I am in Royal Tunbridge Wells (RTW) in the county of Kent. My hosts are, an old mate from my 1977 to 79 time in London, and his wife. I was a guest at their wedding in 1983.
My visit coincides with the London to Brighton (L2B) Charity bike ride. The ride is primarily for the Heart Foundation. Other charities that benefit include the Myeloma foundation which supports research into that particular form of cancer. My host suffers from Myeloma. I rode the ride as part of a team organised by my host.
Ride from London
I rode from London to RTW last Thursday. As usual, I let the Garmin plot the route. This time it didn’t do a bad job. It took me through SW London into Surrey, then into Kent. Once in Kent, it took me along country lanes. I did, however, get lost in the final stages of the journey and had to be ‘talked into land’ by my host.
Meal in the Pantiles
RTW is a classic ‘middle England’ town. It is very prosperous. It owes its existence to the discovery of spring water in 1606 by a bloke who felt rejuvenated by drinking the stuff. The ‘Royal’ bit of its name comes from grant of the use of the prefix by King Edward the V11. I must check out how many other towns have a ‘Royal’ prefix. If an Australian town were to be conferred such an honour, I think it should be Dunedoo. ‘ Royal Dunedoo’ has a certain ring to it.
A feature of the town is the Pantiles. This was the centre of the town in the past. It is now are very trendy little area with boutique shops, restaurants and pubs.
My host and I had a great meal in the Pantiles listening to live jazz music.
Remembering 30 years Ago
On Friday, another of my host’s mates and his wife arrived from Belgium for the L2B Ride. We had a great meal cooked my host’s wife and daughter. It was a great night, which included looking at our hosts’ wedding photographs from 30 years ago – documentary proof that we were all once young.
Seeing more of Kent than Planned
On Saturday my host’s Belgium mate and I decided to go on a training ride in preparation for the L2B. My hosts suggested a route which we plotted using Google Maps. Experience has shown that the Garmin cannot be trusted to plot a cycle route beyond relatively short distances (say 15 to 20 klms). We headed off at around 11 o’clock, expecting to ride for 4 to 5 hours.
The first part of the ride went extremely well, taking us along quiet lanes and classic ‘Garden of England’ scenery. We had an excellent pint of bitter ale at pub called the ‘Bricklayers Arms’. There are a lot of pubs with this name. I continue to be amused by a certain lack of imagination in the naming of English Pubs. Someday I will research number of ‘Royal Oak’,’ White Hart’, Prince of Wales’, ‘Barge Inn’, etc. pubs there are in England.
The last part of the ride did not go well. The plan was to bypass Sevenoaks, which is reasonably large town. We asked the Garmin to take us to Plaxtol. This seemed to work, however having passed through Plaxtol, and wishing to continue on to RTW, the Garmin seemed intent to take us back to Plaxtol. For over an hour we passed sign posts that indicated that we were between 1 to 3 miles from Plaxtol. We simply could not seem to get away from the place.
We finally gave up on the Garmin and telephoned home base to be ‘called in’ by our host. After nearly 9 hours we finally finished the ride.
Another of my host’s mates had arrived from Cambridge to provide moral support to the team on the ride. I had met this bloke in 1978 in the St James pub in London. At some stage I will write a post devoted to some memories of that place.
We had another great meal, and then early to bed in readiness for a 4 a.m. start for the drive to London for the L2B Ride. My host’s wife drove to London in very quick time – one seriously good driver.
The London to Brighton Ride
The L2B Charity Ride is a huge event. It is similar to the Sydney to Wollongong ride, only on a larger scale. The ride starts in Clapham Common, one of the many green spaces which contribute to making London such a great city. Thousands of cyclists descend on the Common for the 60 mile ride south.
The route takes you through South London. It is a relatively short distance (about 20 klms) before you are in the countryside, highlighting how densely populated Greater London is. Once in the countryside the route mainly takes country lanes through a series of villages. Some are really picturesque. There are numerous ‘ pit stops’ along the route manned by volunteers selling all manner of food and drinks.
The team I was riding for was decked out in vivid orange T shirts. This made identification of other members of the team a simple task. We also had our names emblazoned on the shirts. In one village, Skinner’s Hill, there was a commentator positioned in the town square making comments on the passing rides. I suspect, as result of my T shirt I was identified as “Bill on a black bike riding for Team Myeloma”. Is that an Andy Warhol moment?
A highlight of the ride, in more ways than one, is Ditchling Beacon. This is a hill which rises sharply from the village of Ditchling. The climb up the hill is quite steep, requiring the lowest gear on my new Rohloff internal gears. I struggled to go faster than cyclists who had decided to walk up the hill.
My host, the Chairman of the team, had issued instructions that the team was to be photographed: “ at the start of the ride, the end of the ride, and most importantly, at the top of the Beacon”. Last year, I missed the all-important Beacon shot. We engaged the services of a fellow cyclist, resplendent in ‘dinner suit’ styled cycling gear, to take the required photo. After being photographed we headed down the hill into Brighton. Just metres before the finish, the team resembled to form a peloton so we could be photographed by my host.
A tradition followed by my host’s L2B Team is to have fish and chips on the Brighton beach. After some discussion as how this would be financed and delivered, we were all fed. We also had our final photograph taken with the famous Brighton Pier in the background.
This was a fitting end to a great ride.
At least one Extra Rider Next Year
As I write this post, my host is preparing to go up to London for more tests. We can only hope that the result will be a solution to his health problems and a speedy recovery.
Everyone is hoping that as the leader of the team, he will be riding next year.
Link to Training Ride around Kent
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328735319
Link to L2B Ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/328735220
Links to Flickr
L2B Ride
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjG7jsE2
Training Ride
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGa3tSX
Royal Tunbridge Wells
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjGatgYu
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