 After a very busy advice surgery at the town hall on Saturday
morning, I cycled up to Clapham to buy a new helmet ready for the
London to Brighton bike ride on Sunday. The bike ride is an
annual event that raises money for the British Heart
Foundation. I joined fellow Labour councillors Lib Peck, Mark
Bennett, Nigel Haselden and Lambeth Mayor Christopher Wellbelove at
the starting blocks on Clapham Common at 7am. Nearly 30,000
cyclists took part during the day, and the BHF hope to beat last
year’s fundraising total of £4m.
We were lucky with the weather. It was warm and dry but
not too hot – just right for a 56-mile cycle ride. The route
wove through South London before reaching Surrey, where we passed
through any number of attractive little villages. There were
plenty of stops along the way with free water available. With
so many people some of the smaller lanes got very congested, but
people were in good humour and waited patiently until we could get
cycling again.
At around 9 o’clock, after a couple of hours on the road, we
stopped at one of the designated areas for breakfast rolls and hot
coffee, all of us feeling the ride was going very well. It
felt we’d been cycling for a long time, but we’d still only covered
the first ten miles.
The route’s mostly flat but with a few serious hills along the
way. We struggled up some of them, but it was exhilarating to
free-wheel down the other side, the cool breeze feeling very
refreshing after the hard struggle uphill.
We all stopped for water and a slice of fruit cake at the bottom
of the ride’s biggest hill – Ditchling Beacon, right at the end 6
miles outside Brighton. With a second wind keeping us
going and the end in sight, we made slow progress up the
beacon. The view from the top was worth the effort, it was
simply amazing to look across the South Downs towards Brighton and
the sea. From there it was an easy, long downhill ride into
town and the finishing line. We felt great as we were
applauded along the final stretch to receive our medals for
completing the ride.
After a perfect day’s cycling, we celebrated with fish and chips
on the sea front. Then it was back home to Lambeth. I
raised over £500 for the British Heart Foundation and I’m grateful
to everyone who sponsored me. As a group of councillors we
raised nearly £2000, so it wasn’t just a great day out keeping fit,
we all felt very proud we’d done something to help such a
worthwhile charity in their life-saving work.
Steve on the beach in Brighton after finishing the London to
Brighton charity bike ride
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