Saying goodbye to Mrs Orange and my Orangettes I made the short journey to the top of Hyde Park near Marble Arch. Hyde Park at night, for me at least, has always been eerie, unearthly and perhaps sinister. I am no believer in ghosts or any such nonsense but it certainly has an atmosphere. Tyburn Tree was only a few yards away from the top of Hyde Park and heaven knows what has gone on under the cover of darkness over the years.
I recall as a student using it as a shortcut on my way home when in the distance I saw a chap dressed as Jack the Ripper - top hat, tails, doctors bag...large knife! When he started running towards me, I took flight. I have to say that I did show myself up ever so slightly for two reasons. First, the chap dressed as Jack the Ripper was part of a Japanese television documentary on London being filmed. Running at full speed in a pair of country brogues and shouting out, 'bloody hell!' was not my finest hour. Second, I unashamedly let out a banshee-like wail a 12 year old girl would have been proud of. It was therefore with some urgency that I peddled towards Hyde Park Corner as the memory was still very much with me!
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| Yes, quite an atmosphere at night! |
I had Hyde Park Corner to myself when I arrived so decided to take a few photos while I waited for others to arrive.
Our ride leader and organiser was Olaf. He is a serious cyclist, all round good egg and has been on some stunning rides in Europe. We were in safe hands. After the customary and interactive safely talk we headed off for Brighton on the stoke of midnight.
I was very pleased to be joined on this ride by Geoff, David and Anne and as always they provided excellent company. It was also great to see Mark (King of the Hill) but only briefly. He was on his way home from work and came to say hello but sadly could not join us on the ride.
The route was very similar to those we had done before and I actually remembered some of the route. The weather was great too. There was no mention of rain in any forecast and the temperature seemed to stay pretty hot for the entire ride. I had intended to wear a new PROVIZ cycling jacket but knew that it would be too hot for it. Another time.
I had opted to take my P Type with me for this ride. I have to say that I am really pleased with it. (I have possibly written this already)! Having the SON dynamo hub and lighting made it the best bike for this type of ride. Again I found the lights to be more than adequate and the bright, whitish light worked well to illuminate the road ahead. I also used my Hope Vision front light but kept it on flash mode for the entire ride. The only time I didn't was on a long and fast downhill where I needed more light out in front to see what was up ahead. Apart from that I was again very pleased with it. The rear dynamo light I also find very good but always back it up with a flashing rear light attached higher up on my saddle bag.
The stop point was Gatwick Airport at about 30 miles in. To my amazement everything was open and it was quite busy. I bought some sandwiches and a bar of chocolate and happily eat it. Anne having returned from the toilets remarked that they were excellent and that we really should see them. I wondered how good a public toilet could be and was instantly curious.
When the time came I strolled to the toilets expecting to be sorely disappointed. I was not! Sliding frosted glass doors allowed you to enter your own personal ablutions area. Toilet one end, sink and personal Dyson-type hand dryer at the other.
As public toilets go, they were magnificent. Pipped music that was jazzy and possibly Jamie Cullum only enhanced the experience. There are toilets and Gatwick Airport toilets! The only letdown was that there wasn't an attendant of some sort offering a welcome and goodbye. I suppose it was 03:30 in the a.m. and you can't have everything.
I did want to take a picture of the frosted glass sliding doors but not wanting to be arrested and be the cause of a scene, I thought better of it!
Setting off from Gatwick I didn't suffer my usual feelings of cold and if anything I could have worn just a cycling jersey for this ride.
One of the great things about these rides is meeting and having a chat with lots of different people. It is great to find out why they like cycling, what sort of rides they go on and often their reaction at seeing a Brompton on a ride like this. Mr Mac a fine gentleman who lives in Northampton, initially took the wrong train but made it in time for this ride.
With dawn approaching, birds started to sing and other forms of wildlife - mice, voles, frogs - ventured out of the darkness.
Just before the dreaded Ditchling Beacon one of the participants wives was waiting in a car park handing out cups of coffee. This was quite lovely of her and I cannot tell you how good it tasted!!
Seeing that David and Anne were heading on to the road leading to the Beacon, I decided to head for it too. I wondered how my P Type would fare - with me on it of course? I have attempted the Beacon twice before. The first time saw me having to stop and then continue - fail. The second I managed to do - just about. Would I be able to do it this time? After last weeks very flat as a pancake ride at the Bikeathon which was as demanding as unfolding my Brompton, I was looking forward to some proper hills and something with a little more bite.
David was off into the distance and I knew that he would easily do it. He is a quite amazing cyclist. I saw Anne motoring away confidently. I soon ran out of gears and actually found the granny 44T chainring a hinderance as I was spinning too much and not covering enough distance for my liking. (50T is going on at some point methinks).
I used the lower riding position for some of the ride and found this to be very good at shifting weight forward. It is much lower than even my S Type and I wouldn't fancy using it all the time. For this purpose it worked well. The Beacon is quite a formidable climb for a Brompton and just like last time I thought I had done it and finished but it was in fact a false summit!
Cycling on the Beacon just went up and up but I was pretty confident that I would make it. It felt easier this time round - but only as it wasn't raining. Last time it did nothing but. I had done it. Ditchling Beacon conquered. Some of the fellow riders on road bikes were mightily impressive and took the Beacon in their strides.
I celebrated my conquest of the Beacon by taking a few photos of the views and my P Type at the top. It then dawned on me that my pre-booked train ticket back to London was 08:19 and it was 07:15. Saying goodbye to David I made a hasty exit and headed off for Brighton station.
Using my trusty Nexus 5 with Google Maps to navigate me, it stated that it would take 35 minutes. I would just about do it and have time to get my prepaid ticket from the machine - assuming I didn't get lost!
Thankfully, I made it there without too many wrong turns. My train was on time and shortly after 09:00 I arrived at Victoria.
This was a good ride and I enjoyed it greatly. Many thanks to Olaf for taking the lead on this. As I type this I feel pretty good. The legs and the rest of me for that matter feel fine. Roll on next week when I will return to Brighton for a very different ride. This could very well be the last overnight ride to Brighton this year but you never know a few brave and intrepid types might just fancy giving it a go?!
Yet again a Brompton proves itself to be a highly versatile bicycle. It is as happy doing longer distance adventures as it is on an urban commute!
Map and ride data
Map and ride data
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