I am going to come and have a go at a 21-22 shortly - A comfy eight and a half hours one way last weekend!!

Holy moly! Took us 13 hours one way last week. But then we did get lost twice (the 4 extra miles definitely added the extra 5 hours).

Its nice to know there's still a few maniacs around on MTBs! Best of luck!

A few of us from the Norwood Paragon rode down to Brighton on Fri night from Mogador (Kingswood) via NDW to Cranleigh, Downslink to Bramber and SDW to Devil's Dyke then Brighton.
Whilst not too tough compared to the SDW x 2 it's a ride I would reccomend especially if done at midnight allowing for dawn on the Downslink and breakfast in Brighton which provides a welcome goal.

Not sure of exact distance, but it's about 60+ miles I think and we did it in a steady 7hr 40mins total ride time allowing for a 15mins power-nap near Henfield.

Some of you may recall the C2C ride (Croydon to Coast) done by Addiscombe CC several years ago. We followed a modified / improved darker (!) route from that original ride which I did with Sylvain et al.
MRB

Will Ian have a dedicated gate opening team?!

I had my first experience of the SDW yesterday, riding from Devils Dyke to Alfriston and back and found the gates an increasing hinderance to my speed, particularly as I got more tired.

As you get to know the SDW you know which way they go so can time it as to remain seated whilst leaning forward and opening the gate latches. I am interested in this record.. is it in any way regulated as I think George Budd (3rd at Mayhem last year) may have already gone under 20 hours for both ways..?

Nah, he didn't, he took a fair while longer than that!

The Lhotse face is on Everest, not Annapurna. Or is it Box Hill? At any rate, it's not on Annapurna...

Its the Rykers Face on Box Hill is't it?

No, that's on Kangchenjunga...

Psycho is all I can say!
Best of luck and if you feel like giving us a tow on the one in July you're more than welcome.

2nd july i'm doing it to eastbourne... then having a party! wahey!

Hehe, i'm aiming to do the whole of the south downs in an even more impressive time - one summer! ;-) (and that's only one way!)

I'm way too unfit having hardly cycled for a couple of years, so just completing it in stages will be an achievement for me. My wife's going to ride it too tho, and she's new to mountain biking.

I have the pleasure of working with Ian and I can confirm that he is a bit of a mentalist :)

I've done it but I didn't get the ride? Its just one big slog. Views are good but the riding is incredibly samey. Steep chalk climb followed by gradual chalk gravel climb. Long flat then gradual descent followed by steeper descent. Repeat 40 times. Start Winchester finish Eastbourne or reverse. For a curious reason which I also don't understand is its harder going East to West? Anybody worked that one out?

Yes - look at the trees along the route and you'll see why. Prevailing wind direction. It's also very slightly more uphill, but in the grand scheme of things it's insignificant.

Are you the same Ian Leitch who used to attend Newcastle Uni?

Yep, I did it with Sharon last year and took 23.5hrs. So that makes her the quickest girlie.

Good luck Ian SDWx2 is damn boring. Up, down, up, down, up, down etc.... Even more boring than 30-odd Mayhem laps, at least then people are shouting at you (usually "Get out of the way you're all over the place!").

Good luck,

GB

@ ian leich
AFAIK this record is not regulated. And it should remain that way.
With Rory H from USE, I’ve done (most of) the double – I managed Brighton-Winchester and back.
When I did it, it was the same day as the “official” SDW randonee – it’s quite a buzz arriving at the startline of the randonnee having ridden there from the other end of the SDW, and mingling with sleepy-eyed, clean, cyclists!
Rory and I have discussed the “official” nature of the record, and both think it should remain an “underground” kind of thing. Why? Because you can have multiple records – the fastest supported record, the fastest unsupported, fastest pair, etc. Also, the more official you make it, the more it loses its mythical appeal.

And to the person who said the SDW is boring – you are so, so wrong. Firstly, riding it at night is stunning – it’s a very remote feeling ride. And the downhills on the SDW are fantastic.

Sorry Andy, but I meant riding it twice non-stop was boring. I've had lots of great day rides up there, just riding along it for 202miles lost its appeal after a few hours... And the DHs are very very fast, yes, but hardly technical.

GB