Category Archives: 2007

153. The green monster – Ditchling Beacon and the London to Brighton bike ride

Posted on 28 June, 2007 by | 24 comments

UPDATE February 2012
— For a Ditchling Beacon map and gradient information, please see here:
223. Cycling on Surrey and Sussex hills – from White Down to Ditchling Beacon;

— And for return routes back to Guildford, see here:
245. London to Brighton, and back;

* * * * *

ditchling-beacon-the-green-monster-2007.jpgSummer. Early afternoon. A soft and unassuming heat haze rising from the lush green meadows of Sussex.

And rising too, slowly but relentlessly behind this pretty village, lies the reason that we’re here.

The most famous climb in all of southern England.

The mean city streets of London seem such a long time ago. The start in Clapham lies almost fifty miles behind us, and barely a handful more remain ahead. The countryside is peaceful. Very peaceful.

The chatter and banter of those early miles has faded now. With a myriad and more of cyclists on the road, along the classic route to Brighton – you can hear them, all the way.

london-to-brighton-bike-2007-spirit-of-the-peloton.jpgNot just the whirr of spokes, the squeal of frantic brakes, or the grinding, mashing sound of crunching gears. There’s a richer, more lyrical sound to listen to, louder and more urgent still than the rhythm of the riders’ breathing.

Much more than that. Because I’ll swear that on these Sussex roads you can hear the spirit of the peloton. Continue reading →

24 Comments

Posted in 2007, A1 - the best of roads of stone, cycling, France, heroes, Spain, summer, Surrey and Sussex

152. Running on Roman Road 1 – The Devil’s Highway, Bracknell Forest Five

Posted on 20 June, 2007 by | 7 comments

the-devils-highway-copyright-microsoft-live-earth-2007.jpg

(updated and completed 26.06.2007 …
… banner image © Microsoft Virtual Earth)

bracknell-forest-five-rhododendrons.jpgThe straightest line on any map.

In southern England, as in much of Europe, straight lines most often record the course of a Roman road.

2,000 years later, Roman roads form an important part of our transport network, even today. Their arrow-straight trajectories define the traces of many of the modern roads which radiate out of London.

Even in this wildest and most remote colony of the Roman world (and perhaps especially here), the Roman legions had to travel. Trade needed to flow. The effective linking of the farthest outposts of Empire was necessary not just for military protection, but also fundamental to the process of Romanisation.

bracknell-forest-five-runners-on-the-heath.jpgThe traveller passing from Dover to London along the A2 and continuing northwestwards on the A5 from Marble Arch to St Alban’s is following Watling Street, all the way.
Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in 2007, history, London, racing, summer

151. Our secret space – Epsom and Ashtead Common

Posted on 10 June, 2007 by | 9 comments

When the worrying starts to hurt
And the world feels like graves of dirt
Just close your eyes until
You can imagine this place – yeah
Our secret space, at will
Snow Patrol – May 2006

New job. New town. New colleagues. New commute.

Less time to write. More time to worry.

It’s a sunny week in early June, when Epsom hosts the Derby. The biggest event in the flat-racing calendar. The original article, the horse race founded by Lord Derby, after which so many imitations are named, all around the globe.

A few weeks have passed, and it may be summer at last, but here in Epsom a new and unfamiliar mould is pressing all around me. The sun is high outside, and today I need to escape the stuffy office, the grim shopping mall and the choking traffic, and to remind myself of who I am. Just for an hour, I need to run.

On this day, of all days, I turn my back on the ladies in posh hats and the dusty punters with their champagne-soaked shoes and shredded betting tickets. I head out of Epsom the other way.

Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in 2007, life and times, music, summer, Surrey and Sussex, training

150. Chapel of Garioch, Inverurie – another Aberdeenshire morning

Posted on 23 May, 2007 by | 6 comments

aberdeen-harbour-at-night-pamelaadam-flickrcomThere was still a faint glow of dark blue on the horizon above the hills, but the taxi clock was fast closing on midnight, and the numbers on the meter were clicking even faster.

The driver wasn’t sure of his bearings, and neither was I. All I knew was that the town hotels were full, and my old favourite The Udny Arms in Newburgh was booked out, too. I’d been consigned to a far corner of Aberdeenshire to stay the night.

We pulled up onto the gravel drive, and I fell out of the taxi, suddenly rueing that last farewell port consumed in sumptuous Hazlehead, half an hour ago. I shook my head through the still night air, unpeeled an alarmingly thick roll of Scottish twenties, and headed inside.

The massive gothic oak door creaked open into an ancient hallway, long and chill. High vaulted ceiling, grandfather clock, ceremonial swords fixed to the walls. Somewhere nearby would surely hide a hunting rifle and the head of some unfortunate stag, I thought, as those famous words from Simon Callow sounded to me from somewhere long ago and far away: “It’s bloody Brigadoon !”
Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in 2007, Scotland, summer, training

149. In at the deep end – Stratford 220 Sprint Triathlon

Posted on 16 May, 2007 by | 11 comments

It’s not even 9 on Sunday morning, and already I’m out of my depth.

Looking out of my new goggles and through a bubble-strewn maelstrom of churning waters, I can see the floor of the pool falling away far beneath me, and just for a moment, I consider drowning.

The truth is, I’m into new territory here. Way out of my comfort zone.

stratford-220-sprint-tri-swimI’d thought it only in concentration camps that arrivals were routinely branded, until the ruthlessly efficient blonde by the desk had smilingly scrawled numbers onto my flesh.

And a few minutes later, fearfully lined up in numerical order beside the pool, we’d all edged nervously forwards towards our fate. This was something different. We weren’t just starting a race – we were being processed.
Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in 2007, racing, Shakespeare Country, summer, triathlon

148. Farewell to Tony Blair

Posted on 11 May, 2007 by | 2 comments

tony-tony-tony-by-sifter-flickrcom

The manner and style of yesterday’s resignation speech showed just how much of a presidential style of politics Tony Blair has brought us. We elected a Prime Minister, and created a President, and I’m sure that was never quite our intention, even if it was maybe his.

blair-bush-baby-by-suzannelong-flickrcomLooking back now, over these past ten years, and the reality which finally emerged from the long-held dream of a Labour government, what should we decide to make of Tony Blair ?

The press reviews are rightly mixed this week, as we witness both British and US soldiers perishing, for the most part pointlessly, each and every day.

And beyond Baghdad and back at home, it’s clear to anyone that this government is tired, and has been lame for far too long as it awaits the departure of the king.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in 2007, Iraq, politics