Meet: New Cross Gate ticket office at 7:45 map – we’ll take the 8:10 train, changing at East Croydon. If you want to come straight to East Croydon, get the 8:40 to East Grinstead arriving 9:17.

Arrive early at New Cross Gate to maximize your chance of 4-for-2 Groupsaver discounts.

Distance: 65 mile

Phone: Paul - 07957 209 322

A ride around Sussex lanes and byways, taking in Lewes and including a possible sighting of a camel. The ride begins with a longish jaunt down the Forest Way traffic-free path.

With the days closing in the pace will be relatively high (but by no means killing) in order to ensure that we return to East Grinstead in daylight but bring lights of course.

Suitable for any bike except racers.

Pub lunch but as there is a possibility that this may be a bit after the half-way point bring snacks to keep you going.

Early start to squeeze the last of the summer daylight out but it’s a good ride – you can sleep during the winter.

Report

A pretty early start (7:45 at New Cross Gate station) probably kept the numbers down for the ride - just six of us - Paul, Jane, Hermann, Tim, Rob and Anil.

But no apologies - not ready to give into autumn's shorter days just yet and I wanted enough time for the ride so that we didn't have to pedal flat out.
Also, I'd no wish to be out after dark on some of those covered Sussex lanes.

Four of us went to East Grinstead and back on a Groupsave for just £3.85 each, others used a Network Card.

Off from East Grinstead, down the Forest Way path almost as far as Eridge.
Pretty much 10 miles I think on a traffic-free gradual downhill slope.
Bliss.

Off the Forest Way near Eridge, on to Route 21, the main cycle route to Hastings. Great ride to Hastings by the way, did it last year, must do it next. Heavy sound of a horn from a guy on the main road telling us to get out of his way as he sped along. We couldn't help noticing he was hand-holding a mobile. A pretty much unenforced law.

At Rotherfield we hit the preparations for the village carnival - some of us were mugged by a jester for a programme. Off into a seemingly endless network of Sussex lanes - beautiful.

A couple of technical stops - one to pump up some soft energy-sapping tyres - a suggested tyre pressure of anything between 35 and 100PSI according to the info on the sidewall - I'm no bike-techie but seemed bizarre to me - anything between a soft pillow and a hard racing surface - take your pick.

Later a chain broke on Herman's bike and Tim like a hero managed to fix it.
Some of us offered gloriously unhelpful advice after the event along the lines of "you shouldn't have pushed the pin all the way through" and: "you should have used these surgical gloves I'd forgotten I had with me".

On to a bit of main road, then we looped off past a llama farm and - never say a Lewisham ride doesn't deliver - a bona-fide camel. Not a pantomime-horse-camel, a real live camel in the Sussex countryside. None of your lesser spotted warblers (note the slight differentiation in tail feather plumage only visible in spring to those with a telescope) for us. :)

Past Glyndebourne opera house, another climb, then into Lewes and the Snowdrop Inn. After the ride up the Lee Valley when we'd had issues with somewhat restricted vegetarian choices I'd managed to find a pub with not just vegetarian but vegan offerings.

We didn't have time to actually look around Lewes - pity, nice place. We'll probably do the ride again next year when with a bit more light we can check out the castle on the hill, the High Street, the river and the Harveys brewery shop.

Herman decided to drop out at this point and head for the station and we had advertised the ride with a 40 mile drop-out at Lewes. A wise choice as time was starting to press on and there was probably more climbing in the last 25 miles than the first 40. Herman promised to come again. Hope he does, after the bike's been seen to.

A bit of main road after Lewes, then back into the lanes once again. Outside a pub we passed a memorial to Polish RAF air crews who had been stationed at a nearby WWII air base. I didn't realise until I went to Poland at the fag end of Communism and met a student keen on planes that many Poles fought in the RAF and the Battle of Britain. In fact they were the largest single foreign contingent.

On we went through more quiet lanes and some steady climbs, cycling past a good selection of nice pubs and leaving some hidden in the back lanes.
Really tempting to return in summer for a mini pub crawl.

We got back to East Grinstead with about an hour to spare before darkness fell but we had peddled pretty much non-stop. Just as well we set off early.
Watch out - may well be tempted to give winter the finger by starting out even earlier on a future ride. 7am Cutty Sark Gardens anyone?

About 65 miles in all, though I can't be sure as my speedo went wonky - managing to register a top speed for the ride of 473 miles an hour. No wonder that chain packed in.

Thanks to everyone for coming - emailed comments afterwards included: "The scenery was stunning", "thoroughly enjoyed it", "lovely ride.

Paul