was a relief. However, there was no room for complacency on this hot, sunny afternoon. The constant rises and falls on this grassy, and sometimes chalky terrain was still sweaty work.

From here I enjoyed beautiful views of the Sussex countryside to my left and right, with the added bonus of a lovely sea view of Hove and Brighton. When the sun shines on the Downs I really feel like this is the place to be.

The cows seemed to be happy too, as they watched me cycle by. I did note that one of the bulls did have a happy moment with one of the cows so maybe that's why they were in buoyant mood!

All the walkers I saw seemed to be in a happy mood too. They said hello as they passed me, some making comments about how it must be hard work to cycle over the moorland. They had a point, but twiddling in an easy gear was all I needed to do. There was nothing navigation to do either because the trail was clearly waymarked. Also, as the terrain was dry there was no need to worry about sliding over on the chalky surface.

My route to Brighton went from the Jack and Jill Windmills, through Ditchling Beacon and then over to an area called Black Cap, level with Plumpton. From there I left the national trail and followed a bridleway towards Falmer and the Amex Stadium to make my way towards the coast. It was a very nice descent through desolate areas and I had the trail all to myself.

MOD Festival on Brighton Promenade

Then at the end of the trails through the South Downs ended when I reached Ridge Road, where I joined the Brighton and Hove Albion football fans on the trail to get over to Woodingdean. That was probably the most challenging part of the ride as I had to ride past lots of football fans on this trail that was a 2-mile steady climb.

Given that Brighton had lost at home 2-0 to Southampton their fans were still surprisingly upbeat, and were quite obliging about giving way to me when I tried to ride through the crowds.

On reaching the racecourse it was a case of another fast descent to reach Brighton Marina, and then I knew I had arrived.

Eddie and his tunes

Down on the promenade there was a MOD festival going on, though it looked like I had missed the main event. At least DJ Eddie Lovebus was still out, happily spinning some tunes. What a treat!

Here's the route I recorded on Strava.
https://www.strava.com/activities/2647758040


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Trail running in Cheshire, Yorkshire and in Bellagio Skyrace too!

Getting in lots of trail runs in preparation for Beachy Head Marathon, and doing my first trail running race in Italy

Over the summer and into Autumn I really got into trail running. It was spurred on by my failed attempt to make it to the Paris marathon.

Having done all that training, only to not use it I wanted something else to look forward to this year. I had considered doing a mountain marathon, but orienteering with the prospect of getting deserted on a mountain in Cornwall or the Lake District didn't fill me with excitement.

Preparing for Beachy Head Marathon

Eventually I plumped for the Beachy Head Marathon, which struck a good balance of being a challenge, while having signage. Also, with this being a trail run through the South Downs, I would never be that far away from a town or public transport that would get me to Eastbourne or Brighton.

Glad to reach the summit at Teggs Nose Country Park

So with this challenge ahead, I did a fair bit of trail running - around the North Downs, along the Pilgrim's Way, and of course the South Downs - around Devil's Dyke, Ditchling Beacon, and Queen Elizabeth Country Park.

Earlier in the summer I did a run in Cheshire around Macclesfield Forest and Teggs Nose Country Park.

I had been hoping to take part in a fell race that was organised in conjunction with the Sheep Dog Trials, but traffic got the better of me and I missed the start, so did my own improvised run instead, which included going along the Gritstone Trail. It was my first stab at doing a trail run with a very steep gradient, and I loved it.

Teggs Nose Staircase - a lift would've been nice! 

Then a couple of weeks ago while on my trip to Cycle Expo Yorkshire I did a run along the trails of the Yorkshire Dales at Kettlewell.

The initial part of the route went up the dreaded tarmacked climb that cyclists know as Park Rash. I then left the road to go up a steep bridleway up to the stars - well actually to Starbotton.

From there I returned to Kettlewell along a valley trail that was part of the Dales Way. It was a lovely run, especially as it was early on a Sunday morning, and with no one around at this point I had the place to myself.

Trail down to Starbotton after a long climb

I felt lucky too, because there had been a forecast for heavy rain, and I had gone out expecting to get drenched. But somehow the rain stayed away, and only began as I was going up the steps to enter the Youth Hostel.
The rain did get very heavy though, meaning that when I arrived in Harrogate later that morning to take part in the cyclocross race I knew it was going to be a mudbath - and it was!



