Well I made it!
First of all a big "Thank You!" to everyone that sponsored me so generously.
Signed on at 7am and made my way to the start to find that we couldn't leave until 7:30. Still at least that meant that I was in the front row of the grid :). Eventually we were allowed to go and for a moment I was first, even though it's not a race!
We started by going through Richmond Park with deer looming eerily out of the mist and their weird barks booming around us. I set a steady pace on my singlespeed and was soon left behind by the group I started with on geared bikes. A few minutes later I was left behind by the second group, never mind I was happy with the pace I was making.
The route continued along the towpath by the river. After an hour I was warm enough to stop and take my jacket off when disaster struck! I pulled out my iPod only to find it was flat so I wasnt going to have any music to motivate me.
As soon as we crossed the M25 the route cut into the woods and became more interesting with sections of single track and muddy paths with just enough challenge to keep us on our toes, although I wouldnt have wanted to be one of the later riders (apparently 1000 people had entered) coming through some of the muddy sections. Although looking at the state of my bike this morning I may have done them a favour by bringing most of the mud (and stuff that doesn't smell like mud, but I won't go there) with me. Sections of road linked the off road sections together providing some variation.
By now I was slowly passing those who'd rushed past me at the start and were probably regretting their initial pace and from then I passed more people than passed me, playing cat and mouse with a few riders as we took our break stops at different times. Coming out of Shere disater struck for real, there was a loud bang and my chain had come off! That's not supposed to happen with a singlespeed! Closer investigation revealed that the wheel had slipped out, something that I can only attribute to the superhuman amount of power my legs were pushing out. Either that or sloppy maintenance. Problem was quickly resolved and I was on my way again.
The middle section of the ride followed the Downs Link that connects the North and South Downs Ways. Thirty or so miles of flat straight railway track. At least I could make up some time. This was teh point that I regretted not putting a faster gear on teh bike as my top speed on the flat was limited by how fast I could pedal rather than how hard. Nevertheless I made up some time despite a puncture about half way along.
The flat section ended eventually and we hit the final climb, up onto teh ridge of teh South Downs Way. Apart from a couple of places where I had to stop because the trail was blocked by other riders this was teh only section that I had to walk. Even then I was not much slower than teh one person I saw ride all the way up. And by then he was so exhausted that I passed him on teh flatter section at the top. Next a flinty track before we descended into Shoreham.
The last few miles are best forgotten; it's hard to find anything nice to say about Shoreham Harbour so I'll say nothing at all. This was made up for by the welcome we received as we came into Hove. The finish area was surrounded by people who cheered every rider in (as did most of the marshalls on the route) and, most importantly, a burger van! I was apparently in the top 50 riders in, and the first single speeder (and possibly only as I didn't see any others!).
All in all a great day out, and a great sense of achievement. I'd have liked a more challenging route but that's not really viable given the number of riders and the range of abilities, if I want more challenge I can easily find that for myself. I covered the 75 miles in 7 hours 10 minutes with a moving average of 11.8mph and raised nearly £400 for the British Heart Foundation.
