A very tired Neil after nearly 24-hours of riding (Photo © Rory Hitchens)
Last week Neil Newell became the first ever rider to ride the South Downs Double singlespeed - here's his first words on completing the 202 mile ride in 23h 20m 32s.
Well, my first thought is, I answered the question! After my previous outing on the Double, Rory had asked if I thought it was possible to do it on a singlespeed inside 24 hours - and that question nagged me for months, it gave me an itch to find the answer. And in the end, I just wasn't able to resist scratching.
It's such a huge ride that it takes a while for all the memories to settle - for the past couple of days I've been filling scraps of paper with the more memorable stuff, to be able to give a fuller account in time.
An immediate highlight was Rory waving me off from Winchester under a cloudless sunny sky and just feeling all the cares of the world drop away - for the next 24 hours I had just one thing to do, free from outside distractions and everyday realities. Winchester to Eastbourne and back along the South Downs Way, using nothing except what I'm carrying and the water taps along the route.
It was after only 10 hours or so I was thinking the hallucinations were well ahead of schedule; fortunately someone else said they'd seen the huge snake slither in front of my wheel too. I'd like to think the girl who called "respect!" and "nice lycra!" at Eastbourne was real too.
The weather was perfect - I know a few people worried it was too warm, but it seems there's a world of difference between a 24-hour pace and the 21-hour pace needed for the overall record. Plus being on a single speed I elected to not try too hard up the steep hills (in other words, I walked
them!) and with a low gear there was no danger of pushing too hard on the level bits.
Riding through the warm summer's night on the South Downs, and seeing the dawn break, with low-lying mist in the fields below Harting Downs was special. Rory took an awesome panoramic shot of it, and the whole ride was worth it for that view alone.
Getting back to Winchester and hitting the ten-to-nine rush-hour traffic was a rude shock after 23 1/2 hours riding alone through quiet countryside.
Rory was there, of course, with camera and clock to record the time - an obvious highlight, that, knowing there and then I'd done it, the first single speed Double, and the itch was now well and truly scratched.
A more detailed account to follow. For now singled out for special thanks are Rory (for driving, timekeeping, pictures, encouragement and saving me from using 32:22), Rob Lee (for showing the way on 'Alpine' doubles) and Dave and all at Bikemagic for their support, encouragement and publicising the madness that is the South Downs Double.
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