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Thousands of cyclists arrive at Brighton seafront

10:34am Sunday 21st June 2009


They may have been saddle-sore but most of them still managed a smile after pedalling 54 miles across the county. More than 27,000 cyclists had set off from Clapham Common at 6am today morning for the annual trek to Brighton seafront - taking in the notorious Ditchling Beacon on the way.

The riders were cheered on by thousands of people along the route, with most riders taking between five and six hours to reach the finishing line on Madeira Drive, Brighton.

Click here or on the gallery in related links below to view pictures from the event.

They included Gary Torbuck, 48, from Worthing, his two brothers Dave and Martin and Dave's son Robbie.

Mr Torbuck said: “Martin and I did the ride last year for the first time to support my wife's dad, who has had heart problems and the four of us decided to go for it this year.

“The conditions were pretty good weather-wise but Ditchling Beacon was really tough.”

Sarah Croucher, 30, from Chingford, took just under five hours to finish.

She said: “I am absolutely shattered but it was fantastic.

"I really enjoyed it.

"I'm off home for a good rest now.”

Robin Bartlett, 27, from London, decided to do the race wearing nothing but a giant nappy.

He said: “I said if I was able to raise £300 before I started I would do the ride in a nappy.

"I managed to raise the money and so here I am.

“It wasn't too bad.

I think I've got a bit of nappy rash but at least I was nice and cool.”

The ride, the biggest charity cycling event in Europe, caused severe traffic problems with roads sealed off to let cyclists pass through safely.

Riders also had to arrange transport back home by road because of Southern railway's ban on bikes in Brighton and surrounding stations, which added to the congestion.

The event raised a record £4.2 million last year and has raised more than £46 million since 1980.

Foundation spokeswoman Gemma Cloke said: “It has been a fantastic day and there was a really good turnout.

"The weather has been brilliant and the atmosphere is great.”

A spokeswoman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said that more than 300 riders had been treated for minor cuts and bruises after falls during the ride.


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Your Say YourArgus

Finne, Kemptown says...
10:51am Sun 21 Jun 09

Participants should also be reminded that pavements ar enot for cyclists to ride on unless there is a marked cycle lane!

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bibble, London (but visit Brighton regularly) says...
12:15pm Sun 21 Jun 09

"Participants are reminded that Southern Railway has..." done its best to make life as difficult as possible for them.

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Jim BB, Brighton says...
12:52pm Sun 21 Jun 09

And that Southern didn't think of laying on special carriages for this annual charitable event.

Good luck to everyone taking part!

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freddo, Brighton says...
1:17pm Sun 21 Jun 09

The Argus 'You say' moaners have been waiting months for this event, so they can go out in their smokey 4x4s and complain about being inconvenienced! Why aren't they at home posting rants?

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freddo, Brighton says...
1:21pm Sun 21 Jun 09

Good old Southern have relaxed their restrictions this year
"from 1200, bicycles will be permitted on trains in the following areas of our network:
North of Three Bridges
East of Eastbourne
West of Chichester"
instead of making money taking people back to London from the bike ride they choose to annoy lots of club cyclists who were hoping to get into the country for the day

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Jim BB, Brighton says...
3:30pm Sun 21 Jun 09

freddo wrote:
The Argus 'You say' moaners have been waiting months for this event, so they can go out in their smokey 4x4s and complain about being inconvenienced! Why aren't they at home posting rants?
It's obvious isn't it? They've got on their bikes!

I really admire everyone who takes part, hope everyone gets there and back safely.

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stan bailey, brighton says...
3:32pm Sun 21 Jun 09

Couldn't they go to Southend instead

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freddo, Brighton says...
3:55pm Sun 21 Jun 09

feel sorry for the gridlocked grockles down for a day in the sun who obviously didn't realise it was on - and for people trying to use the buses caught up in the jams - nice empty roads out of town tho ;)

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Gentleman Jim, North Brighton says...
4:26pm Sun 21 Jun 09

It would cause far less problems if it was run in early spring or late autumn, both for those taking part and other road users

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blockhead, brighton says...
4:51pm Sun 21 Jun 09

this is for a good cause and a fair achievement if you're a middle aged, frumpy, divorced mother of 3, who needs to build her self esteem,

but I do not understand why there are a bunch of lycra clad posers with £2k carbon race bikes or full suspension mountain bikes, taking part, there are more challenging events for them, including the off-road version in Sept which is longer and far tougher,

