Brighton Pier

The now annual ride to Brighton Pier and back! Don’t worry if this is your first time, full details are below so you know what to expect on the day.

Detailed Information (Separate file with route details): Brighton Route 2024

The ride is a 167km(~100miles) day ride to Brighton, out on the ‘undulating’ route (all right, hilly bit) and returning along the flat(ish) coastal route. It will be demanding, classed as a ‘fast ride’ but, it will be taken at a pace to ensure we enjoy the day - so there will be different groups to cater for the numbers attending and speed of riders.

There is a fairly early start, so we can have a relaxing lunch and to enjoy Brighton seafront followed by an enjoyable journey back, not going ‘hell for leather’ just to get back! It is after all meant to be a pleasant, if long day out. Distance is 90km(56m) there, 77km(48m) back.

The ride starts at Rowlands castle, with pick up points on-route (as required) heading out via Idsworth and South Harting, then east on the Bepton road to Cocking before taking the minor roads to Graffam village shop for our first stop (31km, 18m).

The main route now starts skirting north of the South Downs, avoiding busy roads where reasonably practical, through Coldwaltham, Storrington, Ashington and Steyning. The final leg is to Poyning and the inevitable(!) climb up to Devils Dyke and the lovelly run downhill through Brighton to the pier.

The return journey is by the coastal route, taking in cycleways as near to the sea as possible, stopping for a well earned cup of tea at Littlehampton, before taking the direct route to Chichester and eventually home.

There will be at least two groups, possibly three. To aid communications both beforehand and on the day a ‘WhatsApp’ group is operated. This enables everyone to stay in contact and will assist with any issues.

Bookings for this ride/event

Booking is required for this ride. Please let the ride leader know if you want to join. Please do not turn up for the ride unless you've had your booking confirmed or your name appears below.

There are 14 spaces available for the leader and riders. Of these, just one space is left.

Bookings recorded for this ride (Log in to see rider names):

• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member
• A PCTC member

To ask to join this ride, please use the 'Contact us about this ride' link above to send an email to the ride leader.

About faster rides

Our other rides go at the pace of the slowest rider or we will split the ride to accommodate a slower rider. 'Faster rides' go faster than other rides and people joining are expected to keep up.

We're not talking about professional or even 'club' riding speeds, but trying to ride at any speed faster than you can manage is an unpleasant experience.

If you want to join a faster ride, but uncertain whether you can keep up:

• Consider trying one or two of our other rides classed as A (Demanding) or B (Hilly) first. If you're able to keep up without difficulty that's a good indication you're ready for a faster ride. The chances are you'll be riding with other members familiar with faster rides that can help you with your assessment.
• In any case, contact the ride leader and discuss your experience to date with them. Bear in mind, however, that subjective assessments of average speed and cruising speed are notoriously unreliable even for those that routinely use cycle computers.

Before you join a faster ride, please review the route and prepare to make your own way back if you're struggling to keep up - and we all have bad days. We will not, however, intentionally drop slower riders; nor will we leave riders without first checking they are confident with getting back.