A big thanks to Serps spokesman Jean-Luc Currie who provides the news of an adventurous trip for a bit of toe dipping in Brighton. LeGrand depart happened just a day after the Saturday Serps compulsories.
Yesterday, on the first day of March, a group of us rode from London to Brighton on a 'Serps to Sea' trip with a few pit stops en route. While the weather in London Sunday morning was brisk and beautiful, by the time we made it to Brighton on our bike Raleigh, we were cycling through torrential weather Indurain and the gusting winds. Needless to say, taking a swim in the sea at that point would have been, in Tony's words, a 'death wish.' So, hey Presta, instead, a few of us dipped in up to our cleats in the water. Although it was a far cry from taking the full swim, it sure does beat getting saddled into being sucked out to sea.
All told, we travelled just over 60 miles and torqued a lot en route. We left at 0930 from the Serpentine to meet up with Johnny, Anna, and Penny at a costa-lotta coffee shop. In fact Rod might have said that "it cost more than a penny farthing." I'll be the first to admit that our late departure was partly due to my need to shovel food down my throat for my spare tyre reflating before we cycled off on our adventure. I had a few other calorific partners in crime as well, but the chain of people can remain nameless. (Flora nameless, Elina no name, Arabella necessary on a bike, and Tony ...)
Full Merckx to Rod who domestiquelly served as a brilliant navigator, taking us to a great lunch spot, we stopped for a brake at the Lambs Inn. A great Discovery but full of enhancements we didn't need and nothing to US Postal about. None of us were in a Roche as it was our Lemonde, as the French say. Although the Mille Fignon was a bit of a let down after the first success. The food was wonderful, although some of us regretted getting a Sunday carbon roast, but we were totally pumped before heading back and steeling ourselves for another 30 miles of cycling. Looking back, there was nothing you Contador about that menu. I think everyone was challenged in some way, shape, or form, but none of us were Boardman and we were all in the right frame of mind. In the typical Serpentine spirit we all broke through our own limitations and encouraged each other in an inflated sense every cog of the way.
Finally, I'd like to peleton as much as I can- a huge thank you to Sarah Legrand for organising le Grand Depart and indeed the full chain of events. She can expect a lovely bunch of pedals at the appropriate time. It went off smoothly; there were no casualties, we had the right amount of brakes - sorry for recycling that gag- and we nearly ate and drank a local Brighton restaurant out of all their gear.
As for the swimming, we all felt more than a little bit deflated, but that turned out not to be the sole criterium for why we went to Brighton.
(John T)
If only Boris had been on this bike ride we could have thrown in a few puns.
