Brighton & Back: 7th July 2015

Go, or not to go? That was the question. It meant getting up an hour later and even the Norwegian forecasters predicted heavy rain later in the morning. But it is the traditional Brighton & Back Club Ride and an Imperial Ton so what the —-!

The first spots fell as we ascended Farthing Down. It increased steadily as we progressed through Smallfield. Perhaps the windscreen wipers were insufficient for an errant Copthorne driver to not see our Capt’n and/or thought 6 inches was “plenty of room” when challenged. Oh well by the time we stopped for tea at Tulleys Farm we were extremely damp dripping all over their floor:

It’s the other way, Gina!

The assembled computing power of the club was connected to the Met Office weather radar. Jeremy deduced that we would be through the weather front and in clear air within the hour so any talk of abandonment was futile since we could get no wetter going to Brighton than returning home.

He was wrong of course. Just 15 minutes out on the way to Handcross the rain stopped and we saw none again until just after we got back. Phew!

Thence down to and up and over Devil’s Dyke into sunny Brighton for lunch.

No one opted for the train bail out. It is a long slow grind out of Brighton. It does have the advantage of Ditchling Beacon with one of the finest views of southern England without the short sharp grind of climbing it t’other way:

We lost our rear after Slugwash Lane leading to an extended rest at Lindfield. They mysteriously re-appeared near Sharpthorne. It would have been interesting to find out where they had gone but there was a bit of a mix-up of pubs at Turner’s Hill which left this man almost drinking alone. A pint of Mild no less. A rare sight south of Watford and surprisingly brewed by Harveys. That’s unless they smuggle it down the M1 and rebrand it at night …

Back through Marden Park. Dry and very happy.