From the late summer sun that warms my pink-tinged cheeks to the salty breeze that gently billows my skirt, cruising along the seafront on my trusty two-wheeled steed is one of my greatest pleasures since moving to the seaside. Brighton is a brilliant city for cyclists and we’re about to crank our devotion up a gear as we welcome some of the world’s greatest pedallers. On Saturday 13 September, a swathe of ripped thighs in colourful lycra will descend on the city when the Tour of Britain, the country’s biggest professional cycling race, heads to the south coast for its penultimate stage.
The race, now in its tenth year, kicks off in Liverpool and winds down through Wales, Bristol and Exeter, before heading back east to Surrey and finally down to Brighton. Here the swarm of cyclists will crest over the glorious Ditchling Beacon before freewheeling down to the sea, where I’ll be waiting by the finish line with ice packs and soft cushions.
Cyclists taking part in the annual London to Brighton bike ride
Credit: Les Chatfield
It’s not the first time the city has hosted such a prestigious cycling event. The Tour de France checked in over twenty years ago and in June we welcomed the World Naked Bike Ride to town, when more than 300 cyclists downed pants and rode, ahem, freely through the streets. However, Brighton’s most iconic cycling event is the annual London to Brighton bike ride. What started off as a rather low-key affair back in 1976, when sixty cyclists set off for the sea from Hyde Park Corner, now sees 30,000 riders cycle from the capital to the beach in order to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation.
“There has been an explosion in bike related businesses and social enterprises in the city over the past few years,” says Mark Strong, a dedicated cyclist and the community works representative for Brighton’s City Transport Partnership. “I can think of at least four new bike shops opening in the last two years including the Velo, a cycling-themed cafe on the Level.”
Cycling hub Velo Cafe
Credit: Velo Cafe
Now seen as the hub of Brighton’s cycling scene, Velo also offers a number of organised rides run by ex-pros and enthusiasts for all levels of competence, including a monthly Grand Velo tour which covers nearly sixty miles.
Over the last few years Brighton and Hove council has invested in new cycle lanes, some of which now form part of the National Cycle Network, a series of safe and mostly traffic-free routes which stretch some 14,700 miles across the UK. We also have the Bike Train, a stewarded group led by a man on a tricycle with a ghetto blaster pumping out tunes like a punk Pied Piper, which runs between the Level and the University of Sussex.
“The success of the Bike Train has led to the creation of the new Bike Hub in Circus Street, a not-for-profit scheme which aims to help people on lower income buy and repair bikes,” says Strong.
While visitors can book an excellent guided tour from the Brighton Bike Tours company, the city is actually remarkably easy city to navigate on your own. You can hop off the train and straight into Amsterdammers, a cycle hire shop situated underneath the station. Open every day, there’s a good range of easy-to-ride Dutch bikes, as well as twee tandems and bakfiets, a kind of wheelbarrow with two wheels which can fit a gaggle of kids.
Seeing the sights on a Brighton Bike Tour
Credit: Brighton Bike Tours
And cycling in the city is just the start. For those who really want to put their thighs through their paces, the South Downs boasts some great cycling routes including the 100-mile stretch along the South Downs Way. But you don’t have to be a lycra-clad pro to enjoy the benefits of a seaside cycle. The Brighton Sports Company hires out bikes from its under-the-arches workshop next to the pier. It’s ideally located to sample my favourite route, which stretches from Shoreham harbour to Rottingdean, a leisurely nine miles which takes in both piers, the Marina and meanders along the walkway under the cliff to the charming village of Rottingdean. And as local cyclist, Sarah reflects, “…however hard the hill climb is, catching that first glimpse of the sea is the best reward ever.”
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