Trail running Italian style

The following weekend I was in Milan for a weekend of cycling and running. It was mainly cycling that I did, but the most memorable event for me was a trail run called the Bellagio Skyrace.


I had been a little apprehensive about the competition because I had not done much of this sort of racing before - not even in the UK. It wasn't the distance that was the problem, but the altitude gain.

Looking at my Garmin records none of my runs had included more than 500m of climbing, and I was going to be doing double that amount. This could potentially kill my knees or my Achilles tendons, or both, as well as any chance of running the Beachy Head Marathon the following week. Would I be able to get around the race before the organisers packed away the signage and the finish gantry? Was this a really silly thing to do, entering this race as a non-fell runner? I was about to find out.

Around 600 of us lined up in the main piazza of this beautiful town on the shores of Lake Como, and at the gun we sprang out of the blocks running uphill into the forested peaks of this area known as Lario (latin for Como). Half of us were all set to do 14km with 1000m of climbing, while others were doing 28km with 1900m of uphill.

Getting ready for the off in Bellagio main square

Actually, everyone else set off at a fast enthusiastic pace, but I was quite conservative, conscious of the need to not go into the red, and save something for later. Also knowing that I would be running a trail marathon the following week, I really didn't want to wreck myself.

So, it must have looked a bit odd in front of all the townsfolk who had come out to watch us, seeing me all in race gear and with a number on, some 50 metres off the back of the pack. I wasn't going to let these things bother me though. The only problem was the road twisted a bit and at a crossroads, I had to ask some passers-by which way the other runners had gone.

For a time we were running along a road I was familiar with, as it was the cycle route up to the Madonna del Ghisallo sanctuary that I had ridden the previous day. Once we left the road and started running up the trail I began to catch people as a bottle-neck occurred and things were at a stand-still. Also, many people had already started walking as the trail became increasingly steeper.

I swapped places with this lady loads of times as I stopped to take photos

My plan was to run as much of the course as possible. I was able to do so for the first couple of miles, which went along a wide stony trail and then through a field.

As we got deeper into the forest, the trail became steeper as it zigzagged through the trees. It also became narrow and so we were reduced to walking as a single-file procession.

I would have run it if I could but it was too much energy to try and squeeze past people. In any case the path was so steep that I wouldn't have been able to run much faster than walking pace along this section.

The forest was beautiful, and it was great to be able to run through these trees that normally people only tend to see up in the distance at lake level.

Glad to reach the summit - and some wine was waiting just around the corner!

Once at the summit on Monte Nuvolone we ran through a specially erected gantry, marking the 980m above sea level apex.

From here it would be a short distance along the plateau before making our way back down to Bellagio.

I must say that although this was a race I felt that it would be wrong to come all the way over here without stopping to admire the view of Lake Como from an angle that I rarely get to see.

For this reason I stopped and took a few photos. In fact quite a few times I stopped to take photos, meaning that I lost a bit of time on the various people I'd managed to overtake, though I managed to catch them up as they continued to walk, while I chose to run.

I rarely see Lake Como from this angle - would've been rude not to snap it

Further along on the plateau of Monte Nuvolone I stocked up my energy levels at the feed station ready for the descent, which would be taxing on the legs. The marshals at the top jokingly asked me if I would like some wine.

I thought they were being serious (especially as I had previously drunk six glasses of wine at the Bacchus half marathon some weeks before). So I accepted the offer, thinking it was just a normal thing to do during races in Italy. But when they looked at me with a mixture of bemusement and incredulity, I realised this wasn't quite normal. They obliged by serving me a glass of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, probably thinking I was an alcoholic or something. I just happily downed it in one before continuing my run.

Soon I regretted drinking wine as I was faced with a very tricky drop across some boulders. There were ropes cut into the rocks that we could hold onto, but I didn't really trust them and preferred to hold onto the ground to steady myself. Although it was only a short stretch, I found it a little unnerving. The mountain rescue team were on hand, giving tips but I felt more comfortable negotiating this stretch in my own way - even if it looked unelegant being on all fours.

Apart from that slight difficulty, the run back into Bellagio was straightforward technically provided you kept an eye out for the tree roots in the woods, and put your foot in the right places when running over the rocks, stones, and rocks on the stony trail, and you didn't bump into the trees or field furniture along the way.

