London to Brighton 2011

This years 47 mile trek from The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton to Brighton was quite possibly the hardest London to Brighton we’ve participated in to date. A combination of rain, sun, wind and cold, made the conditions incredibly difficult for a mixed bag of cyclists.

The day started off on a high with the sun shining and everybody ready to get on their way. The weather soon took a turn for the worse though with the rain setting in and putting a damper on the whole event. Rain turned to cold and cold turned to wind. However with spirits high everybody plugged away and eventually we made it to our first stop of Fanny’s Farm, where we filled up on energy bars and drinks. More rain and wind later it was nearly time for lunch, which was off set by the fact that Mark got a puncture (fortunately the only one of the day). Eventually our usual lunch spot was on the horizon, with us all ready to get inside and warm up. Sadly however the place was full, so on we all trudged to the next location.

A fantastic meal later, spirits were once again high, and we only had about 15 miles left to ride before arriving in Brighton. Soon enough we were at Ditchling Beacon, where a few of us took on the beast of a hill, and a few of us walked. All of us made it up to the peak though, knowing that we were nearly there.

On the hill down into Brighton, things took a turn for the worse. Rain had hammered down for most of the day, with the wind intensity slowly increases, which amounted to a time when Lynn Brandon was actually blown off of her bike and fortunately didn’t injure herself. After this scary moment, things were taken a little easier, with a slow roll down to the pier, where we finished the day in style by having a few beers in our old favourite The Brighton Rocks.

Many thanks to all those that attended this years ride and raised a huge amount of money for us!

To view the photos click here