Day sixty: the final stretch

Brighton to London

Two days off the bike and I was really looking forward to riding again. After a lovely weekend catching up with most of the family, I packed my panniers for the last time (for now), more than happy to be back in the saddle.

London to Brighton is the classic route of the BHF ride every summer. I’ve never done it before, so was excited to see it myself. Using a great new website I’ve discovered (cycle.travel), my route took me largely on country roads and cycle lanes and through a few quiet villages (though not many as I’d expected – it really isn’t that far and London being so big, it takes up a big chunk of the distance).

Two things stood out – how busy the roads were and the state of them. So many potholes. I had thought southern Italy was bad but at least there you have the weather and spectacular views.

Still, it was a nice ride, starting with the beautiful rolling hills of Sussex (I can’t wait to take my bike there, pannier and rack free), going up to the not so delightful Crawley, through Gatwick (where I had a weird feeling as I cycled right past an old client’s office), through Horley and Redhill and then you’re pretty much into the suburbs of London. It was a functional ride from A to B – not one of the greatest of this trip.

As I’ve had such a wet summer, it only seemed appropriate for it to rain on the last day. And of course it did. The heavens opened and I took shelter at a bus stop in Streatham, before I gave up and just got completely soaked on the final stretch to Hackney.

I’m now feeling restless, excited, anxious. It really is over. Still, the sun is shining and without 100km to ride today, I have lots of energy to use. My main focus will be using it productively – exercise to try and keep my fitness up but also, importantly, finding a new job to start the next chapter in my life.

Two months have been and past – it was an amazing, incredible, the best experience and I don’t want to forget it and just slip back into the old life of before. Joining a cycling club will help feed my new obsession with bikes, and then there’s the next trip to start thinking about… With my bicycle, I feel like I’ve discovered a new world and I can’t wait to explore it more.