Day 57- Eastbourne to Elmer

The word for the day today is WIND!!( not my wind but the stuff that comes from the weather)

We had a later start today as we could not access our bikes in the locked room until 7.00 am. But as usual I was awake at 5.30 am …. Seems I can’t break the habit!

We were away on our bikes towards Elmer at a little after 7.00 am. Today it was my turn to navigate…

The weather started off coolish and the sun was coming through low clouds. The temperature was in the high teens for most of the day and we had one short shower of drizzle. The issue for the day was the wind… and there was plenty of it in The wrong direction…. Yes we were into a headwind for most of the day and as we were travelling along the coast it was hard work! According to the weather App the wind was gusting at 45 kph for most of the day.

I have found that the only way to deal with days like today is to try and ignore the issue and focus the mind on achieving some small individual goals set during the ride… it takes away the negative aspects of the ride and focuses on something positive!

We found a lovely cafe on the outskirts of Eastbourne which served a lovely English breakfast of grilled sausage, eggs on toast and bacon with a cappuccino. It was good to chat to a few locals who had called in to have a coffee and something to eat. Most people we speak ask what we are doing and when we tell them where we have travelled from and where we are going, they are blown away with it! Particularly when we mention our ages.

After breakfast we had a good ride into Lewes which is a quaint village inland from the coast and has a lovely English village feel about it… quite different from the seaside towns we have seen in the past couple of days.

After this we made our way to Brighton which is a large city on the coast with big buildings on the shore for hotels and guest houses. We made for the Brighton Pier which is quite spectacular but to get on the pier it cost £ 1.00 which is a pity. As I had been on the pier before we opted for a coffee ahead of moving on. It was here that we faced the full force of the headwind which restricted our speed to about 15 kph on the flat. The travel was along the bike path on the seawall.

After 50 kms we passed through the Port and were lucky enough to see a ship emerge from a lock in a canal and travel into the sea. Further, we had lunch at a lovely cafe near the bike path. My lunch was a fruit slice and cupcake… didn’t want much after a big breakfast.

After this it was off again into the wind … this time we took turns at lead riding at 500 metres… this seemed to work well.

We reached Littlehampton and stopped for a ice cream smoothie which was just right for the 25 kms ahead… Chris made an executive decision (which we agreed with) to not return to the seashore and to take advantage of the calmer conditions inland from the coast… it also shortened the ride by a few kms…

We arrived at the Elmer Pub where we are staying the night and it was great!

To get in from the wind and to enjoy a shower ( probably the best shower set up on the ride so far!) and to have the pub roast beef dinner!

So far in England I have had bangers and mash, fish and chips ( with peas!) and now a roast of beef with Yorkshire Pudding…. I think I am putting on weight!

After dinner Chris and I played bingo with the locals which was most enjoyable. Chris won £ 10 which was a highlight and the crowd enjoyed him winning!

To end the day like this in the pub was great and it makes it almost perfect.

Let’s hope the wind is not a problem going to Portsmouth tomorrow.

The photos today are:

The route

Brighton Pier

The beach in Brighton…. Not sure what’s going on with the house!

A ship going out from the canal at Brighton Port

Harbour at Littlehampton

Afternoon tea!

Elmer Pub where we stayed for the night

Roast beef for dinner

…. At the bingo with the locals!