My cycling challenge for 2011 includes a few weekend cycling trips with friends and one of these is coming up in early May. That’s only a few weeks away. Gulp! The May cycle ride route is one that I did last year as well and it’s an all-day trip from Merstham in Surrey to Chichester in Sussex. Overall, it’s 100 miles!
The original reason for doing the ride was the achievement of cycling that distance. I don’t know who thought of the idea (but if I find out there will be trouble) but about 6 of us normally do it. We’re not cycling club members but just enthusiastic cyclists who ride the route on mountain bikes or hybrid bikes
With the time counting down quickly to May, over recent weeks I have increased my cycling distances from 11-12 miles on each trip (an hour’s ride) to 20 miles, then 27 miles, and last weekend to 47 miles. Here’s a map of the 47 mile trip:
Route Description
The route was mainly south of Horsham, Sussex, and it was a good mixture of off-road (Downs Link bridleway) and road cycling. Mountain bike needed though because some sections near Henfield were very muddy and, in part, completely impassable. Apart from that, it was a great ride!
On the way back we stopped at the George and Dragon, which is a delightful pub with a large grassy garden. The whole trip took 4.5 hours riding time and about 6 hours in total.
Cycling Challenge Total
With the greater distance of my last three rides, and last weekend in particular, I’m now up to 207 miles for the year. That’s less than 1000 miles to ride for the rest of the year. Woo hoo!
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