RIDERS RAMBLE: OLLIE'S WORLD FAMOUS SUSSEX LOOP

Reader’s Ramblings is our latest feature, giving you an insight into where riders like you take their bike. On road, off road, up hills, down hills – it doesn’t matter. With an emphasis on taking in the best from each location we hope that some of you might even do these rides (we will try to provide a GPX download when possible)!

Kicking off this first instalment is a ride everyone at TheRiderFirm has done. Created by Road and CX Brand Manager Ollie, World Famous includes nearly 80km of Sussex/Surrey lanes and roads we love to head out on come the weekend. And if you’re interested in the name... 

CLICK HERE FOR THE STRAVA AND GPX FILE DOWNLOAD

Here is the full scoop from Ollie:

It heads out of Brighton over the Dyke, following the same route most HUNT staff ride to work along. After the Dyke has been dealt with the legs are usually warmed up, and it’s time to put the hammer down up Shaves Wood & Twineham Lane. Both of these roads are quintessential Sussex lanes. They offer a rhythmically undulating terrain that forces you to consider your effort, but doesn’t make it too tough for heavy guys like me!

Colwood Lane comes next, and that’s a bit of a slog – though once it’s out of the way the rolling road comes back, and all the way across Hammerpond Road you’re treated to sights of expansive golf courses & ponds/lakes through the trees that align the route. Some pretty big houses up there too! The level of tree cover gives you the sensation of riding through a forest. When I picture that top section I always think about Autumn – the shades of brown, the mulch embedding itself onto your frame, and that smell of moisture permeating from the tree line.

Turning south, you razz the whole way down towards Partridge Green and we usually stop in at HUNT HQ to fire up the Gaggia. We’re about 25-30km from Brighton at this stage, so a quick espresso gets you right for racing to the beach. To warm up after leaving the office, there’s the mandatory time-trial the whole way down the B2135 road from PG to Steyning (a road which is actually used the other way for a big local TT, which we normally do in the Summer evenings on our way home!).

Out of Steyning you could go over Steyning Bostal, but we rarely do by this stage. The route is a fairly quick one, so we’re usually mullered by the time we get here. Instead, you’re treated to one of my favourite roads in Sussex (and the whole world, actually according to Strava)… Annington/Coombes Road. Home to the Mason Barn, this stretch of 5-7km is just a breathtaking place to ride a bike. Livestock in the fields, sharp power-climbs, sweeping corners through woodlands, and some epic views of Truleigh Hill and the South Downs Way.

This route just has everything. In the summer, knowing this last proper lane is urging you to stamp on the pedals to get to the beach for a beer that bit faster…. Ah man, there’s just nothing like that. I can close my eyes right now and really feel that sensation. Annington/Coombes really holds a lot of symbolic value in terms of what cycling in this area means to me.