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Voice of the silent Majority, Hove says...
5:44pm Sun 21 Jun 09

Well done to everyone who took part, and i hope all you wingers and knockers never need the help of the British heart Foundation

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A-Dam, Brighton says...
5:49pm Sun 21 Jun 09

The Argus have done well by mentioning the inconvenience caused by Southern Rail. This company are holding Brighton to ransom and restricting its growth and ability to make money. They have been able to provide a 24hour serice since the 80's...it's now the 21st century...they are incompetent, inadequate, out-dated and inspire no confidence to use public transport. Never mind Starbucks and Smash Edo...how about derailing Southern Rail??

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wardth, Preston Park says...
7:23pm Sun 21 Jun 09

Fasntastic event for a fantastic charity. Unfortunately its poorply organised and ends in a city with a less than ideal road system and just for ghood measure its run on fathers day. Move it out of peak season or move it out of Brighton. I live on the A23 opposite Preston Park and feel sorry for the poor buggers who are going to sit in the traffic jam out of town until 11.00pm this evening. Nice enterprise from the two conmen running the "official" car park in the Natwest building on Preston Road. I suppose £10 isn't bad to park in this godforsaken town for a day......
Well done to all who completed the trip. Having done the 20 Mile Burgess Hill Bike Ride the other week, the thought of 50+ miles makes me wince!!

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Yardmanson, Welwyn Garden City says...
1:35am Mon 22 Jun 09

27,000 people on bikes are just that, they are not part of some mass conspiracy, just folks with bikes trying to do some good for the BHF. I rode the ride today and guess what, loads of people irritated me.. But hey, they're just people on bikes, not some wider plan by cyclists to upset people with cars, or pedestrians etc.. Idiots are idiots, whether they own horses, donkeys, cars or even bikes! Yes some riders need reminding of this, that, or the other.. But it's mighty refreshing to see the innocent foot print of the bicycle disrupt so many cars for one day a year. Chill out people and get with the countless kids bystanding on the course looking for a simple 'HIGH FIVE'.. Peace.

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John Steed, worthing says...
12:01pm Mon 22 Jun 09

why can we not post a comment about the hove cyclist who fractured his skull in an accident and was not wearing a safety helmet, is it because we might refer to him as a misguided stupid moron, which is exactly what I called a woman today cycling to school with her 6 year old daughter who was on her own little bike (on the road)neither her or her daughter were wearing helmets

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mickeyfinn, Brighton says...
12:25pm Mon 22 Jun 09

Why on earth are Southern Railway still allowed to act in this ridiculous way? Surely sorting out special arrangements for an annual event, with the date set well in advance, isn't too much to expect? They'd get fares from all the cyclists too.

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michael.evans, Hove says...
12:55pm Mon 22 Jun 09

Could someone publish in advance the timing and route of events such as the London to Brighton Bike Ride - for the benefit of local residents who either want to watch or want to avoid the congestion? There was nothing on the websites of the Argus, Brighton & Hove Council, Sussex Police or the British Heart Foundation.

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Granny, Brighton says...
1:45pm Mon 22 Jun 09

Why is everyone moaning about the congestion etc, after all it is only one day in the year and for a very good cause. There is plenty of prior publicity about the event, so people can arrange their day accordingly. The only people I do feel sorry for are those in the emergency services who have to get to work.

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Jo Wadsworth, web editor, The Argus says...
2:27pm Mon 22 Jun 09

This was just a slip John - I've ennabled the comments now.


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Frank Booth, Brighton says...
3:24pm Mon 22 Jun 09

I just knew that there'd be people whingeing about the Bike Ride... predictable, but sad.
I did the ride for the first time ever - and I'm not a lycra-clad roadster but a flabby bloke in his mid-50s - and was amazed at the atmosphere on the route and the reception the riders get when they hit Brighton. It's well worth all the aches and pains. As for there being no advance info: it's been the main item on the BHF website for months, we got letters through our door warning us about the disruption some weeks ago and Southern Railway has gone completely mad about it, posters everywhere and warnings about disruption on 21 June being broadcast at brighton station every couple of minutes.
Besides, it's always held at about the same time every year - why would we want it another day? It would be far too miserable to do it in winter - it's great as it is.

