Cycling in the Age of Lockdown

There is a lot I am missing about cycling in these drastic Covid-19 days.

I really want to go for a cycle along the seaside promenades of Sussex on a sunny April day; I wish I could load up my panniers with my camping gear and spend a long weekend cycling between campsites; most of all I miss being able to get on a train and start a cycle ride somewhere new and still be home for tea.

But we have to make the most of things as they are. The rules say we can leave the house once a day for exercise and that ideally that exercise should start from our own front doors. Its not the worst time to be a cyclist, we can do a good 10 mile cycle ride and stay in the spirit of the current rules.

I have started cycling a regular route from my house - a 10 mile circuit of local villages. Usually I prefer to vary my rides more, but this is the nicest one in my neighbourhood, and doing it regularly allows me to monitor my fitness and try to improve my speed.

Leaving my house I head through the middle of Haywards Heath. The town is not the obvious choice for the cyclist looking for somewhere attractive to ride, its buildings were mostly built from the Victorian era onwards, with bursts of development in the later decades of the 20th century resulting quite a lot of unappealing modern architecture. But when you cannot get away you do learn to appreciate what's around you, and the few older buildings and interesting places in the town shine all the brighter for their dull setting.

Heading west out of town I cycle by Beech Hurst, one of the town's three main parks, it was the formal garden of a large house and given to the council in 1950. The best thing about it is the miniature railway, which was one of the joys of my childhood. 

I carry along the old A272, which would be busy in normal times but hardly has a car on it on these virus-age mornings. At Cuckfield I pass Warden Park School, where I studied for my 'O' Levels. Richard Osman off of Pointless studied there too, a couple of years below me. Which accounts for my greater success.

Then right up the top end of the High Street and right again I cycle by another major landmark in my life. I  was born at Cuckfield Hospital in 1967. It isn't a hospital anymore, now it is luxury flats which is an irony as when it was first built its role was as the local workhouse.

Next I turn off the road on to the long track and driveway that passes through the grounds of the Borde Hill estate.

The next few miles are the real reason why I find this ride the most enjoyable one in the area. I can scoot along the track at 20mph of easy riding by a gate house, then the main building and gardens, and exit by the main gate house and onto the road. Then more miles of fast riding along a country lane to the edge of Lindfield. It flies by, and is beautiful and exhilarating and delivers a real buzz. And for those brief miles its a reminder of rides before Corona virus, with green fields and cattle either side.

After the burst of countryside I loop through suburban houses then cycle down Lindfield High Street. 

Lindfield is often described as one of the prettiest villages in Sussex. Normally its beauty is slightly marred by traffic, and even now parked cars take the edge of its olde charm, but if ever there was a time to cycle through it this is that time. The pond at the southern end of the high street shines in the sun and the ducks splash across it. I turn off the high street by the village green.

A cut across backroads brings me out by Haywards Heath station and then wheeze and puff my way up the slope to the middle of town, back where I began.

There is a lot that's good about cycling at the moment, low traffic on the roads roads makes it safer, faster and more enjoyable to get on a bike. But these are nothing compared to the high cost of the virus, the loss of loved ones and, for too many, pain and uncertainty. Stay fit, get out but also be glad when its all over.

The Route:

If you fancy a crack at this short route, once the rules allow here are the details:

Maps: Ordnance Survey  Landranger 198 1:50,000 scale

or    : Ordnance Survey Explorer 135       1:25,000 scale

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), head east (right turn) - Ardingly Road, head North (left turn) - bridleway at sign 'Borde Hill Estate, Lullings Farm, Stone Lodge, Orchard Cottages', Turn north (left) at exit into road then west (right) - Copyhold Lane, turn south (right) on High Beech Lane; Lindfield, turn east (left) - By Sunte, north-east (left) - Hickmans Lane, south (right) - Lindfield High Street (B2028), south (left) Backwoods Lane, south-west (left) - West Common, roundabout 3rd exit, west (right) - Queens Road, south (left) - Church Avenue, west (right) - Sydney Road, Roundabout 1st exit north (left) - Perrymount Road (2028), East (left) - South Road: FINISH

Links:

Beech Hurst: more about the park here. https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/leisure-sport/parks/beech-hurst/ and about its miniature railway here. https://www.beechhurst-railway.org.uk/

Cuckfield: The village website is here. http://www.cuckfield.org/home.php

Borde Hill: More about Borde Hill and its gardens here: https://www.bordehill.co.uk/

Lindfield:The parish council has lots of information about the village on its website: http://www.lindfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk/default.aspx

Five Perfect Reasons to Cycle in Sussex

If you live in the South East of England or in London Sussex is an excellent county to head into for scenic cycling trips.  If you are planning on getting out on your bike once you can get out of your house, here are five good reasons to make your way to the Sussex countryside.

1 The Rolling English Road

Between the busy A-roads of Sussex lay a widespread network of country lanes. Often they are single lane, surrounded by fields and hedges. With a little planning its possible to cycle all day without difficult encounters with roaring lorries and cars on fast roads.

2 Rolling Stock - Stations

A good network of railway services in Sussex means public transport can be use access to many beautiful spots in the county. Get your bike on the train at  St Pancras, London Bridge or Victoria in London to take you into Sussex, and via branch lines to the east, west and the length of the coast. Leave your car at home.

3 Rolling Waves - Coast Routes

From Littlehampton and Bognor in the west and beyond Hastings in the east most of the coastline of Sussex is Cycleable and in some of the major towns, including Brighton, the national cycle route passes along the prom away from the main coast road. Eastwards out of Brighton its possible to ride along the under cliff path for several miles. Cycling the seaside means lots of potential pitstops for hot chips or cold ice-cream. On the down side promenade paths can be busy on sunny days, so don't try using them if your plan is to go fast.

4 Rolling Along - Cycleways

One of the positive outcomes of the railway closures of the sixties is that many of the trackbeds of the old railway lines have been converted to routes for pedestrians and cyclists. From Three Bridges, half an hour from either London or Brighton, the Worth Way Heads six miles out to East Grinstead. From East Grinstead the Forest Way takes cyclists a further nine miles, passing through the countryside that features in AA Milne's 'Pooh' books. The Cuckoo Trail is another long trail, heading from Polegate, near Eastbourne ten miles in land. The longest cycle trail is the Downs Link, over thirty miles from Shoreham on the south Coast, up to the North Downs, near Guildford.

5 Rolling Hills - The Downs

The longest bridleway in the UK is the South Downs Way, 100 miles available for walkers, horse riders and, of course, cyclists. It a rough surface so a mountain bike is the only comfortable way to cycle it. The SDW is a very different experience to other cycle routes in Sussex requiring much more effort and taking much longer to complete than the same distance on country lanes or cycle paths, but the views are so special you won't regret the aching muscles.