By this time the number of runners had thinned out from the feed station onwards, with half the field having continued on to do the 28km-course up to Monte Primo (the hightest peak in the area), so it was easy to just settle into a natural pace and not have to worry about anyone on your tail, or trying to get past people. At this point in the race I felt fine physically, and not particularly fatigued which was a good sign. I had run very much within myself, which was what I had wanted to do.

The final run back into the finish line was on a gravel path along the side of Lake Como with lots of people - spectators and tourists - giving encouragement along this home straight. It felt quite special.

On this comparatively smooth stretch I was able to put in a bit of a sprint, so that in front of the spectators I might look a bit more athletic than I did on the outward run through the town. As I neared the finish line, the crowd cheered avidly, and that made me put in an extra spurt. Then I realised they weren't cheering for me, but for the first finisher of the 28km route! The winner was a guy from Rwanda who had basically run exactly twice as fast as I did. Hey ho!

At the finish line I congratulated one or two of the other runners I'd taken turns with overtaking through the race, and discovered that one of the runners was a woman from Fulham Running Club. She was there with a fellow club runner Daphne, who had finished a good few minutes ahead of us, and some other club mates who were doing the long route.

I was just so amazed to see other people from the UK doing this. Normally when I go to races abroad I end up being the novelty competitor from London. So it was good to meet others who'd had the same idea as myself. They invited me to dinner with them at their place near Bellagio, but I had already arranged to meet people back in Milan, so had to decline. Hopefully I'll see them at another race in the area in future.

All good at the finish line

This was definitely a fun race to do. Anyone who does regular trail runs or fell running would find this a breeze, and would probably prefer to do the 28km race. If you're not a trail runner, but run regularly the 14km is still doable, and on the really steep bits a lot of people walk it anyway.

It is one of the most beautiful locations you could choose for a running race, and it was well organised.

 Even for the post-race pasta party the marshals provided table service and you had a view of Lake Como as you wolfed down your farfalle followed by polenta, with wine.

My apprehensions about the race had been completely for nothing. It had all been pretty straightforward, and had definitely set me up nicely for the Beachy Head Marathon.



For those interested, this is the 14-km route on Strava

I can't believe I made the cut for this video. I can be found somewhere at 3mins 45, just after Daphne!
BELLAGIO SKYRACE 2018 - Official Video from URBANPRODUZIONI on Vimeo.


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Running on the South Downs

One day one photo - 24: More running in the South Downs

I am just over a month out from a running challenge I have signed myself up for, the Beachy Head Marathon.

Earlier this year I as supposed to run the Paris Marathon. I did all the preparation, and then a couple of days before I as due to go things went wrong. My orthotics that I had sent in to be reposted arrived back to me late, and the podiatrist had messed up the settings so that they were unusable. So I as left without any orthotics and couldn't do the race.

It was very frustrating. I had toyed with doing New York, but bottled out of signing up for fear that because the money would be a lot to lose if something went wrong again. So I plumped for doing something in the UK. Initially I thought of doing a mountain marathon, but in the end I plumped for Beachy Head - which, being in Eastbourne is comparatively local for me.

It consists of running a marathon - 26 miles (or 42 km) but with loads of hills of the South Downs thrown in, meaning 1200m of climbing. That is not something I have done before, and would be a real challenge.



But thankfully, using the fitness from my Paris Marathon training I have been building on that, but just adding loads of hills. Near to me is of course Crystal Palace, but I have also been running around the North Downs. The real hills are done in the South Downs though.

So that's where I went today. Normally I cycle around these chalky hills, but running them really gives a different perspective, and also the time to notice things that you don't necessarily see when you are focused on bike handling and not falling down!

When running along the trails there's a monument near Ditchling Beacon. It's known as the Chattri Memorial, to commemorate Indians who died during the first World War. Many of them were treated in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which served as a hospital, and the site of the Chattri Memorial is where the dead soldiers were cremated. The memorial now has Grade II listed status. It looks great in the middle of Downs, though I have to say it does look a bit random.

Today's run went nearer to Trudleigh Hill and Edburton Hill and Devil's Dyke. That was a pretty long run, and by the time I got back to my car at Portslade and Southwick 15 miles later, my legs were like jelly! I like to think it's all miles in the bank, and hopefully it will make me stronger.


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