Gear Crunched in the Balcombe Triangle

Route: 10 miles

Some things don't go as planned, some cycle rides involve a lot more walking than they should. This was one of them.
The Balcombe Triangle is a route I used to ride a lot, it is a simple three point circuit, creating an outing of about 10 miles. Haywards Heath to Cuckfield creates one side of the triangle, then Cuckfield to Balcombe, finally taking the Borde Hill road  back to Haywards Heath.
Passing through a lot of countryside, taking in a couple of really nice villages and passing one of central sussex' most impressive landmarks make this journey worth the time and effort, for added buzz two long stretches of downhill travel allow the cyclist to go as fast as they want. The nasty surprise on this occasion came on the uphill sections.

It was May and days are hot from daybreak so I decided to leave early, setting off just after 7am, sure of being back by 8.30 at the latest, or so I believed. Even at that time the roads were busier than in the previous weeks of the lockdown, so the early start didn't ensure a peaceful ride There are a couple of roundabouts on the way to Cuckfield, they needed a bit of extra care as cars and lorries rumbled by.

But even though I was having to share the road with more motorised vehicles than I had hoped I wasn't perturbed. I knew that once I was through Cuckfield the road would be wide, and slope in a way that allows a smooth, fast ride until it reaches the Ouse Valley.

It was just as much fun as I remembered it, I pulled out of Whitemans Green, clicked my way up through the gears, until I was speeding along at 25mph through Brook Street. An occasional car roared by and the wind blew through the vents in my helmet. The little hamlet whizzed by, the road got a little steeper and the handlebars rattled in my hands. finally the bottom of the slope lay ahead, a little road, Cherry Lane, splits of to the left here and the main road starts to climb back out of the Ouse Valley. In order to  get back out of the valley with the least effort I put on an extra spurt of speed, hit the dip and began to climb out the other side. As the road began to climb I clicked the gear controls down, ready to feel the bike slow and the effort hit in. Hit in it really did, suddenly my push on the pedals produced little result, the easy speed of the downhill vanished and an almost impossible effort took its place. I pulled over as a lorry growled by. Looking down at the rear wheel I could see I was still in top gear, yet the gear changer on the handlebar showed five. The thin cable that runs to the derailleur was limp,whereas it should have been taut. In frustration, a little anger and also puzzlement I realised I would have to push to the top of the hill, there was not enough space at the side of the road to attempt a repair where I was and it was safer to keep moving.

My hope was that I could at least move the gear to a middle setting, once I could pull over and find a place to work on the bike. Unfortunately the verges were all thick with long grass making them useless for the purpose of roadside mechanics, so I spent the next couple of miles pushing the bike slowly uphill and then speeding on any downhill stretches. It was a hassle and I looked forward to ending it.

But it didn't end. I was able to take advantage of the flat tarmac of Balcombe station car park. I soon established that the derailleur was fine. Its good news, except that usually gear change problems are down to the derailleur, so my problem was not going to be simple to solve. The wire that linked the derailleur to the shifter was slack, I followed it back to the handlebar, but it wasn't caught and was unbroken. Then I turned my attention to the shifter itself, and the problem became immediately apparent, the little lever that is used to change the gear down had a distinct wobble to it, instead of moving crisply side to side it was flopping up and down. It was, in short, knackered. 

I would have to make my journey home in the same way I had done the last couple of miles, walking the bike up the hills and making the most of the chance to go fast on the downhill bits.

So I walked the bike through the centre of Balcombe village, where everything was closed due to lockdown, though it was too early for things to be open in normal times. The little tea room, which is a favourite of my parents, had the usual covid-19 signs in the window, there is a nice pub too, the Half Moon, and a well stocked village store. At a normal time of day, in  a less catastrophic era, Balcombe has a lot to make an attractive stop for cyclists.

From Balcombe the road back to Haywards Heath is a long downward sloping ride for a few miles into a different part of the Ouse valley, passing the fantastic viaduct which carries the London to Brighton railway. You've probably travelled over it, you've probably seen photos of it, but cycling by it is the best way to see the viaduct. Then the uphill kicks back in, and the remaining mileage home is up and down, push and ride. But finally and hour later than I had planned I got back.

Even with the difficult mix of walking and cycling and even with the irritation of having drivers buzz by as I tried to push the bike uphill, it was a good trip. And the gear shifter that bust? Once I had opened it up a little twist of a bolt was all it took to get it working again, a far simpler solution than I have experienced in a shifter ever before.

You and me will do the Balcombe triangle again sometime, and nothing will go wrong, and it will be simple worthwhile pleasure , I promise.

Balcombe website >here<

Half Moon Pub >here<

Ouse Valley Viaduct at Transport Trust >here<

START: Haywards Heath, head west - South Road, Muster Green, Tylers Green; Cuckfield - Broad Street, (right turn) London Lane (B2184), head north (right turn) - London Road (B2036), carry on at Whitemans Green roundabout for a couple of miles, sticking to the main road until you reach Balcombe, Bramble Hill, head north-east (right turn), Haywards Heath Road, head south-east (right turn); Haywards Heath, Penland Road, west (right turn), Turners Mill Road, east (left turn), Harlands Road, east (left turn), past station, commercial square roundabout, north (right turn) - Perrymount Road (2028), East (left) - South Road: FINISH