I’ve done the London to Brighton a couple of times and I will do it again but the Downs Link ride looked interesting as it was mainly off road and a less plum numbing 33 miles (the blurb says 31 but my speedo said 33 and the GPS was nearer 33 than 31!!).

So what is it ? It’s a route based on the line of two disused railway tracks and runs from Bramley down to Shoreham Airport. The ride is mainly on hardpacked ground and I’d say it’s 80% off road including one fairly steep descent. One guy rode up behind me at the bottom and asked “Is this the waiting for partners queue?”, indeed it was!

Cathie and I took about 4.5 hours to complete the ride which was a little disapointing but we enjoyed it very much and raised about £125 for Cancer Research which can’t be bad. Check out their website and the British Heart Foundation for other charity rides.

About the author

Dave's been riding seriously since about 1997 and is one of the founding Molefathers — along with Matt and Mark — that came up with the idea of a MTB website for Mole Valley riders.

He's had several different bikes but it's now mainly 29ers in Dave's stable, apart from an Orange 5.

Current Bikes: Orange 5, Salsa Spearfish and Kona Big Unit