August 11, 2009
To Teascombe Bay - past Brighton: The moment of truth
We slept amazingly well but woke at daylight – 5.30 and were reminded of the delights of English plumbing i.e. trickle shower of either boiling or cold water. Nervously organised our things, this was the moment of truth. After an enormous and excellent breakfast we set off and began to learn a bit about the vagaries of navigation. Things didn’t start well and getting out of Crawley was a nightmare, I thought we would be in Crawley until it was time to go home. We found small bits of disjointed cycle way and local cyclists were helpful – we certainly had a lot to learn. We knew we had to get to the Brighton Road but had no idea how to do it. When we got to Pease Pottage we found the actual cycle route and from there on it was moderately straightforward and indeed after we met Margaret and Bob it was excellent. They know every inch of the way and do the ride from London once a week. Had lunch with them in Brighton after thinking this morning I would never eat again. They felt a bit concerned about us and insisted on giving us their telephone number so they could rescue us when we came to grief!
They left us to take the train back to London and we wandered through the town. By now a dull and threatening day had become near brilliant. The town was full, around the Pavilion hundreds of people and when we finally got to the seashore there were thousands. People were lying around, swimming, riding bikes up and down, walking and of course eating. There were fun rides, a carousel, a travelling circus and hundreds of other features. Dozens of buses – I guess a lot of people come for the day
We headed out of town on the Esplanade, eastwards on a great cycle way that took us up above the white cliffs. We couldn’t get into our Band B until 5.30 so stopped at a seat high above the sea and watched a yacht going by about 200m off shore and the golfers on the landward side.
Our accommodation in Teascombe Bay was in a little log cabin – we walked back to a Pub overlooking the sea for an excellent meal. First day completed with moderate success but it is a long way to Rome.
Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 51 km (32 miles)
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