T
Tim Hall
Guest
Keen students of this group might remember a week or two back I posted
asking for advice regarding how far Young People could be expected to
ride, as I was organising a weekend along the South Downs Way for my
Scouts. Much useful info was gathered (and acted on) and this weekend
saw the trip itslef take place.
We had to abandon the idea of Youth Hostelling as the ones we had
lined up were fully booked so I looked at various Scout campsites.
Unfortunately these were full too, but one of the scout troops
involved let us camp in the grounds of their hut (hats off to 3rd/5th
Lancing). We opted for a support car, as he was required to carry the
tents - it just wasn't practical on this first outing to have the
Scouts carry their own kit.
Usual faffing around led to a delated start, so finally at 11:10 on
Saturday a group of 6 Scouts (10-13) and 3 adults set off from outside
Lewes prison (trivia fans: my great grandfather was Governor there) up
the bridleway to Blackcap. When I rode the route myself, I covered
Lewes to Shoreham in 2h 15min. It took us 1 hour to get up Blackcap, a
whole 4km from the start. I began to wonder if I'd over estimated
their abilities. The next leg was quicker, as we were going along
rather than up andwe were soon at Ditchling Beacon, for a water refill
stop and ice cream.
Onward and a bit of upward, the next objective being Jack and Jill
windmills. Although we were riding right on the edge of the Downs, the
weather meant the view wasn't that great, which was a shame. We were
soon descending alongside the golf course to Pyecombe, when one of the
lads had a puncture. We did a bit of group teaching, including Helen
Vecht's advice to "eat something before you start to fix it". Underway
again and we were climbing the hill up from Pyecombe, seeing a pair of
buzzards and a kestrel. Most of the party walked up most of the hills
except yours truly, one of the other adults and an indestructible lad
of 12 on an Apollo double bounce machine made of Depleted Uranium.
It's not about the bike.
The lad who punctured had clouted his knee at the same time and was in
a bit of difficulty, so we strapped it up and phoned the support car,
who met us at Saddlescombe. As it was about two o'clock we took a
lunch stop then completed the climb upto Devil's Dyke for a loo stop.
The next section went nice and quickly and we were soon down by the
River Adur. Whizz down the coast link and over the old toll bridge to
the edge of the "oldest airport in the country" and wiggle alongside
Lancing College to the scout hut. Tents were soon (FSVO soon) up and
dinner on. Wine for grown ups eased the muscles, a game of football
for the YP did the same for them. We had a route planning session for
te next day, with two options under consideration, long and short.
Then bed. And sleep.
Up early the next day, bacon sandwiches, bread and jam, cornflakes for
brekko and we were on our way. Unfortunately the injured lad hadn't
recovered overnight, so carried on as navigator for the support car.
We made very good time heading north up the Downs Link and were at
Copsale, our lunch stop and route descision point by 12:30. Everyone
agreed to go for the long option and cycle back to Crawley rather than
finish at Christs Hospital. Some well behaved riding on quiet lanes,
then up through St Leonards Forest, more lanes then heading towards
Tilgate Forest, when "ting" I ran over a bit of debris as I coasted
down hill. Or did I? Trying to pedal going up a slight rise and All
Was Not Well. A look at the rear mech revealed a 50% deficiency in the
jockey wheelcomplement, as the bolt had come loose and thewheel falen
out. Bizarre. And only 10 minutes from home. I considered shortening
the chain, but decided to coast/walk/try to pedal home instead. We
arrived back at 15:30, some more tired than others, all pleased with
the achievement, all had a great time.
TSIF:
Saturday distance 38km
Sunday distance 48km
Riding time Saturday, inc stops: 6:20
Riding time Sunday, inc stops: 5:00
Tim
asking for advice regarding how far Young People could be expected to
ride, as I was organising a weekend along the South Downs Way for my
Scouts. Much useful info was gathered (and acted on) and this weekend
saw the trip itslef take place.
We had to abandon the idea of Youth Hostelling as the ones we had
lined up were fully booked so I looked at various Scout campsites.
Unfortunately these were full too, but one of the scout troops
involved let us camp in the grounds of their hut (hats off to 3rd/5th
Lancing). We opted for a support car, as he was required to carry the
tents - it just wasn't practical on this first outing to have the
Scouts carry their own kit.
Usual faffing around led to a delated start, so finally at 11:10 on
Saturday a group of 6 Scouts (10-13) and 3 adults set off from outside
Lewes prison (trivia fans: my great grandfather was Governor there) up
the bridleway to Blackcap. When I rode the route myself, I covered
Lewes to Shoreham in 2h 15min. It took us 1 hour to get up Blackcap, a
whole 4km from the start. I began to wonder if I'd over estimated
their abilities. The next leg was quicker, as we were going along
rather than up andwe were soon at Ditchling Beacon, for a water refill
stop and ice cream.
Onward and a bit of upward, the next objective being Jack and Jill
windmills. Although we were riding right on the edge of the Downs, the
weather meant the view wasn't that great, which was a shame. We were
soon descending alongside the golf course to Pyecombe, when one of the
lads had a puncture. We did a bit of group teaching, including Helen
Vecht's advice to "eat something before you start to fix it". Underway
again and we were climbing the hill up from Pyecombe, seeing a pair of
buzzards and a kestrel. Most of the party walked up most of the hills
except yours truly, one of the other adults and an indestructible lad
of 12 on an Apollo double bounce machine made of Depleted Uranium.
It's not about the bike.
The lad who punctured had clouted his knee at the same time and was in
a bit of difficulty, so we strapped it up and phoned the support car,
who met us at Saddlescombe. As it was about two o'clock we took a
lunch stop then completed the climb upto Devil's Dyke for a loo stop.
The next section went nice and quickly and we were soon down by the
River Adur. Whizz down the coast link and over the old toll bridge to
the edge of the "oldest airport in the country" and wiggle alongside
Lancing College to the scout hut. Tents were soon (FSVO soon) up and
dinner on. Wine for grown ups eased the muscles, a game of football
for the YP did the same for them. We had a route planning session for
te next day, with two options under consideration, long and short.
Then bed. And sleep.
Up early the next day, bacon sandwiches, bread and jam, cornflakes for
brekko and we were on our way. Unfortunately the injured lad hadn't
recovered overnight, so carried on as navigator for the support car.
We made very good time heading north up the Downs Link and were at
Copsale, our lunch stop and route descision point by 12:30. Everyone
agreed to go for the long option and cycle back to Crawley rather than
finish at Christs Hospital. Some well behaved riding on quiet lanes,
then up through St Leonards Forest, more lanes then heading towards
Tilgate Forest, when "ting" I ran over a bit of debris as I coasted
down hill. Or did I? Trying to pedal going up a slight rise and All
Was Not Well. A look at the rear mech revealed a 50% deficiency in the
jockey wheelcomplement, as the bolt had come loose and thewheel falen
out. Bizarre. And only 10 minutes from home. I considered shortening
the chain, but decided to coast/walk/try to pedal home instead. We
arrived back at 15:30, some more tired than others, all pleased with
the achievement, all had a great time.
TSIF:
Saturday distance 38km
Sunday distance 48km
Riding time Saturday, inc stops: 6:20
Riding time Sunday, inc stops: 5:00
Tim