London to Brighton: my longest bike ride yet

A couple of weeks before taking on my first IRONMAN 70.3, I found myself on Clapham Common preparing for the London to Brighton Bike Ride.

My preparation probably wasn't perfect. In fact, this was going to be the longest bike ride I'd ever completed. The route was around 87km, my bike hadn't had as much use as it should have, and I'd removed my clip-on aero bars because they weren't permitted for the event.

The goal was simple: finish, enjoy it, and use the day as one final confidence boost before Luxembourg.

The ride ended up going far better than I expected.

Ditchling Beacon didn't beat me

I completed the route in 3 hours and 42 minutes. Despite the warm weather, with temperatures reaching around 26°C, my legs felt strong throughout. Even the infamous Ditchling Beacon didn't force me off the bike. I managed to ride the whole climb without walking, which was a small victory I was particularly happy with.

Nutrition: the obsessive planning paid off

Nutrition was also a big experiment for me. I started the morning with porridge, a banana and a croissant before using a mixture of SiS energy gels, Trek bars, another banana and Lucozade Sport throughout the ride.

For once, my slightly obsessive planning paid off. My energy levels stayed consistent and I never felt like I completely ran out of fuel.

The bottle situation

My hydration setup, however, was less successful. Over the course of the ride, I somehow managed to lose four bottles from my bike. Two bottles of Lucozade Sport and two bottles of water launched themselves from my oversized bottle cages. I even turned around to retrieve one before eventually accepting that my bike and supermarket drinks bottles were simply not compatible.

Combined with a heavy backpack containing around 10–15kg of kit and several stops for traffic, the finishing time gave me a huge amount of confidence.

Turns out I can descend

I also discovered that descending is apparently one of my stronger cycling skills. On some of the downhill sections I found myself overtaking rider after rider, eventually reaching around 45mph. At that speed, I'd completely run out of useful gears and could do little more than hold on and enjoy the descent.

Crossing the finish line in Brighton, I still felt surprisingly good. My legs weren't destroyed and I even managed to sprint towards the finish. More importantly, I'd just completed my longest ever bike ride.

With my first IRONMAN 70.3 only a couple of weeks away, London to Brighton gave me something I desperately needed: confidence. I still had serious concerns about the swim and the half marathon waiting for me in Luxembourg, but at least I finally knew one thing. I could handle the bike.