The South Downs Way in a day

On Saturday I set out to complete a cycling ambition. To ride the South Downs Way. As a teenager living in Midhurst I spent my formative cycling years on expeditions heading out east and west along the national trail. At some time or another I'd ridden everything east of QE Park. This however was my first attempt to complete the whole nine yards. Well 100 miles to be precise. 

Three of us caught the first train to Winchester,  which after the usual public transport delays got us in at around 9 o'clock. After a brief tour of town we found the King Alfred statue and then the trail head itself. 

The first 25 miles to QE park were new ground, and not as boring or as flat as I had been led to believe. We rode these first few hours at an easy steady pace, a strategy which paid dividends later. The first proper tests of Winchester and Butser Hill came just before we rolled into QE Park and headed to the Café for elevenses. 

After the break we were into familiar territory. Hills I have ridden for over 20 years. Dave unfortunately had to leave us at Bignor where we stopped for a brief packed lunch.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Clear blue skies,  stunning views of the coast to the south and visibility all the way to the North Downs on our left. A slight but appreciated westerly wind supplying a subtle helping hand. 

After Bignor Ian and I rode on together, taking it in turns to open the increasing number of gates. In fact if I had to summarise my overriding memories of the second half of ride it would be "Gates and cow pats"

The miles seem to drag by now,  but at least we were counting down. I kept glancing at the Garmin, it seemed to take an age to get from 60 to 70 miles but we finally crawled up to the pub at Devils Dyke. 3 hours of riding still lay ahead so we decided to stop for an early dinner before the final push.

The burger and chips was quickly demolished, but wreaked havoc upon my body. Back on the bike instead of re-energised my heart was racing and I really struggled. In hindsight the hearty food was a bad idea as my stomach churned uncomfortably. The next 2 hours were a real struggle.  I did what I could to maintain pace with Ian and just keep rolling forward.  Our average speed slowly dropping  below 11mph.

In the heat I'd been keeping well hydrated and fed earlier in the day, but anything destined for my stomach now caused cramps. So two sips of water was all I had the rest of the way to Eastbourne.

An uncomfortable comfort break at a YHA hostel solved some of my issues and with what little strength was left in my legs renewed we reached Alfriston. I must have ridden it before and erased the hill from my memory banks because the climb out of the village was like Chinese water torture. It was as if it would never end  and with 90 miles in the legs it was nothing short of serious challenge. So close to the end there didn't seem enough miles remaining for another climb but following the drop down to Jevington  that is exactly what faced us. This close to home I risked a gel and burnt what feeble bridges remained. 

The view over Eastbourne has never been so appreciated. The lights were just coming on,  shining in the dusk as the glowing red sun set behind us.

100 miles,  3500 metres vertical ascent and 9 hours 45 minutes in the saddle. An awesome days riding,  a tick on the bucket list and the relief of knowing I don't have to do it again!

Ian and myself having lunch at Bignor