Report on the "Tour de Chiddingly 2023"

The Tour de Chiddingly 2023 (photo: Sheryl Rennison)

It was a glorious morning, the sun was shining and there were plenty of smiles as riders gathered in the Six Bells car park for the second ever Tour de Chiddingly community bike ride on Saturday 16th September. The ethos for the event was to encourage everyone to cycle more, particularly for shorter journeys that would otherwise be made by car. Now that East Sussex County Council have patched the worst of the potholes in the parish, that’s much easier and safer.

In all, 40 riders had signed up for the event, ranging in age from 5 to 81 (no names mentioned). Some were very experienced cyclists, while others had obviously only just dusted off their bikes from the back of the shed. Riders were given the choice of two routes. A shorter, more family-friendly, 6-mile circuit took in the delights of Highlands, Ailies, Stalkers and Smithlands lanes before descending Scrapers Hill into Muddles Green and back to Chiddingly. A longer 13-mile circuit shared the same start and end as the 6-miler but also climbed four of Chiddingly’s infamous hills (Stone Hill, Pick Hill, Gun Hill and Thunders Hill), plus the long slog up Moat Lane to Waldron – that’s 930 feet (285 m) of elevation gain.

As you can see from the photos of the event, everyone had a great time, with the final riders on the 13-mile route returning to the Six Bells after 1 hour and 9 minutes (yes, I timed it). It was great to see such a wide cross-section of the community represented, meeting new people and making new friends over a drink and a bite to eat.

I need to finish with a few words of thanks. A great big "thank you" from everyone at Greening Chiddingly to:

• Richard Newman at the Six Bells for letting us take over his car park on a busy Saturday lunchtime.
• Everyone who helped organise the event (Mark Valleley, Will Rennison and Mike Goss) and who assisted on the day (Sheryl Rennison and Sue Goss).
  
• Rupert Cutler and Stuart Brown, who were lead riders for the longer and shorter routes respectively.
• Everyone who sent me photos of the day.
• Everyone who turned out for the ride – you can’t have a community bike ride without the support of the community.

Roll on next year and the Tour de Chiddingly 2024!

David Nash

David Nash welcomes riders to the Tour de Chiddingly 2023 (photo: Simon Green)

Listening intently as Mark Valleley gives his safety briefing (photo: Winnow Hardy)

Getting ready for the Grand Départ (photo: Winnow Hardy)

Riders on the longer route set off from the Six Bells (photo: Winnow Hardy)

We even had a cargo bike and passenger! (photo: Winnow Hardy)

Riders on the longer route pass the Six Bells (photo: Sheryl Rennison)

Riders on the shorter route set off... (photo: Winnow Hardy)

...and pass the front of the Six Bells (photo: Sheryl Rennison)

Riders on the longer route depart from Waldron (photo: Kat Halliday)

All smiles as the back of the peloton sweeps down Dern Lane (photo: Kat Halliday)

Just a perfect day for a community bike ride (photo: Kat Halliday)