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Sudseax, Worthing says...
5:01pm Mon 22 Jun 09

How much does it cost Southern to mount the security and publicity operation every year to keep cyclists off the trains? Who pays for that in the end? I thought the idea of a privatised railway was to make long-term investment to the benefit of the customer. Instead of paying for the security operation, why don't Southern invest in flexible seating areas in the trains? We need the seats at peak times: we need more space for push chairs, wheel chairs, luggage and bikes in the off-peak: and it would enable Southern to respond to demand from the London-Brighton ride. Southern could be part of the solution but they seem determined to be part of the problem.

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bloke in a bikeshop, sunbury on thames says...
12:07am Tue 23 Jun 09

I took part in the ride, this is my 8th time. The organisation of the event is not as good as it used to be. I was actually only riding for 4.5 hours out of the 6 hours it took, the congestion caused by stopping at road junctions could be lessened by closing the roads to cars for the event, after all its only 1 day out of 365. With so many cyclists competing this would make this event so much safer.
I was shocked at the amount of riders not wearing cycle helmets and also using I-pods, dont these numpties realise what damage can be caused when your head comes into contact with concrete or tarmac???

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wardth, Preston Park says...
1:30pm Tue 23 Jun 09

OK, its so lovely to read the idiotic comments from those who say "its only one day so why not stop car usage in town" What planet are you lot on? Brighton is primarily reliant on tourism on a weekend and despite the atempts of our wonderful council to prevent people bring their cars into the town, people drive from all over the South IN THEIR CARS to Brighton!! Have we all got that? Good. Now lets try and figure a way of making our limited road system work on the day with selected road closures and / or diversions. What is to stop the route being altered to take the cyclists down Ditchling Road rather than Lewes Road or perhaps even across country to Saddlescoombe and the Dyke Road, down Dyke Road and straight down Queens Road / West Street? Come on you lot, get inventive and work out where the bottlenecks are and avoid them. Oh and by the way I am a cyclist (not a lycra clad roadie who thinks everybody not riding a £4K carbon is not worth talking to). Personally I get muddy and wet in forests but hey, each to their own!!

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Falkenna, says...
2:12pm Thu 25 Jun 09

"Arrange your day accordingly" - excuse me, but I have attempted for two years to arrange my life around your pleasure, but last year - because of loyalty to a group trying to entertain and educate children, and performing a favour for a friend - I spent 45 minutes trying to cross one road area. This year I said Never Again - but ended up keeping a commitment to a friend whose mother had just died. After spending over an hour trying to locate info and otherwise planning a way to cross from Brighton to Hove and back, I decided on a walking + bus route, expecting this to be a 45-minute journey of three miles, each way. Instead, it took 1 1/2 hours one way, including 40 minutes stood in the hot sun (yes, I would have walked the rest of the way if the satellite signs hadn't lied to us)- which didn't do my heart one bit of good.

Brighton&Hove might as well be Ireland & Canada on that day, for all the ability to pass from one to another. I promise to commit no acts of kindness or responsibility next year, that would force me to go out in that mess.
How is increasing the pollution from stopped cars and buses supposed to help one's heart? Why can't bike riders simply obey traffic rules and lights like anyone else?
(And having been handed the city on a plate already, they didn't even have the grace to stop at pedestrian lights. Oh, I forget. Pedestrians don't emit that magical substance which eats all pollution, which bikes possess and which will allow them to singlehandedly save the world. Or so cyclists and BHCC seem to think.)

Sign me Had Enough Big-Time

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Mr. Kipling, Hove says...
12:17am Fri 26 Jun 09

I saw one cyclist getting arrested near Carpet Right in Lewes Road. I heard later he was done for drunk cycling, and got a going over when he tried to struggle...

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tecgu, brighton says...
1:06am Sat 27 Jun 09

it may be only one day for it but then its one day for the old crocks and one day for this and one day for that i cant even cross the road at a crossing with the lights in my favor as some pointless pso tells me i have to wate for the cyclists

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Comments are closed on this article.

Cyclists set off from C;apham Common for London to Brighton Bike Ride Thousands of cyclist arrive at Brighton seafront Thousands of cyclist arrive at Brighton seafront

Cyclists set off from Clapham Common for London to Brighton Bike Ride

Thousands of cyclist arrive at Brighton seafront

Thousands of cyclist arrive at Brighton seafront





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