After an excited send off at Brighton Pier, to the sound of our very own tartan-clad bagpiper, the group set off as one into the sun. Progress was steady for the first half of the day as the team began to work out a good pace, and all the cyclists met for lunch on Sussex’s windiest beach, Littlehampton. I tell you, today it was all about the wind.
The shore wind forced a few Pushers inland, and subsequently off the planned route, so we had a little more time than expected to set up a warm welcome at Old School House in Itchenor for the first night before everyone arrived. Cyclists started trickling in at about 6, to a full on feast put on by the fabulous Mrs. Fawcett, hot showers and even a warm bed space for everyone. Somewhere in Birdham (only 2 miles from home) Sam, Roti and Chris, with the best of intentions, fell for the old “ask a local for directions” trick, but they made it home eventually!
Oscar’s hand-cycle (which I’m calling ‘the Steed’) gets up to about five or six miles an hour on average. We’ve come to realise that this may mean that he can’t complete every day of the ride, especially when time constraints or conditions are against us. After a three or four mile accidental detour at around five in the afternoon, Oscar and the Steed decided to call it a day and were picked up about six miles from home late afternoon.
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