Today we just did a little walk at Seaford Head, introducing Iren to yet another approach to Cuckmere Haven including the iconic view of the Coastguard Cottages.
we walked down to the cottages, then went round to the golf course before returning to the car park. This was a fairly short walk of 2.96 miles although it did have a strenuous element to get the heart pounding.
Please note that the map today has been drawn at home, we forgot to take the GPS with us – duh !
Took mum to the Newhaven / Seaford cycle path, it’s a nice wide path that should encourage Mum to get going 🙂
Mum started off wiht 1 scoot and got going until someone came from the other direction, where the usual stop and let them pass system kicked in.
However as she progressed she went way beyond previous rides, distance wise, both in total distance covered and distance actually ridden 🙂
Her confidence soared and soon she was passing by oncoming riders without stopping 🙂
There was only one stop on the way back, and she cannot be blamed for stopping when faced with a manic toddler who had a death wish !
Overall this ride was a total success 🙂
This was just a short walk with Iren round to the causeway at Ardingly, neither of us had decent footwear on.
The track is still muddy, and judging by the water levels there must have been some rain, although the reservoir is still pitifully low 🙁
We walked to the causeway and back, just to show Iren the reservoir,
Both of us were slightly hobbling, Iren with new shoes, myself with my battered clodhoppers after Friday’s efforts so the causeway was as far as we went.
For once we did not have the GPS with us, but the distance can be determined from previous walks.
Unlike on Thursday the heron was not visible today.
This is a repeat of the walk carried out on the 29th May with 2 twists, 1 half planned, the other out of the blue !
This walk is from Clayton to Wolstonbury Hill, to Ditchling Beacon and on the Black Cap where the first twist was applied, it was extended to the beacon on Mount Harry which added a mile to the walk.
Up to this point the only issues encountered was tippy toeing through the cows on the path wearing a reddish shirt 🙂
The Beacon is deceptively further than it looks, it appears to be in a clump of trees, fat chance it hides behind.
Walked through and took some pictures before returning to Clayton (or so I was thinking)
I had made it the gate 1/2 mile beyond Ditchling Beacon when a Swedish lady asked for my assistance, there was an injured rabbit by the gate, and she wanted to take it to the vet.
So muggins here ended up walking back to the carpark at the Beacon cradling the rabbit in my arms, she then took the rabbit off to PDSA (she had rang the RSPCA who suggest she took the rabbit to the PDSA.
Now as you can imagine the blisters on my feet were very impressed at walking another mile 🙁 and boy did they let me know 🙁
Hobbled back to the car with 2 rather sore clodhoppers for my trouble and over 16 miles covered 🙂
Decided to do an exploratory ride today to view the cycle path from Newhaven to Seaford, one reason being to check it’s suitability for mum.
Having got to the car park at the seaford end I set off for Newhaven and found that it went almost all the way to the Roundabout where you turn off for Denton and Paradise Park.
I then turned round and went to the Seaford end (where the railway bridge is) and then returned to the car, I also explored various detours on the path.
After this I decided to visit Shoreham and revisit the path there.
On the Shoreham path I went up by the entrance to Bramber Castle then went to the bridge crossing the river (by the airport) and finally returned to the car.
I have seen an improvment in my riding, and I am now standing on the pedals more to get extra power – the confidence is growing.
Although this is not the longest I have ridden, it is not far short, and had I realised how close it was I would have gone into the airport to make this the longest.
It’s good to get another long ride under my belt, and it shows that my cycling stamina is improving as I have hit the bike now for 3 days on the trot.
This ride, on both paths was fairly flat and there is scant opportunity to coast, although a high gear can be maintained at a reasonable tempo 🙂
This was to check my current level of fitness, knowing now how strong the wind is this ride also checks my sanity – I failed on both counts 🙁
I was ok cycling up to the path split for the beacon but halfway up the first of the ascending paths a breather was required, even though I was in low gear!
Once up at the top of the mile long ascent it was a reasonable ride with the wind behind me, so lulled into a false sense of security I headed for black cap, as I did so the wind was increasing :-O
The hills on the way seemed to be so much easier, life was a breeze, then it came to the ride back – ye gods was that a strong wind !
Even going downhill was struggle, at one point freewheeling downhill into the wind I was slowing down !!!!
I won’t fibbed, I walked up some of the hills on the way back, it was hard graft even in bottom gear against that wind !
Thankfully the last mile is downhill and I slowly descended back to the car picking my way down the rubble strewn path.
I returned to the car windswept, knackered, chalk / cowcrap splattered and sweaty, what a way to spend a morning !!!
Finding myself at a loose end as my walking mate for today had to cry off feeling ill, I decided to wake up the bike for a short run.
Yep I assaulted the round town ride again, this time making sure that the sat nav was working 🙂
Just like the 13th August the great lump made it without pushing the bike, however I was in bottom gear for the hill bits and my legs are out on strike ! Of course it doesn’t help if you had done 4 mile on the exercise bike an hour earlier !! doh !
I would dearly love to know who the sadist is that controls the pedestrians on South Road in town, there are 3 sets of pedestrian lights and I got caught by all 3, which is a P.I.T.A. when you have just got back up to speed 🙁
I have to say it was fun whizzing down Oathall Road in speeds over 20 mph :-), I will pass on cycling up it though :-O
As ever Sydney Road and Perrymount Road left me feeling cream crackered and sweating 🙁 however that will not stop me from doing this route again 🙂
Yes folks, fresh from the failure last week Iren and I went back Harting Down so that Iren could see the Read Earth sculpture before it goes later this month.
As the weather has been threatening we only decided on the day that this was on.
Armed with waterproofs we set off for the sculpture, however the conditions brightened and the waterproofs hit the backpack.
it’s a tidy walk down (ho hum trudge time when you come back) through a glade to the installation – overall you will have done 3 miles when you get back to car.
we took some pictures then headed back with a quick look towards Beacon Hill and the iron age hill fort, however the path was on the steep side, and slippery due to overnight rain, after yours truly nearly making the decent on my bum twice we decided to leave the fort until there was more grip.
For our second walk we returned to our usual parking spot at Clayton and walked to Ditchling Beacon and back. As we were walking the wind was getting up and the walk back was into the face of baby gale :-O
At some point Iren will tackle the walk to the Chattri and to Black Cap, but today after the first hilly walk it was not on the agenda.
Today Iren and I had planned to visit Harting Down to see the Red Earth installation and the nearby Iron Age fort.
The weather forecast gave the impression that the morning would have light rain clearing from the east, however we would dispute the definition of ‘light rain’, we managed about half a mile and then turned tail to return to the car dripping from head to foot 🙁
After drying out we headed for Beachy Head and Birling Gap
We had a bite to eat then Iren took a look at the first 2 hills of the Seven Sisters, she now knows just how tough this walk is and it’s lure – watch this space for a ‘Fit & Fuggared rematch’.
As we got back to Birling Gap we decided to go up to Belle Tout, so another climb was undertaken before returning to the car.
Although the first walk was more of a drenching the second was sunny, howling wind !
Went for another visit to Shoreham with mum, the idea being to see what improvements mum had made since the first visit.
From the outset it was evident (as mum had said) that she hadn’t been riding during the week, her confidence was low and it took some time to get her to start trying to ride the bike, and to get pedalling.
Eventaully she was pedalling, but would stop almost every time another ride approached (from either forward or back)
Heading out we managed to get her to complete .12 miles in one go, but coming back she improves, firstly to double that distance, then on a second go to treble it.
Unfortunately she did fall off on one occasion, fortunately without hurting herself.
This was a short trip, but that was all her legs could manage.
