10,000 feet, 80 miles, 2 pedals!

1st Sep 2007

“Ditch!”

The call came too late. Jeff, hard on the brakes, swerved to avoid it, only to nose-dive into an even bigger ditch. The front wheel stopped immediately, up-ending the bike and catapulting him down the steep hillside.

I’d reached the bottom of the escarpment and looked back when I heard the commotion. Jeff was lying on his back, his arm at a contorted angle and the bike slumped next to him. It didn’t look good.

My latest challenge against the clock followed a long line of Land Rovers projects, but this was by far the hardest. Instead of driving, we would ride Land Rover mountain bikes in an attempt to cycle the 80-mile route of the South Downs Way during daylight. On the 1st September, that meant just 13 hours 34 minutes.

The term ‘Downs’ Way was slightly misleading, as the combined height of all the hills to be climbed along the route is 10,000 feet. The ‘down’ parts though didn’t lead to any rest bite, as the heavily rutted tracks required total concentration. At speeds approaching 30 mph, large angular flints were poised to unbalance the front wheels and throw you off at any time, which had a wonderful way of focusing the mind. Even though the front shocks were working flat out, soaking up as much of the track as they could, the vibrations through the bars made your hands go numb and your vision blur.

Having ridden only 4 miles when Jeff crashed, this challenge was going to be harder than I imagined. To complete it we had to average just 6 mph, which was surely within our capabilities, even though four of the six team members had turned 40. It wasn’t that easy though, as all but a couple of miles of the entire route were off road, a series of restricted byways and bridleways leading us from the start point at Buriton, Hampshire to Beachy Head, Sussex.

Paul, our team doctor, ran up the hill to attend to Jeff.

“I don’t think anything’s broken,” he diagnosed, “but you’d better stay with the support vehicles when we next meet up with them.”

“I’ll be OK,” replied Jeff with a pained tone to his voice.

The team re-grouped and we slogged our way up Pen Hill. At almost 1 in 1, going down was almost as slow as going up. I turned to Keebs, our most experienced team member.

“What do you reckon?” I asked.

“It’s tougher than I remember,” he answered, as the only team member to have attempted it before. “The recent rains have washed away the top soil and exposed sharp flint. We can’t go down hill fast and the flints will probably puncture the tyres. I’d be surprised if we make it in time.”

Descending off Pen Hill was treacherous. Although we didn’t have hill-descent control, we did have hydraulic disc brakes front and rear. With amazing stopping power we made our way down the slope desperately trying to stay upright. Not wanting to risk coming off on the track and ending up with a face full of flint, some of us opted to ride on the grass. It was just gone 07:00, the sun yet to burn off the dew when Jeff fell again, his injured shoulder not allowing him the strength to control the bike. In slow motion, he went airborne over the handlebars and landed hard on his back, winding him. He wasn’t having a good day and we still had 75 miles to go!

By the time we’d reached the Support Team, a well-earned breakfast was waiting for us. Sean, Mike, Steve and Richard, driving two Discovery 3 HSE’s were a welcome sight indeed. From the start they’d followed us along one of the few remaining byways in West Sussex, before peeling off and racing ahead to the first check point.

Sean had not been exposed to some of my hair-brained adventures before and when I mentioned riding the South Downs Way he simply laughed in my face. However, after saying I wanted someone to drive £45K’s worth of Discovery he’d signed up before I could say TDV6 HSE! A Discovery 1 owner, he was immediately impressed by the levels of comfort afforded by the latest version. It was easy to fit in 5 big guys, all our equipment and take off into the pre-dawn gloom with Xenon headlamps blazing a crystal clear trail.

Back on the Downs, Paul examined Jeff more thoroughly, but there was no way he was giving up. He had trained hard for this challenge and an injured shoulder wasn’t going to stop him. He popped a couple of Nurofen and announced “let’s go.”

The two Discovery’s ran on diesel, our fuel though mainly consisted of Lucozade Carbo Gel, energy bars and Hydrate fluid. We estimated that we would each burn 4000 calories and consume 5 litres of fluid, so the Support Team quickly set about replenishing us for the next leg.

The tracks were relentless and after Jeff’s two falls, we all slowed down on the steep descents. The loose flint still caused us to fish-tail down some of the rougher tracks, which was not something the Discoverys suffered from using their hill descent control, low range and Terrain Response, all available at the twist of a knob or flick of a switch.

We’d put Air Seal into the bike inner tubes, which if punctured would be instantly sealed by a mass of tiny Kevlar and rubber fibres held in suspension. I spoke too soon.

“Puncture,” shouted Paul as he pushed his bike up the track.

We were carrying spare tubes and repair kits so quickly set about removing the rear wheel. Typically, the only tyre we forgot to fill with Air Seal got a puncture.

Sticking together, the team covered mile after mile and met up with the Disco’s at the half way point.

Jeff, happy to have made it this far, perked up and popped more painkillers. The hills weren’t big, but at 700 feet high it was demoralising to slog our way to the top, only to ride back down on the other side and do it all over again.

Each time we left the comfort of the Support Team, they made pains to point out that they too would be suffering. The heated seats might get too warm and if not using cruise control, they would have to exercise their right foot – horror or horrors!” The Land Rovers galloped ahead down the A27 and up Devils Dyke to Beeding Hill which overlooks Worthing. Here a fry-up was prepared for us, allowing us to take on much needed calories and revive aching limbs before setting off towards Ditchling Beacon, some 806 feet above sea level.

Our last scheduled stop was on top of Firle Beacon. The light was fading fast and we had just two more climbs to make. It was getting cold and as our bodies tired we needed to keep moving before our muscles started to seize up.

With only 10 miles left, we had limited time before the light gave way. I led the team as we raced across another ridge in the twilight before hurtling down the other side.

I sensed something wasn’t right. I’d been following the main track, but felt that I was swinging south, not east. Checking the map, it seemed that we’d gone wrong, but decided to stick with it, planning to rejoin the route south of where we should have been.

Emerging onto a tarmac road in the dark, we found ourselves on the northern side of Seaford 2 miles south of our intended route. Rendezvousing with the Support Team, it was decided that without lights, it was just too dangerous to continue, either off road or along the A road.

It was hugely disappointing, but we had to call it a day. Faces were glum, but there was no other option. Had we planned to attempt the ride in June, the extra 3 hours of light would have allowed us to complete it, but early September put us at a disadvantage from the start.

The combination of cars and bikes to complete such a challenge made for the perfect team. Carrying us to and from the challenge in perfect comfort and with the capability (if allowed) of following us along almost the entire route, showed just how versatile these vehicles really are. Driving home, with the bikes strapped on the roof rack, I was amazed how well the Disco handled fully loaded. It was rock solid at 70 on the motorway and it was easy to imagine hacking across Europe full of ski equipment or diving gear to some exotic location for a long weekend. I realized that this is what Discovery has evolved into. It will tow almost anything, cruise at any speed, cover any terrain likely to be thrown at it and provide you with a great, safe view of the world

Yes, we were sore and yes we ached from head to toe, but what did we expect after 73 miles and 10,000 feet of climbs? Not one bike component failed to cope with the abuse we put them through, a true testament to their strength and durability – there again, what did we expect, they are Land Rovers after all.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Not wanting to be beaten, the following Saturday Keebs and I, still aching, set out again, this time unsupported. On the same bikes, we started earlier, using head torches for the first few miles in the dark. 12 hours 50 minutes later we reached Beachy Head to be greeted by the welcome sight of the lighthouse perched majestically on the rocks below the 500 foot cliff.