Sting conquers Ditchling Beacon

It might not be the steepest hill in the area but Ditchling Beacon has a bit of a name for a tough ride. Famed as the last long ascent in the infamous London 2 Brighton cycle event many cyclists have tackled the challenge but most likely on either road or mountain bikes. Today the plan was to try to make it up on my Brompton S6L.

Given I had ridden up the Beacon many times before I was pretty confident I should have no problem on my shiny new Brompton, however I was pleased that I had 6 gears to play with. I did post the challenge on the LBC's Facebook page beforehand and received many comments, some wishing me luck and others confirming they had already completed the task, one of which had ridden it on a 2-speed - no pressure!

I set out with a couple of my work buddies, Ewen and Charlie, who were not phased for a Brompton to draft behind their high-end carbon road bikes.

Ditchling conquered - a picture at the top

After about 30-40mins of rolling landscape out of Brighton (and a relatively decent speed - approx. 25km per hour) we arrived at the big one. I pressed my lap button as I clicked down into my lowest gear and started the climb. To be honest there was little leg burn and I steadily climbed the Beacon about 15 secs behind Ewen. Charlie, being light as a feather shot up in front. On my road bike I normally like to get out of the saddle for part of the climb, sometimes it helps to move around a little. I was quite comfortable on Sting so remained in the saddle for the duration.

I reached the top in around 10mins, not a personal best, but respectable for my first attempt on a Brompton. Ewen remained about 15 secs in front of me and Charlie reached the top in just over 7mins.

From the top it was a nice and easy descent back into Brighton - a nice workout for a lunchtime ride. Full details on Strava.

Again, very impressed with these great little machines - loving my decision to buy a Brompton.